House Bill 12 has been added to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice's agenda for sponsor testimony only on April 9 at 9:00 a.m. in the North Hearing Room, Second Floor, Senate Building.

Due to security checkpoints, it is recommended that those planning to attend should ARRIVE MUCH EARLIER.

Citizens are more than welcome to attend. But remember, THIS IS SPONSOR TESTIMONY ONLY. Future hearings will be scheduled (most likely after the General Assembly's two-week spring break, which begins Apr. 14) for those wishing to offer testimony.

Please consider wearing your OFCC shirt to show support for the organization.

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Police believe the same man abducted two women from their shops in Worthington and Clintonville last month, raping them and forcing them to withdraw money from their banks.

On March 7, at a shop near Frederick's, a man posing as a customer grabbed the shop owner and raped her at knifepoint inside the store, Columbus police said. He then forced her to drive him to a Downtown bank and withdraw $500. He left her after getting the money.

According to Joan Frederick, who owns Backyard Experience, 3337 N. High St. in Clintonville, the woman has since closed the store and moved from her home.

On Monday, a man matching the same description attacked a store owner in Olde Worthington in a similar manner.

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There is more to protecting your rights than just state-wide elections. May 7 is primary day in Ohio. Many counties have spending issues, revenue issues and races for local elected officials at stake.

IF YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE:
The deadline to be registered in order to vote in the next election is 30 days prior to Election Day. In this case, that makes April 7 the deadline for voting in the May 7 primary.

Click here to request an online Voter Registration form. This form must be filled out and postmarked on or before April 7.

Need to know where to go vote? Not sure if you're registered? Only your county board of elections has information regarding the location of your polling place and your voter registration status. You must call your county board of elections, or go online to your board of election's website.

In early March, we reported that a large rift had formed between Gov. Taft and the GOP-dominated Ohio House.

At the time, we offered the possibility that Governor Taft's obstinance on the budget issue had helped the possibility for a good concealed carry bill to be passed in the House. Less than two weeks later, the House voted for HB12 69-28, ignoring Taft's vocal opposition.

Now, there are indications that the same is happening in the Senate.

With Taft's approval ratings in the toilet, and amidst the Senate's latest battles with our dishonest, shape-shifting chief executive, we believe the climate is much better for HB12 in the Senate than it was under Dick Finan's leadership last December.

We encourage the majority in the Senate to follow the House's lead in passing a good concealed carry reform bill, taking no stock in the opinions of Bob Taft.