Two state lawmakers say legislators barely have a chance to learn the ropes before their time is up under term limits.

State Representative Shirley Smith of Cleveland wants to extend term limits for state legislators from eight to 12 years. But Representative Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati wants to do away with them entirely.

Smith and Yates, both Democrats, plan to introduce their proposals when the Legislature reconvenes in two weeks. Both would require voter approval.

The lawmakers say term limits may have brought in fresh faces and new opportunities, but they've also created instability in the General Assembly, with novices sometimes being put in key positions.

Opponents of term limits have argued that elections serve as natural term limits. But voters who approved term limits in 1992 saw the restrictions as a way of getting rid of entrenched politicians.

Click here to read the story from the Ohio News Network.

Related Story:
Op-Ed: The curse of term limits in Ohio

Cleveland Plain Dealer
09/18/03

Two Cleveland brothers who went on a springtime armed-robbery spree also robbed the city of a business, a visitor and its quality of life, their victims said yesterday.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Boyko agreed, and meted out unusually long sentences to Deshaun and Terry Scott: 20 years for 19-year-old Deshaun, and 27 for Terry, who is 21.

They admitted to two robberies in Collinwood on March 28, one targeting bread-truck delivery driver Douglas Wilson of Strothers and the other against Emanuel Bernadelli, 82, who has run Maxim's Foods on East 185th Street.

Six days later, afraid of beefed-up police patrols, the two crossed town and robbed a United Dairy Farmers store in Lakewood.

Police also believe the brothers and two accomplices probably were responsible for a half-dozen similar heists in Collinwood.

All three victims said the robberies scarred them, especially Wilson, who watched one of his assailants push a revolver into his chest and pull the trigger, to no effect. Wilson said he and his family no longer visit Cleveland, and he took a pay cut to drive a different route because of the trauma. Bernadelli said he plans to move Maxim's, a Collinwood institution for 55 years, to the suburbs.

City Councilman Michael Polensek railed against the two, saying they "terrorized my community," before asking Judge Boyko to give them the maximum sentence.

"What the two of you represent is a lessening of the quality of life in Cleveland," he said. "We're losing residents and losing businesses because of people like you.

"A message has got to be sent: This is not going to be tolerated."

Boyko sent it.

"When crimes of this nature occur in the community, it has a ripple effect," Boyko said before announcing the sentences. "Our community and its reputation take a dive."

Commentary:
Our state's reputation is taking a dive, as one of only 5 remaining in the nation without some legal mechanism for citizens to legally bear arms for self-defense.

Then again, who cares about reputations? There are lives being lost. There are businesses moving out of state or closing their doors. Consider these recent headlines:

Cincinnati: Is downtown safe?

Cleveland: Cleveland robberies send men to prison

Columbus: More people looking for ways to curb crime

Dayton: Fleeing carjacking victim shot in Dayton - AGAIN

Toledo: Toledo gun control laws amount to colossal failure

Meanwhile, the Senate's Republican leaders return to work at the Statehouse, seemingly intent on continuing their political protection of Bob Taft by obstructing Am. Sub. HB12 from being considered in a conference committee. This simply should not be.

September 18, 2003
Akron Beacon-Journal

I am in favor of stricter gun control because of people like the person who fired a shotgun into a Holmes County cornfield and killed a 23-year-old (``Enraged motorist kills prankster,'' Beacon Journal, Sept. 3). His reaction was absurd and certainly not appropriate.

But why is it that people have not commented on the dangers of throwing objects at vehicles driving through near-complete darkness? Instead it has been characterized as a "harmless prank'' and a "ritual.''

That ritual could easily cause a driver to be so startled as to wreck his or her car and possibly other cars on the road.

The aim would have to be good, but what if a car window was down and the driver was actually hit? So many folks have commented on the innocent fun these "kids'' were having. I'd call it reckless and stupid behavior.

Getting out of one's car and shooting into the darkness is sickening. But having objects purposefully launched at one's vehicle in the name of good, clean fun is irresponsible and violent.

Coming from a 5- or 6-year-old it would be a mistake. From a 23-year-old, it should be criminal.

Jennifer L. Klika
Cuyahoga Falls

Commentary:
All the gun control laws in Ohio did not stop this unstable person from committing his act of violence. This writer sees can't see the forest for the trees. ANYTHING - even a rotten tomato - can be used as a weapon in the hands of someone who intends to do harm to others.

Click here to read the letter in the Akron Beacon Journal.

This Columbus pedestrian had the extremely unfortunate opportunity to learn that running away is no more an acceptable form of self-defense than is the OSHP's suggestion to "driving off" when attacked. Apparently this criminal had no idea that carrying a concealed firearm is illegal in Ohio, and that politicians in his own city are working to keep it that way.

September 15, 2003
Last month’s shooting of a South Side man is the crime of the week in the Crime Stoppers program.

Andre Jones was walking on Lockbourne Road, south of E. Livingston Avenue, about 1:45 p.m. on Aug. 19 when a black man briefly spoke to him. The man followed Jones, showed a handgun and demanded money and jewelry. Jones refused and ran toward E. Livingston. The man fired several shots and one struck Jones in the back, seriously injuring him.

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The assailant ran to a nearby vehicle and drove away.

He was described as 23 or 24 years old with a small mustache and hair in 2- to 3-inch braids. He wore bluejeans, a white shirt, a red and white Atlanta Hawks cap (backward) and a silver or platinum waistlength chain with a cross.

Crime Stoppers is offering up to $2,000 for information received by Sept. 24 that leads to an arrest and indictment. Information received after that could qualify the caller for a lesser reward. Call 614-645-TIPS (8477).

