by Chad D. Baus
October 19, 2003
www.OhioCCW.org

This 'Defense' Walk was special. It wasn't about cameras or quotes. It wasn't about crowd size or soundbites. It wasn't about the Supreme Court or Republican double-speak.

Instead, this Walk was solely focused on the hundreds of victims of violence in our state whose circumstances could have turned out far differently if a concealed carry law had been in effect when they were attacked.

The average Walker drove 114 miles to attend the event, making them anything but average rights supporters. They came to honor a young hero, and they were joined by that hero's family.

On this Sunday, October 19, the family of James A. "Tony" Gordon came to Senate President Doug White's hometown of Manchester to honor their 27 year-old son, father, brother and uncle Tony, and to send a message to President White, who declined an invitation to attend.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Nearly 100 people openly carried firearms (and picnicked) at the Potluck Picnic and 'Defense' Walk in Lorain on Sunday. There were men and women of all ages, people young, old, short, tall, black, white - all there supporting our right to self-defense.

One participant named Scott, reported that "from the moment the first group stepped off and out of the park, car horns started blowing from supporters in the traffic, including a couple of long blasts of an air horn from a passing pumper
of the Lorain Fire Department."

The local radio station, WEOL, deserves kudos for steadily announcing the event Sunday morning, and for giving details and directions.

OFCC's Greg Kopp reports "the Cleveland-area Walk was covered by the local CBS affiliate, WOIO 19. The coverage was fair. The facts, as far as I could tell, were correct. Dan White, the organizer, got a quote, as well as OFCC President Jeff
Garvas (identified as a Bill Supporter). The anchor correctly finished the piece by saying that 45 states already had a CCW law." Channels 8 and 43 (Action News) also covered the event - details on their reporting to follow.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which had up until now not covered the 'Defense' Walk movement anywhere in Ohio, did send a reporter and photographer to Lorain. Both the Lorain Morning Journal and Elyria Chronicle Telegram also sent reporters.

Click on the Read More... link below for links to post-Walk media coverage.

Drivers and residents honked car horns and waved, or gave a thumbs-up sign, to the 100+ openly armed 'Defense' Walkers in Swanton Sunday. At least two residents came out and joined the Walk as it progressed by their homes. This group was probably the most diverse, in terms of gender, that we've seen yet. Many women, many families with children.

Fox Toledo (Ch. 36) reported that about 100 people walked in downtown Swanton supporting concealed carry and vividly demonstrating the clear options of open carry on the street versus the many advantages of concealed carry.

The Toledo Blade gave good coverage in two stories leading up to the Walk, but did not send a reporter to Swanton. Most notable was the absence of Toledo's ABC, NBC and CBS affiliates. Each station received emails, faxes and phone calls announcing the event, and inviting their coverage. Since these news stations have shown willingness to cover such non-events as five people with a "No War" sign (and to make them look like a hundred or more), there can really be no other explanation for their no-show than they didn't want the message to get out in Toledo.

Walkers expressed interest in staging an empty-holster Walk in downtown Toledo, as an expression of how Toledo law renders law-abiding citizens defenseless, in direct conflict with the state Constitution and Supreme Court.

In Toledo, Municipal Code 549.18, Weapon possession in public places prohibited is cited by Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre as the basis for arresting Ohioans who attempt to exercise their Supreme Court-recognized "fundamental individual right" to openly carry a firearm for self-defense in his city.

Click here to read a letter from the Toledo Police Department on the subject of open carry in Toledo.