Gun rights becoming mainstream

Courtesy of Oleg Volk

Not that long ago, many citizens choosing to carry defensive arms were forced to do so illegally at their own peril. Gun control ran rampant in this country as a result of liberal viewpoints run amok in the sixties and seventies. As a result of the gun control experiment, crime ran rampant and the citizenry was easy pickings for the criminals who had no qualms about breaking the law to be armed.

In the eighties, that all began to turn around thanks to the efforts of thousands of gun rights activists all across the country. The direct result was that concealed carry laws began to pass in state after state, many of them "shall issue" laws requiring that citizens willing to jump through the legal hoops to get a carry permit be issued one regardless of what any local bureaucrat's opinion on armed citizens might be.

Ohio joined that group of states in 2004 and today only two states still completely ban concealed carry. Six years later and now approximately 200,000 Ohioans have been issued a concealed handgun license (CHL). A recent annual report from the Ohio Attorney General reveals that 2009 was a record breaking year for Ohio with 56,691 CHLs issued, beating the previous record of 45,497 the first year of the program.

There are many reasons why citizens of all states, not just Ohio, are turning out in droves to claim their Constitutionally guaranteed right to self-defense. The last year or so has been the perfect storm of conditions that brought us to where we are today.

The economy has been a big factor. Crime has risen as more and more people have become desperate due to job losses and higher prices. Government spending on law enforcement has been cut leading to well-publicized lay offs and decreases in police and sheriff patrols. This leads to people feeling they are on their own and encourages them to take responsibility for their own safety rather on the feeling of security they previously had in thinking a cop was just a phone call away.

Another factor were all the stories in the news over the last year following President Obama's election about gun and ammunition shortages. Fears of gun bans lead to unprecedented sales. People who would never have bought a gun were suddenly buying them, leading some to nominate President Obama as gun salesman of the year. Gun shops were particularly skillful at convincing people to get training to learn to use their new purchase and to get a carry permit so they didn't have to leave it at home.

The media blitz over the record gun sales was just one of many storylines. The Heller case was well publicized after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Second Amendment does indeed guarantee an individual's right to keep and bear arms, and the McDonald case is in the news now as the Supreme Court is set to take up arguments starting Tuesday that could lead to incorporation of the Second Amendment to the states, a legal term meaning the Second Amendment is binding to state and local governments.

Other news stories such as the rule change allowing law abiding citizens to retain their right to self-defense in national parks, armed demonstrators at political rallies, the Second Amendment March, states repealing or working on repealing bans on concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol, various Firearms Freedom Acts (bills that declare firearms made and sold within a particular state are exempt from Federal regulations) and more have made guns an almost daily topic of conversation.

All of this has lead more and more people to realize they have the option to be armed if they choose to be, and they are choosing to be in record numbers. Now, gun rights are more mainstream than ever. With approximately 2% of the adult population in Ohio having a concealed carry permit, not only are you more likely than ever to know someone who carries or who can carry a gun for personal protection, but now they are more likely to talk about it as well.

Thousands of gun owners are also taking advantage of this opportunity to shore up gun rights even further by banding together to work towards a common goal and spread the word. There is something for everyone and every level of activity. National organizations such as the National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, and Gun Owners of America provide opportunities at the national level while groups like Ohioans For Concealed Carry, Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association, and Ohio Gun Collectors Association take a statewide approach. You don't have to rely on the mainstream media to get your gun news thanks to the frequent alerts by the NRA Institute for Legislative Action and the Gun Rights Examiners, the only nationwide network of pro-gun writers.

The fight for gun rights is not over by a long shot, but armed self-defense is no longer something to keep to yourself, but to be celebrated and shared.