Gun Owner Groups Win Lawsuit Against City of Columbus, Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH – A Columbus Common Pleas Court today granted a permanent injunction against the City of Columbus forbidding it from enforcing its ban against bump stocks.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation and Ohioans for Concealed Carry lodged the suits soon after the ordinance was passed by City Council.

In a strongly worded final judgement, Cain dismantled the argument put forth by Columbus that it had the right to pass the ordinance against so-called bump stocks or trigger enhancers despite the fact that Ohio state law expressly forbids cities from passing their own firearms laws.

Judge Cain wrote in the ruling, “Columbus’ logic doesn’t work. It is clear that a bumpstock is a component of a firearm. Since this is so, the Bump-Stock Ban forbids something that state law allows, i.e. ownership of firearm components. The BumpStock Ban is in conflict with R.C. 9.68.”

“This is exactly what we expected,” said Dean Rieck, Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association. “We told the city that it could not pass any gun laws. But they ignored us and did it anyway. This victory is not a surprise, but it should be a warning to other cities in Ohio. Buckeye Firearms Association will not tolerate infringements against the Second Amendment and will take action against any city that passes unconstitutional laws.” Read more

Gun Control

Sugar Beets for Wildlife

By Glen Wunderlich

When food plot guru, Ed Spinazzola, suggested a dynamic combination of plants was worth a try, I listened.  Although I had never tried to plant soybeans and sugar beets

Coated Sugar Beet Seed

, I did so last year and the results were less than stunning.  But, with another bit of education from the School of Hard Knocks, I’m poised to give it a go, once again.

His advice was sound; it was the execution that was lacking last time around.  The quarter-acre plot had been disked, dragged, and cultipacked with fertilizer and lime added to the mix.  Before that, an application of glyphosate was sprayed to get weeds under control.  However, eliminating a single step in the recipe – a final herbicide application – was enough to spoil all the hard work and expense.  Up came my precious seed – right along with obnoxious weeds to spoil the entre’.  This time it will be different, as long as Mother Nature cooperates.

As bad as the results were, the choked-out beets were there and provided the wildlife some benefit, albeit a pitiful one.  So, a few weeks ago another small site was properly prepared and it became time to wait for the weeds to sprout before zapping them and planting.  Instead of soybeans and beets, brassicas were substituted in place of beans, as a means to hedge the bet.

The seed came from Deer Creek Seed Co. in Wisconsin (www.deercreekseed.com), which specializes in farming and wildlife seed.  The site provides plenty of planting options along with good instructions and a help line, if needed.  The sugar beets, beta vulgaris, are relatively expensive, so it makes sense to become educated before jumping in.  What follows is some of the information relative to sugar beets.

Sugar beets are not only a great crop for sugar production, but are also a fantastic dual-purpose food plot plant.

Sugar Beets

Deer enjoy the leafy tops for forage and will also dig up the sugary roots to eat in late fall and throughout the winter months. Sugar beets will reach a mature weight of 2-4 lbs. each and provide a solid food source for deer. Cooler weather promotes increased sugar content and makes them an extra attractive food source. To achieve best germination, Deer Creek Seed recommends planting sugar beets at least 1/2 to 1-inch deep.

Since I don’t have a grain drill, Deer Creek suggests broadcasting and to make sure to deeply rake the seed in. After planting, make sure the seed is covered in soil.  But, before that – and here’s where I went wrong last year – wait a week or two before planting so you can hit the second crop of weeds that will come up in the bed with another round of herbicide.  It is also highly recommended to use coated seed!  The coating on its seed is a clay polymer that protects the seed in the soil and helps with water uptake. The coated seed will feed better through any spreader, as well.

The final suggestion is not to over-seed, which is another tendency of the beginner.  More is not better, because crowded plants do not flourish.

With a heavy dose of patience and faith, there’s nothing left but to wait.

General

SnapSafe Announces Summer of Security Sweepstakes

Grand Island, NE — SnapSafe®, a Hornady® company, has launched the Summer of Security Sweepstakes.

Grand prize will be a SnapSafe® Under Bed Safe XXL full of the winner’s choice of Frontier® 223 Remington or 5.56 NATOammunition. Contestants can enter at https://www.snapsafe.com/enter-to-win-summer-of-security-sweepstakes by guessing the number of rounds in the safe. For sweepstakes rules, go to https://woobox.com/rzc3kh/rules.

Contestants can guess once — or as often as once a day, every day — through the month of July. The sweepstakes also includes these SnapSafe® security products as weekly prizes:

• July 13 – SnapSafe® Drop Box® Keypad Vault

• July 20 – SnapSafe® 2-Gun Keypad Vault

• July 27 – SnapSafe® Trunk Safe

The SnapSafe® Under Bed Safe XXL features 14-gauge steel construction, a digital lock with key backup and a drawer rated for 150 pounds. Read more

Firearms

Bikes, Backpacks and Gloves Could Face 10 Percent Tariff

The trade war with China escalated this week as the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a new list of products from China that could face $200 billion in retaliatory tariffs.

