by Chad D. Baus

This past weekend, a small group of perhaps a dozen protesters gathered outside Dayton's Hara Arena to protest the sale of modern sporting rifles at Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Show.

From the article:

"We know that guns are being sold on the floor inside Hara Arena illegally" said Jerome McCorry. "No background checks no identification of any kind." McCorry said "AK-47s and M16s are not gonna be used for hunting, they're not going to be used to protect anybody. These are the weapons that are coming back and being used in mass murders and mass killings."

After reading the article, a Buckeye Firearms Association supporter decided to contact McCorry, the apparent protest organizer, to inform him about the inaccuracies in his statements about firearms (it isn't illegal for private individuals to sell a gun at the show without a background check, people aren't selling M16s or fully-automatic AK-47s at Hara Arena, modern sporting rifles are used for hunting, gun shows are rarely used by criminals as a source for guns, rifles [of any type] are used in murders far less than fists or baseball bats, etc.).

The supporter quickly found more than he bargained for. A simple Google search for Jerome McCorry reveals that the man trying to tell the public what weapons they should be allowed to own is a convicted felon.

From the Attorney General's ICrimeWatch.net:

JEROME NMN McCORRY Registration #: 32198

Aliases: Jerome Jordan Physical Description

• Age: 62 (DOB: 02/11/1950)

• Height: 6'01''

• Sex: M

• Weight: 280lbs

• Race: Afr Amer

• Eyes: Brown

• Hair: Black

• Scars/Tattoos: Scar on abdomen (right side) Address

1426 HOME AVE DAYTON, OH 45402-8203 Offenses

• Description: 2907.02 - Rape

• Date Convicted:

• Conviction State: Ohio

• Date Released:

• Details: (Pre AWA) Sexually Oriented Offender

As can be seen in the WHIO-TV video, Anti-Gun-Protestor Jerome McCorry is wearing a jacket and identified in the on-screen graphic as the President of The Adam Project. The Adam Project's website lists its address as 1426 Home Ave., Dayton - the same address as Rapist-and-Convicted-Felon Jerome McCorry.

Jerome McCorry as he appeared

on WHIO calling for gun control

Jerome McCorry as he appears in

the Sex Offender Registry

In short, "Anti-Gun-Protestor Jerome McCorry" and "Rapist-and-Convicted-Felon Jerome McCorry" are one and the same person, and WHIO-TV and The Dayton Daily News have been treating this man as a legitimate voice of reason that should be considered in the debate over whether or not rape and other crime victims should be able to buy firearms in order to protect themselves from attack.

What's even worse, this isn't the first time. A search of the WHIO-TV website shows Jerome McCorry appearing in other articles advocating gun control over the past few years, and one article about an incident in which an Adam Project-sponsored rally turned violent.

The Dayton Daily News has also given McCorry legitimacy, covering a "hoodie rally" sponsored by McCorry and The Adam Project in the wake of the death of Trayvon Martin in Florida, after the 17 year-old allegedly attacked neighborhood watch volunteer and concealed weapons permit-holder George Zimmerman.

Not one of the articles by WHIO-TV or The Dayton Daily News mentions McCorry's status as a convicted rapist who is on the sex offender registry.

Hmmmm........Can anyone think of a reason why this man doesn't want law-abiding citizens to have the ability to defend themselves with firearms?

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.