Buckeye Reporter

Linda Walker, a prominent figure within gun rights advocacy circles, is supporting Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose's bid for U.S. Senate, highlighting his longtime support for Second Amendment rights.

Walker is Central Ohio Chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association and the NRA Election Volunteer Coordinator for the Ohio 12th Congressional District and previously served on Donald Trump's "Gun Owners for Trump." She's also an NRA-concealed carry instructor and was elected to the NRA Board of Directors in 2011.

Walker expressed concerns over GOP candidate Bernie Moreno's voting record and past comments he's made about gun control. 

“That's really disturbing, this is the type of thing we hear from the anti-gun or not, someone who's proclaiming that they're conservative,” she told the Buckeye Reporter. 

Walker’s comments come after a 2019 podcast resurfaced in which Moreno showed he has historically been in favor of gun control instead of being on the side of fundamental Second Amendment rights.

In an Aug. 2019 interview with Cleveland tech podcaster Michael Hudek on his “Fortify your Data” show, Moreno questioned the necessity of high-capacity magazines and proposed universal background checks

"This whole gun debate? Damn. We can't say, 'This is how many magazines a gun can have'? I mean… what gun do you need to have a hundred bullets in it?” Moreno told Hudek. “That doesn't mean I'm gonna take your God damn gun away, but do you really need a hundred bullets at one time?”

During the same interview, Moreno also suggested that opposing such laws may indicate mental illness.

“I mean, do you have that kind of ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder)? I mean, are you in that kind of a hurry?” he said. “You're like, 'No, no, no. I wanna shoot 100 bullets at the exact same time.’”

Walker praised LaRose's dedication to defending gun rights, citing his perfect voting record in support of Second Amendment legislation.

“It made it very easy for me to support Frank, because he is the only one in the race that's got a 100% voting record,” she said.  

Walker said she cast her vote on behalf of LaRose on the first day of early voting in the primary.

“I actually already voted for Frank on the first day of the primary elections,” she said. “I supported Frank, for the better part of the past year knowing that he was going to run and I'd taken him out to Indianapolis, or he came out to Indianapolis during the entire annual meetings, and I introduced him to some folk, and, connected him with our federal lobbyist.”

Having already cast her vote for LaRose in the primary elections, Walker highlighted LaRose's long-standing allegiance to the Republican Party compared to Moreno's previous Democratic affiliations, portraying LaRose as a steadfast defender of constitutional rights.

“In Ohio, it's so easy to look, someone's in most of the counties, or how someone has voted, in the primaries because we've got to declare the party," she said. "So that makes it pretty transparent from my understanding and Moreno had previously voted Democrat and, I believe Frank has always voted Republican.”

She underscored LaRose's military service in the Army and his commitment to upholding constitutional principles, stating that he possesses the qualities necessary to serve as Ohio's next U.S. Senator.

"You're either a true believer, whether it's the Second Amendment or the Constitution as a whole,” she said. “I believe our forefathers got it right when they wrote it 200 plus years ago and you either believe in it or not. And Frank has never given me any reason to pause where he stands for our constitutional rights. And I so appreciate his continuing service to our country in the Army. As an Army mom.”

Moreno, an entrepreneur, has strategically avoided rigid positions on gun control issues, aiming to appeal to suburban voters.

Meanwhile, since Ohio enacted a "permitless concealed carry" on June 13, 2022, gun crime has fallen in six of the state's largest cities.

Political endorsements highlight the ongoing debate over gun control within the state's political landscape.