Shooter Lones Wigger Makes Olympic Hall of Fame

Shooter Lones Wigger has been selected to be in the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Thanks to everyone who voted for Lt. Col. Wigger as requested here. You can read more about Lt. Col. Wigger here. The press release from the Olympic Hall of Fame is here.

Concealed Carry Improvement Bill Introduced in Senate

Ohio Senate Bill 318 has been introduced by Senator Faber. This bill incorporates many changes to concealed-carry law in Ohio. It has been assigned to the Judiciary - Criminal Justice Committee. You can read more about it here.

Hearing on Ohio House Bill 450

Today, I testified on behalf of Ohio House Bill 450 to the Criminal Justice Committee. The bill's primary sponsor is Representative Goodwin of Defiance. I was the only proponent witness and there were no opponent witnesses. This bill would allow adults between 18 and 21 who are in the armed forces to purchase handguns. You can read more about it here.

Ohio Senate Passes "Castle Doctine" Overwhelmingly!

The Senate Judiciary - Criminal Justice Committee of the Ohio Senate voted SB 184, the "Castle Doctrine" bill, out of committee this morning, and this afternoon the entire Senate passed the bill by a vote of 31-0. You can read more about this here.

USSA Candidates' Reception

I attended the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance Ohio Candidates' Reception in Columbus this evening. Many incumbent and non-incumbent candidates attended this reception to meet with sportsmen and women from all across Ohio. One very important aspect of this reception is that both the Ohio Republican and Ohio Democratic Parties were sponsors, demonstrating the bipartisan nature of much legislation in this area. Linda Walker and Larry Moore of the Buckeye Firearms Association helped me meet quite a few legislators and future legislators.

Ohio Senate Bill 184 Amended

Ohio Senate Bill 184 , the "Castle Doctrine" bill, was amended in its fifth hearing before the Senate Judiciary - Criminal Justice Committee. You can read more about this here. I urge you to contact your State Senator and encourage him or her to push for passage of this bill. Also, please contact your State Representative and ask for passage of the companion bill, House Bill 264.

2008 ORPA Highpower Season Starting May 10th & 11th

The first matches of the ORPA Highpower Season are on May 10th and 11th at Camp Perry. The Ohio State Service Rifle Individual Championship is on May 10th, and the Ohio State Service Rifle Team Championship is on May 11th. In addition, a Garand Match will be held in conjunction with the Team Championship on the 11th. Please contact me at orpa@embarqmail.com if you need further information.

Charlton Heston, R.I.P.

As you are no doubt aware, Charlton Heston passed away on Saturday. Mr. Heston was the most dominant figure in the fight for firearms rights in my lifetime. Unlike so many celebrities who support causes that are popular with their fellow glitterati of Hollywood culture, he took numerous stands on issues that were very unpopular in that culture. In this, he showed great courage, and he always made his points firmly, politely, persuasively, and effectively. In doing so, he should be an example for all of us fighting for our rights as Americans. Charlton Heston spent his life "In the Arena," unabashedly fighting for freedom, and he will be sorely missed.

President's Statement in April/May 2008 "Gunsmoke"

We are in an important election year, and it’s vital to ensure that our elected officials keep our point of view in mind. It is too easy to just complain among ourselves about bad bills that are passed, good bills that don’t get passed, bad court decisions, or any other political development we don’t like. We as law-abiding firearms owners need to effectively communicate our perspective to our elected officials. I have a few suggestions for accomplishing this that vary in difficulty from very easy to a little more time-consuming.

1) Educate yourself. This is essential to all of the following suggestions. Find out who your officials are. An excellent resource for this is here. You can enter your Zip Code and find your officials. If you have problems with this or need help identifying your elected officials, please contact me. Also, find out how your officials are actually voting on important issues. You can’t always be sure that their actions match their campaign promises. I am instituting a “Legislative Corner” in each issue of “Gunsmoke” that will give an update on firearms-related issues, focusing on Ohio issues.

2) Vote. This is an obvious suggestion, but it’s surprising how many people do not vote, especially in off-year elections. Not only does your vote obviously count directly in electing firearms-friendly officials, but, by voting in every election, you make the actions suggested below even more effective. Although how you vote is secret, how often you vote is public knowledge, and you will be taken much more seriously if you vote in every election than if you never or rarely vote.

3) Contact your officials. It is a fact that letters, phone calls, and other communications are extremely effective in influencing public policy, especially at the state and local level. Politely, respectfully, and firmly express your opinion on specific legislation. You can find out bill numbers and other information from “Gunsmoke” and other resources. You can also express your general support of firearms-related rights and of ORPA’s efforts in defending those rights.

