Chairman William Coley, II has announced that the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee will be hearing sponsor testimony on House Bill 48 (Eliminate many 'no-guns' victim zones) on Wednesday, January 27 at 8:45 a.m. in the South Hearing Room.

As passed by the House, HB 48 seeks to restore Ohioans' right to carry in day-care facilities (unless they post "no-guns"), private airplanes, school safety zones, and in non-secure areas of police stations and airports.

The bill also contains "opt-in" language which would to allow authorities governing college campuses and certain government buildings the ability to allow concealed carry.

Places of worship, which already have the ability to "opt-in," would see no changes under the current version of the bill.

According to a New York Daily News report, with a single exception, every multiple-victim public shooting in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed since at least 1950 has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry their own firearms.

It is time to stop enforcing these 'no-guns' victim zones and give people back their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense.

Please contact your state Senator TODAY and politely urge him or her to support this critical pro-gun legislation.

Click here to read the bill in its entirety.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.