Crime Stoppers takes calls from people with information about any felony. A coding system protects the names of callers.

Reward money comes from individuals, businesses and foundations. Donations, which are tax-deductible, can be sent to Crime Stoppers, Box 16038, Columbus 43216-6038.

Information about Crime Stoppers and this crime can be found at www.stopcrime.org, the Central Ohio Crime Stoppers Web site.

Click here to read the story in the Columbus Dispatch (subscription site - paid access only).

September 12, 2003
Newark Advocate

Another Fourth of July has come and gone, and there is not a more revealing and compelling picture of why we are free to celebrate the Fourth of July than a picture of a quill pen lying next to a musket rifle on a table along with a draft of the Declaration of Independence. What followed the Declaration of Independence reveals why the musket at the table is inseparable from the quill pen.

When British soldiers marched on settlements in the colonies, word spread from house to house for the men -- and yes, even boys -- to bring their guns and join together in defending their families, their homes and their liberty. These spontaneous rag-tag militias were critical to the success of the Revolutionary War.

Let us be thankful that we still retain the right to keep and bear arms in order to defend ourselves from those who would do us harm.

Oops, I got caught up in the moment and forgot - we Ohioans have our Second Amendment right taken away by our state government. Some of our state representatives have tried to restore that right to us, but Gov. Taft lets others decide for him what is right and wrong. In other states across America, law-abiding citizens have this right to protect themselves. In Ohio, we are criminals if we exercise this right. How long will we have this right infringed? Only until we elect a governor who has the courage to do what is right.

Jack Mussetter
Newark

Click here to read the letter in the Newark Advocate.

September 12, 2003
Columbus Dispatch

I congratulate the Columbus Division of Police for its vigilant pursuit of people with open containers at the Ohio State football game Aug. 30. The police issued more than 50 tickets for open-container violations at the game.

By the way, at that same time, a worker at a Wendy’s restaurant was shot to death. It is too bad the shooter didn’t have an open container — he might have been arrested.

DAVID M. STRAPP
Columbus

Click here to read the letter in the Columbus Dispatch (subscription site - paid access only).

Click on the "Read More..." link below to view an excellent follow-up email, entitled "Don’t blame police for city’s lack of priorities."

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Toledo: Disarmed (smoke-free) citizens, well-armed criminals

"Senate President Doug White (R – 14th District) speaking at a March 2003 US Sportsmen Alliance legislative reception said:

"I am a strong proponent of the right to carry. I do not own a gun. I served in Uncle Sam’s Army where I used a sidearm and the M-14. I understand the proper use of a firearm and the power of a firearm. I absolutely and totally, to the bottom of my soul, understand the rights of law-abiding citizens. I do not care how big a gun is or how fast it will fire; if it is in the hands of a law-abiding citizen it does not intimidate me. I cannot understand those in our society who are intimidated by law-abiding citizens. The Senate had a lot of work on the issue last year. If the House acts quickly, we will probably also act quickly and send a bill to conference."

While speaking at the same reception, Senator Steve Austria (R – 10th District) (who chairs the Criminal Justice Committee which amended HB12 so poorly), stated that "the Senate is expecting to act quickly. We want to have a bill that can become law and not die in a conference committee or be vetoed by the Governor. I expect we can get a bill out of the Senate."

TODAY: These Senate leaders' words about HB12 were far different than their deeds. Under Senator White's leadership, Senator Austria's committee filled the bill with poison pill amendments, the most egregious of which would prevent families from protecting their children in a personal vehicle, and would strip away affirmative defense rights (however flawed) that Ohioans currently have.

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Of their work in June, Sen. Austria said "...Of all the changes made by the Senate, as a father, I am most proud of the work we did to ensure the safety of Ohio children under this bill." Senate President Doug White said "the bill as passed by the Senate gives law-abiding citizens the opportunity to protect themselves by carrying a concealed weapon, while protecting the best interests and safety of all Ohioans."

Over the summer months, the Buckeye State Sheriffs and Fraternal Order of Police have weighed in. These Senators now know:

• The amendments of which they are so proud are viewed by Ohio's two major law enforcement organizations as inherently UNSAFE.

• Ohioans are dying trying to follow the Ohio State Highway Patrol's advice to "drive off" when attacked in their cars.

• The are holding hostage the very bill they crafted to avoid death-by-conference-committee, refusing even to appoint conferees to such a committee.

Sen. White can still act as a leader, appoint conferees that would modify the bill into an acceptable form and send it to Gov. Taft's desk. This is what the Sen. White who spoke this spring would do. Exactly who are we dealing with in September remains to be seen.

Related Stories:
Ohio General Assembly Fall Session Schedule

Words above Deeds? Sen. Doug White says ''I want a [CCW] bill.''

Insisting on 'Carjacker Protection': What does Bob Taft have against children?

Ohio Law Enforcement Summit on Am. Sub. HB12 Scheduled!

September 15, 2003
Cincinnati Enquirer

Starting today, Cincinnati residents who want to apply for building permits, pay water bills or visit their elected representatives at City Hall will be subject to search and passed through a metal detector.

City Manager Valerie Lemmie is instituting the restrictions at the request of Vice Mayor Alicia Reece, who said a July trip to New York - where a councilman was shot and killed at City Hall - awakened her to the need for tightened security.

"We can't be prepared for terrorists if we don't have simple security measures in place right here at our own City Hall," Reece said. "We're trying to send a message to people when they come to City Hall that we're trying to make it safe for you."

But as a recent op-ed by Dr. John Lott points out, rules like these would never have prevented New York City Councilman James E. Davis' murder - and many would actually make future similar crimes more likely.

Click here to read the entire story in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read Lott's New York Post op-ed.