4) Renew your ORPA membership and recruit new members for ORPA. When I and other ORPA officers communicate with officials, our membership level is very important to the level of influence we have. Also, a higher membership level makes for a financially healthier ORPA, enabling us to better support not just legislative efforts, but competitions, junior and disabled shooting, and our many other programs.

5) Contribute to campaigns. Ohio has an interesting feature in its tax law whereby Ohio taxpayers can give money to candidates in Ohio races at effectively no cost to the taxpayer. Qualifying races are those for the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Ohio Board of Education. If you give up to $50 as a single taxpayer or $100 as Married, Filing Jointly, to the campaign committees of candidates in these qualifying races, you can then claim a tax credit on your Ohio return for that tax year. This is a tax credit and not just a deduction, which means that the entire amount of your contribution, up to the limits mentioned above, can be taken off of your tax liability when you file. Please note that this is for the state-level races named above only, not federal or local races. I urge you to take advantage of this Ohio tax feature during this important election year. Please include a letter with your contribution expressing your support of the shooting sports, hunting, and firearms rights for law-abiding citizens and your membership in and support of the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association. This will help ORPA in our efforts to defend your rights and promote the shooting sports.

6) Take someone shooting or hunting. The more people involved in the shooting sports, the stronger our sports and the greater our influence. Juniors are particularly important in this regard, since they represent the future of our sports. Also, make new participants feel welcome at your competitions, so they continue to be involved.

If you have any questions on any of the above suggestions, please contact me. Although all voters influence the political process, it is a fact that those who are most involved have the most influence. We as shooters, hunters, and collectors need to effectively participate in the political process to defend the principles we all hold dear. Your Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association is working hard to defend these principles, but we need the help of every one of our members.

Representative Jim McGregor Speaks at ORPA Meeting

State Representative Jim McGregor, 20th Ohio House District, spoke at the March 30th ORPA Trustees Meeting. Mr. McGregor discussed his support of firearm rights, along with his commitment to hunting and shooting sports. He also spoke about his efforts to ensure funding of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in the future. He then answered a few questions from the ORPA Trustees.

ORPA is committed to education and awareness of important Ohio issues, and we therefore invite any Ohio state government officials and candidates to discuss issues of importance to ORPA members at our meetings on a time-available basis. Interested officials and candidates should contact me to arrange a date.

ORPA/Friends of Camp Perry Pop-up Match

The Pistol Pop-up Target Match at Camp Perry that was co-sponsored by the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association and the Friends of Camp Perry was a big success. We had 171 shooters, and, because many shooters shot more than once, we had 40 full relays of 10 each. I'm sure the Friends of Camp Perry will have photographs on their site in a few days, but, meanwhile, here are a few that I took.

The first picture shows the little pop-targets prior to the start of the relay. They do not stay up like this during the actual shooting. Various ones pop-up for a few seconds until you either hit them or they go back down. The next two pictures show shooters on the line. The final shot shows the mud that was omnipresent. You can click on an image to see a larger version.

Trustees Meeting on Sunday, March 30th

There will be a Trustees Meeting on Sunday, March 30th, starting at 9:00 a.m., at AMVETS Post #89 in northeast Columbus. You can get a map here. All ORPA members are invited, although only Trustees can vote on issues at these meetings. It is a good opportunity to see what's going on with your organization and to become more involved. Please see the right side of this web-page for information on future ORPA meetings, including the Annual Meeting in November.

Pop-up Target Match at Camp Perry, 3/29/08

This is a reminder of the pistol match being held at Camp Perry next Saturday, March 29th, where you get to shoot at pop-up targets. This is sponsored by the Friends of Camp Perry and ORPA. Details are here. Some pictures from the last pop-up match for rifles are here, and some from the last pistol match are here.

DC vs. Heller Arguments This Week

The oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court Second Amendment case, DC vs. Heller, will be given this coming week. See here for more information and links concerning this case, which will almost certainly be the most important such case in decades. This includes the State Firearms Association amicus brief, to which ORPA contributed. A couple of good web-sites for tracking developments are here and here.

ORPA Testimony on HB 264: "Castle Doctrine"

I testified on behalf of Ohio House Bill 264 at a hearing today. Please note the bill's sponsor and co-sponsors. The hearing was for the Criminal Justice committee, chaired by Representative White. The corresponding bill in the Ohio Senate is Senate Bill 184. There were two proponents and two opponents testifying in reference to this bill. Ken Hanson, of the Buckeye Firearms Association, was the other proponent, and Mr. Hanson gave his usual excellent testimony on behalf of this bill. The Buckeye Firearms Association deserves a tremendous amount of credit for their hard work on this and much other legislation.