In what could be a major blow to the $887 billion outdoor recreation economy, travel goods, including backpacks and sports bags, bikes and some leather gloves, were included on the list of products that could face an additional 10 percent tariff. Apparel and footwear, however, were not included on that list.

A public comment period on the list products is open through August 17 with a public hearing taking place from August 20 to 23 in Washington, D.C. The final list of products subject to a 10 percent tariff will be released at some point after August 30.

Backpacks, sports bags, bikes and gloves – essential gear for many outdoor activities – already face import tariffs as high as 20 percent. Additional tariffs will only raise costs for outdoor companies and consumers and threaten the growth of the outdoor recreation economy that supports 7.6 million American jobs. Read more

General

SAF Sues California DOJ Over Failure of Online Registration System

BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation today filed suit against the California Department of Justice and Attorney General Xavier Becerra, seeking an injunction against the agency for failing and refusing to establish a properly functioning Internet-based firearms registration system.

Joining SAF in this legal action are the Calguns Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, Firearms Policy Foundation and three private citizens. The lawsuit was filed in Shasta County Superior Court.

“We’re suing because California DOJ’s Firearms Application Reporting System (CFARS) broke down during the deadline week for people to register their firearms in accordance with new state laws,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “For a whole week the system was largely inaccessible. People who wanted to comply with the law simply couldn’t and now they face becoming criminals because they couldn’t do what the law requires.”

The lawsuit notes that during the week of June 25-30, which was the statutory registration deadline, the CFARS system was inaccessible and inoperable on a variety of web browsers across the state. Many users who were able to initially log in and begin the process could not finish because the system crashed, obliterating all of their work. The CFARS system was substantially underfunded and understaffed from its inception, Gottlieb noted.

“It’s like a bad version of ‘Catch-22’,” Gottlieb observed. “The government required registration by the deadline, but the online registration failed and people couldn’t register. They’re required to obey the law, but the system broke down, making it impossible to obey the law. Now these people face the possibility of being prosecuted. We simply cannot abide that kind of incompetence.” Read more

Gun Control

Dry conditions across Michigan increase the risk of accidental fires

Even if the grass near you looks green, Michigan’s recent hot, dry weather has sucked most of the moisture from this year’s grass and completely dried last year’s growth, greatly increasing the risk of fire.

That means we should all take extra precautions to prevent accidentally starting fires, such as waiting to burn debris and not using all-terrain vehicles, lawn mowers or other outdoor machinery, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

“The layer of decomposing leaves and grasses in the ground has dried out,” said Paul Rogers, fire prevention specialist with the DNR. “That means fires that do ignite will burn down into the soils layer, making it harder, and more time-consuming, to put the fire out.”

In very dry conditions, heat from even a lawn mower or the exhaust pipe of an all-terrain vehicle can ignite dry grass, Rogers said. Things like a trailer chain dragging on pavement also can create sparks. Read more

Wildlife

DOJ, SAF Reach Settlement in Defense Distributed Lawsuit

BELLEVUE, WA – The Department of Justice and Second Amendment Foundation have reached a settlement in SAF’s lawsuit on behalf of Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed over free speech issues related to 3-D files and other information that may be used to manufacture lawful firearms. SAF and Defense Distributed had filed suit against the State Department under the Obama administration, challenging a May 2013 attempt to control public speech as an export under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), a Cold War-era law intended to control exports of military articles.

Under terms of the settlement, the government has agreed to waive its prior restraint against the plaintiffs, allowing them to freely publish the 3-D files and other information at issue. The government has also agreed to pay a significant portion of the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees, and to return $10,000 in State Department registration dues paid by Defense Distributed as a result of the prior restraint.

Significantly, the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military.

“Not only is this a First Amendment victory for free speech, it also is a devastating blow to the gun prohibition lobby,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “For years, anti-gunners have contended that modern semi-automatic sport-utility rifles are so-called ‘weapons of war,’ and with this settlement, the government has acknowledged they are nothing of the sort. Read more

Firearms

Piping Plovers Nest Again On Presque Isle

Common terns also nest on historic beach

For the second consecutive year, a pair of federally endangered piping plovers are raising chicks on Presque Isle State Park’s Gull Point.

Further heightening this breaking conservation news is the nesting of a pair of state-endangered common terns on the same beach, maybe the first time both species have nested there since the mid-20th century.

That these nestings have occurred on Gull Point’s 300 or so acres in the easternmost reaches of Presque Isle is gratifying. Much work had gone into making this area, already considered one of Pennsylvania’s best birding areas, even more attractive to nesting shorebirds and avian migrants.

But the forces of nature that helped create Gull Point – erosion and deposition of sand – continually threaten its size and stability. It is a veritable living landmass, fluctuating in size and other ways with each incoming wave, which is why state and national conservation agencies banded together several years ago to eliminate vegetative cover on its shores for the greater good of wildlife, but particularly migratory birds. Read more

Wildlife
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