Akron Beacon Journal
August 19, 2003

Police have arrested a 24-year-old suspected gang member and charged him in the Friday morning shooting of a bicyclist during the blackout.

John Isaacs of the 500 block of Kenmore Boulevard was being held in the Summit County Jail on a charge of attempted murder for allegedly shooting Dave Drushal, 45, of Akron, as he rode his bike at Sweitzer and East Miller avenues about 1 a.m. Friday.

"We suspect he may be involved in the K-town gang,'' Cozart said. He said the gang is active in the Kenmore area where the shooting took place. "We're still working on that angle.''

Isaacs is a felon, and prohibited by law from possessing a firearm.

The day after the shooting, Drushal's sister, Cynthia Fields, said her brother was out riding his bike during the blackout because he wanted to see what the city looked like in total darkness.

Meanwhile, in a state that allows its law-abiding citizens to carry a
concealed handgun for self-defense, a different outcome resulted when this bicyclist was attacked in broad daylight: (click on the "Read More..." link below)

Guest columnist Will Dougan, 30, is director of music ministries at a Memphis, TN church.

August 17, 2003

"Legitimate defense can be not only a right but a grave duty for one who is responsible for the lives of others."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2265 (1997)

The question "why do you choose to carry a firearm?" has haunted me.

I am a fairly normal guy. I love to eat barbecue, I pay taxes, I vote. I'd like to take my wife out more often (to eat barbecue), I attend church and I'm a baseball fan - just like many other men in Memphis.

One thing that makes me different from some of those men is that I carry a gun. I do so because I truly believe that preserving the safety and well-being of my wife, my children and myself is my duty.

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

The "Million" Mom March, which is a front for the Brady Campaign, which is a front for Handgun Control Inc., has announced that two Ohio newspapers have decided to "stop running classified ads for handguns or assault weapons, except from federally licensed firearms dealers who must make sure a background check is done on the buyer."

The Sandusky Register and Willoughby News-Herald have decided that law-abiding citizens, wishing to sell or buy a completely legal product, will be refused as customers if they wish to place a classified ad.

One wonders if, since automobiles kill many times more people than guns, they also plan to reject classified ads from individuals trying to sell their automobiles.

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

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says that you don't need to be allowed your self-defense rights in a car, because you can just "drive off" from a carjacking or other violent attack.

The Dayton Daily News reports Antonio Ward, 27, was shot in the chest as he drove away from an attempted carjacking at a gas station. He was later transported to a hospital.

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The car-jackers then approached another patron, a friend of Ward, and took his car. The pair have not been found or apprehended.

Police are searching for three men who are to be considered to be armed and dangerous. The car is now riddled with bullets.

Police indicated that they know of no links to the fatal carjacking of James A. "Tony" Gordon earlier this month, but left open the possibility, since Gordon's murderer has still not been found.

OFCC PAC Commentary:
Common sense and evidence of the worst-kind continue to mount against the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Governor Bob Taft.

It is simply not acceptable to suggest that someone can simply "drive off" from a carjacking attempt. These unfortunate and deadly incidents not only prove that concealed carry reform must allow for carrying in a vehicle, but are clear evidence the law must be passed immediately, before more Ohioans are forced to die or suffer serious injury doing what the Ohio State Highway Patrol suggests.

We can't know whether the last three Ohioans to be shot would have chosen to carry a concealed firearm if it were legal. But we DO know they were shot by doing exactly what OSHP Capt. John Born said they should do in that situation. And we DO know that violent crime rates, including carjackings, are reduced after concealed carry laws are passed.

The story can also be found on WTVN Channel 2's Website

Related Stories:

August 5, Dayton: TONY GORDON DIED TRYING TO FOLLOW OSHP CAPT. JOHN BORN'S ADVICE

August 6th, Akron: Carjacker steals vehicle with owner trapped in door

August 15th, Columbus: Yet another carjacking victim who couldn't drive off

Abject failure: Ohio's CCW Ban not working to deter crime