The two main arguments advanced by the opponents were: 1) There is no need for this legislation, since self-defense is sufficiently covered in common law, and 2) Passage of the legislation would enable true criminals to claim self-defense in any case of a shooting. In response to the first argument, unfortunately there have been cases where people's lives have been severely damaged after being forced to defend themselves. Ryan Cundiff is one such person. For the second argument, instead of hypothetical nightmare scenarios, which the anti-self-defense advocates love to cite, we can point to many other states which have similar laws and none of the problems predicted.

I urge you to contact your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to move this vital legislation forward. You can find out who your representatives are and keep track of legislation in the "Ohio Legislation Status" area on this web-page.

Ohio "Castle Doctrine" Bills Receiving Hearings Next Week

[UPDATED - There will be no hearings on SB 184 this week. See here for more information.]

The Ohio House version of the "Castle Doctrine" legislation will have a hearing again this coming week. The House committee handling HB 264 will have a hearing at 9:30 a.m., Thursday, March 13th. You can find out more about this hearing and the bill here, here, here, and here. Please also keep an eye on the "Ohio Legislation Status" area on the right side of this web-page. There, you can find links to Ohio bills and help in contacting your representatives.
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"Columbus Dispatch" Covers OSU Rifleman

There's a nice article about Sam Ohlinger of the OSU Rifle team here. You can get more information, including links to some OSU and Akron team sites, here.

Lones Wigger for U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame

Please consider voting on-line for Lones Wigger for the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Lt. Col. Wigger was a three-time Olympian and served his country honorably in Vietnam. You can read more about Lt. Col. Wigger and vote here. The voting card is on the right side of the web-page.

Recruiting New Members

I hope you will consider joining ORPA, if you are not already a member, and recruiting new members, if you are. Now is a great time to join or renew, since dues are going up on April 1st. You can print out the form here, fill it out, and send it in to the address given.

When I and other ORPA officers communicate with officials, our membership level is very important to the level of influence we have. Also, a higher membership level makes for a financially healthier ORPA, enabling us to better support not just legislative efforts, but competitions, junior and disabled shooting, and our many other programs.

Important Election Year Information

We are in an important election year, and it’s vital to ensure that our elected officials keep our point of view in mind. It is too easy to just complain among ourselves about bad bills that are passed, good bills that don’t get passed, bad court decisions, or any other political developments we don’t like. We as law-abiding firearms owners need to effectively communicate our perspective to our elected officials.

Ohio has an interesting feature in its tax law whereby Ohio taxpayers can give money to candidates in Ohio races at effectively no cost to the taxpayer. Qualifying races are those for the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Ohio Board of Education. If you give up to $50 as a single taxpayer or $100 as Married, Filing Jointly, to the campaign committees of candidates in these qualifying races, you can then claim a tax credit on your Ohio return for that tax year.

This is a tax credit and not just a deduction, which means that the entire amount of your contribution, up to the limits mentioned above, can be taken off of your tax liability when you file. Please note that this is for the state-level races named above only, not federal or local races. See the information concerning this tax credit for the 2007 tax year (entered on Line 55 of the tax form IT 1040) on page 24 of this. However, please note that any contributions made this year (2008) cannot be used for a tax credit until your 2008 tax return is filed early next year.

I urge you to take advantage of this Ohio tax feature during this important election year to support those Ohio candidates who support our rights. Please include a letter with your contribution expressing your support of the shooting sports, hunting, and firearms rights for law-abiding citizens and your membership in and support of the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association. This will help ORPA in our efforts to defend your rights and promote the shooting sports.

Phone Call From Congressman Latta

Recently, I received a phone call from Mr. Bob Latta, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 5th Ohio District. Congressman Latta has been a member of ORPA for many years and has shot at Camp Perry. He indicated his continuing support of issues important to ORPA members and his strong support of Camp Perry while he served in Ohio Government. He stated that he fully intends to remain a strong supporter of issues important to Ohio shooters and hunters now that he is in Washington. Congressman Latta was one of the signers of the congressional amicus brief for DC v Heller, discussed below.

Right to Carry in National Parks

Our National Parks prohibit law-abiding, responsible citizens who have received a concealed-carry license in Ohio the means to defend themselves and others while enjoying the parks. The Bush administration and most of the U.S. Senate have asked the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider this policy. Neither of Ohio's U.S. Senators signed a letter requesting this change in policy. You can read more about this here.

Phone Call from U.S. Representative Space's Office

I received a phone call today from Jillian Carroll, who is with the office of U.S. Representative Zack Space, 18th Ohio District. She indicated the Representative's support of issues important to ORPA members. Congressman Space was one of the signers of the congressional amicus brief for DC v Heller, discussed below. She specifically mentioned Representative Space's co-sponsorship of U.S. House H.R. 4900, which attempts to reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. More information on this bill can be found here.

