File this under the "only you can protect you" category:

6.11.03
The Kent Police Department recently found itself answering misdirected 911 calls from as far away as southern Ohio.

The calls came from Alltel cellular phone users. When a call was pointed to a certain number -- in this case, 911 -- it was being incorrectly translated by the local telephone company, SBC, said Nina Gagliardo, spokeswoman for the northeast region of Alltel.

The 911 calls normally would be directed to the State Highway Patrol.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more of the story, and plenty of other examples on how depending solely on dialing 911 and waiting for police can be very harmful to one's health.

An anti-self-defense letter to the editor from Toby Hoover has been published by the Middletown Journal. The letter contains many of the same false statements Hoover made in Senate testimony last month.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus inserted in blue.

6.12.03

‘Right choice for Ohio’

Gov. Bob Taft stated, after the Columbine massacre in 1999, that he would veto concealed weapons legislation if law enforcement organizations opposed the measure to allow hidden and loaded handguns in public. Law enforcement officials in Ohio are still against a concealed weapons bill despite the efforts of the gun lobby.

Taft stated in April 1999, “If the men and women on the front lines of public safety are saying this will put their lives in danger, this will make it more difficult for them to do their jobs, then I’m opposed to the legislation.

Law allows Alaskans to carry concealed guns without permit
By MIKE CHAMBERS
Associated Press Writer

JUNEAU--Alaskans will no longer need a permit to carry a concealed weapon under a bill signed into law Wednesday.

In signing the bill, Gov. Frank Murkowski lauded the work of the Legislature and the National Rifle Association in protecting the Second Amendment rights of Alaskans.

The bill would adopt the so-called "Vermont Carry" law that allows residents to carry a concealed weapon without a special permit. Vermont has no laws against carrying concealed weapons, the governor's office said.

In Alaska, someone who applies for a concealed handgun permit is required to take a handgun course certified by the state Department of Public Safety.

Rep. Eric Croft, D-Anchorage, said he sponsored the bill out of the frustration with continually fine-tuning the state's gun laws.

Click here to read the story in the Anchorage Daily News.