Camp Perry in the Spring

We're having a very wintry day here in Ohio, so I thought folks might like a little taste of Camp Perry, Center of the Shooting Universe, in the Spring. Please note the spectactular Buckeye trees. Click on an image for a larger version.

Ohio House BIll 478

Ohio House Bill 478 will enable those Ohioans who obtain a concealed-carry license to claim the license fee as an Ohio income-tax credit. Therefore, assuming their Ohio income-tax liability is greater than the license fee, they will eventually be fully reimbursed for the cost of the license. This bill was introduced on 2/14/08 and has not yet been assigned to a committee. Further information on this bill can be found on the Buckeye Firearms Association web-site.

Ohio House Bill 450

Presently, Ohioans must be 21 years of age to purchase handguns. The only exception to this is for those 18 or older who are sworn police officers. Ohio House Bill 450 would make a similar exception for military servicemembers. The bill would permit active or reserve members of the armed services or Ohio National Guard, who have received firearms training, to purchase handguns for personal use, such as target and recreational shooting, hunting, and self-defense.

Camp Perry Opportunities

There are a couple of ORPA-related opportunities I wanted to let people know about. First, the Friends of Camp Perry have a program where you can purchase an engraved paver brick that will be placed in the Shooters Memorial Plaza at Camp Perry. Details are here.

Also, the same group and ORPA co-sponsor a series of very enjoyable matches at Camp Perry, where you can shoot at pop-up targets. There's a pistol match in the Spring and a rifle match in the Fall. The next pistol match is on Saturday, March 29th. Details are here.

Some pictures from the last pop-up match for rifles are here, and some from the last pistol match are here.

OSU Rifle Athlete on LiveChat

Feb. 18, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Meyer (meyer.504@osu.edu/614.292.1389)

Chat Live with Rifle’s Sam Ohlinger at 11 a.m. Friday

X’ Marks the Spot: Buckeye Student-Athlete Tutors U.S. Army in Marksmanship

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sam Ohlinger, a senior captain on the Ohio State rifle team, will hold a live online chat from 11-11:30 a.m. Friday to answer fans’ questions. Fans can submit their questions in advance or may participate live through the website at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. To submit questions on the live events page, click on the ‘blue people’ icon on the right side of the screen. Online chats with Ohio State student-athletes are free events and do not require participants to register for Buckeye Vision.This past December, Ohlinger instructed the U.S. Army’s Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion in advanced marksmanship principles. The senior is on track to graduate in June with a degree in political science and plans on attending law school next year. Click here to post a question for Sam Ohlinger

Emily Meyer
Ohio State Athletics CommunicationsRoom
124 St. John Arena
410 Woody Hayes Drive
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: 614.292.1389
Fax: 614.292.8547
E-mail: meyere@buckeyes.ath.ohio-state.edu
ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Briefs filed for DC v. Heller

Most of the NRA-affiliated State Associations have collaborated on an amicus brief for DC v. Heller. Here is a Washington Post story on this case and the case's Wikipedia entry. The Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association has assisted with this brief for what will probably be the most important Second Amendment ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in our lifetimes. The brief can be found here.

Members of the U.S. House and Senate have also signed an amicus brief for DC v. Heller. 55 Senators and 250 Representatives signed the brief. The list of signers is here. The following Ohio legislators signed this amicus brief: Representatives Boehner, Chabot, Hobson, Jordan, LaTourette, Latta, Pryce, Ryan, Schmidt, Space, Tiberi, Turner, and Wilson and Senator Voinovich. In addition, 31 states, including Ohio, have filed a separate amicus brief in support of overturning the DC gun ban. Attorney General Marc Dann represented Ohio as co-counsel for this brief.

Ohio's own Buckeye Firearms Association has also filed an amicus brief, as has the NRA. All briefs and a great deal of other information about this case can be found here.

Akron/OSU Rifle Match

I went up to the University of Akron on February 2nd to see the match between the rifle teams of Akron and Ohio State. I found it very interesting and enjoyable, and I think the shooters are a fine group of young men and women in whom Ohioans should take a lot of pride. Also, both coaches are involved with ORPA: Newt Engle of Akron is a Trustee and the Collegiate Director, and Pat Cherry of OSU is a Past President. I plan to write an article for "Gunsmoke" about this and include team photos, but I thought folks might enjoy seeing the team photos in full color, so here they are. Here are some related web-sites:

University of Akron Rifle Team

Ohio State University Rifle Team

OSU Rifle Team Boosters