An East Side man late last night shot and critically wounded his wife in front of a trio of Columbus police officers before the officers turned their guns on him, killing him, police said.

Columbus police said they received calls shortly after 10 p.m. that a man was chasing and shooting at a woman as the couple ran through a neighborhood just east of Hamilton Road and south of Whitehall.

The calls eventually led police to the front yard at 4334 Britt Place.

Officers found the man on top of the woman in the yard, holding her down, said Sgt. Brent Mull, spokesman for the Columbus Division of Police.

In front of three officers, the man then shot the woman.

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September 19, 2003

Termination time. Will legislators admit what they know?

Two Ohio House members have bravely stepped forward to challenge the conventional wisdom about legislative term limits, approved by the state's voters in 1992, years of frustration culminating in misguided action. For too long, the assumption has been that revisiting the issue would be futile. Tyrone Yates and Shirley Smith argue convincingly that voters are now ready to hear the truth about what term limits have done to the legislature's ability to resolve the issues Ohioans care about the most.

Term limits hit in 2000, House members bound to four successive two-year terms and Senate members to two successive four-year terms. Proponents had waged their campaign in 1992 with well-worn, but largely unchallenged arguments used in other states. Term limits would shake up the political establishment. Fresh faces would bring new perspectives. The influence of lobbyists, fund-raisers and unelected bureaucrats would be broken.

Yates, a freshman Democrat from Cincinnati, and Smith, a Cleveland Democrat, correctly see that the reality has been far different. They would take different approaches, with Smith pushing an extension rather than an outright repeal. The two lawmakers are in firm agreement on the current mess at the Statehouse.

A chaotic legislative environment, lacking the crucial guiding instincts of veteran legislators, has resulted. By the time legislators learn the ropes, gaining perspective on the issues and the process, they are forced to leave. Lobbyists, fund-raisers and longtime bureaucrats now exert more influence, not less. Grandstanding for short-term gain replaces the gritty work of tackling long-term problems.

"I wish I knew (why),'' Smith says her constituents who voted for term limits tell her these days. They would like to see action on education and health care. Instead, they get endless debate over issues such as allowing Ohioans to carry concealed weapons.

Yates calls term limits "an artificial answer'' that should be re-examined in light of the legislative record the past three years.

Commentary:
The Beacon Journal editorial board just can't resist taking swipes at the grassroots effort to restore Ohioans' right to choose to bear arms for self-defense, even in an article about term limits.

On this much we do agree - term limits ARE responsible for the seemingly endless debate on concealed carry reform.

The lack of accountability enjoyed by term-limited legislative leaders, whose own constituents would never stand for their obstructionism on concealed carry reform bills, can be laid squarely at the feet of term limits. Term-limits have created lame-duck leaders from the day they are re-elected to their final term. Constituents who were unhappy with Dick Finan's obstructionism on HB274, or who are unhappy with Doug White's obstructing HB12, have no recourse against them.

And some politicians, who wish for job appointments from the anti-CCW governor once they cannot run for re-election, find themselves answering more to Bob Taft's political directives in order to "stay on his good side", rather than supporting legislation their constituents elected them to support.

Click here to read the entire editorial in the Akron Beacon-Journal.

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

September 17, 2003

When frantic screams rippled through her quiet Pataskala home, Sharon Gibson feared her mother had fallen and hurt herself.

Her concern quickly turned to horror when she found her 81-year-old mother lying on the floor, struggling with an intruder.

"I went out my bedroom door and saw him dragging her by the hair," Gibson said. "When he saw me come out, he grabbed me and threw me across the room."

After battering both women, the intruder fled, leaving Gibson and her mother, Lillian Riley, with bruises, sprains and a lingering sense of uneasiness.

"I really don’t know what’s behind this, but we are very worried," Gibson said.

Pataskala police are searching for the man, who reportedly parked his car in Gibson’s driveway around 9:30 a.m. on Monday.

He entered through an open garage door before knocking on a locked door leading to the house that 51-year-old Gibson and her husband share with her mother, said Pataskala Police Chief Chris Forshey.

Riley answered the knock and opened the door, Forshey said. Then the intruder pushed her down and dragged her into a bedroom.

He hit her on the head and asked if there was anyone else home.

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At that point, Gibson came downstairs and the man attacked her, Forshey said. Meanwhile, her mother ran to a neighbor’s home in search of help. The neighbor was gone, so Riley waited in the nearby yard.

Moments later, the man fled in his car, hitting Gibson’s mailbox as he backed out of the driveway. He was gone by the time police arrived.

Gibson said medics later treated her two sprained ankles, hurt shoulder and bruises. Her mother suffered a sprained neck, facial swelling and other injuries.

As she and her family begin to recover, Gibson hopes their story will serve as a warning to others: "We don’t have any enemies. This could happen any time to anyone."

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

September 10, 2003
Portsmouth Daily Times

Dodge City, bloodbaths, shootouts in the streets, wild west scenarios, road rage shootouts, lower level of law enforcement safety. These are phrases that have been used many, many times in the 44 states that now have a realistic concealed carry law. These very same words are now in use in the remaining states that have not passed that realistic concealed carry law.

Even in the great state of Ohio these phrases are used almost daily when concealed carry is discussed. Some of these phrases are used by some of our elected officials, some used by our states leading law enforcement officers, and some are used by members of the anti-gun community.

When the 44 other states that now have concealed carry laws on the books first started out, these phrases were also used prior to the implementation of the concealed carry law during the legislative process. Those states that did implement the CCW laws were actually waiting for some of these things to happen. Guess what? They never did.

Many people think that concealed carrying of a weapon is a bad law. I’ve spoken with people from the surrounding states of Ohio and some of them think that CCW is a bad law, so I ask only one question to them, "If it’s such a bad law why hasn’t any state that has a concealed carry law in place repealed it?" Of all the 44 states that have a concealed carry law there has never been a state repeal that law.

Perhaps it makes a person think, is Ohio doing something wrong? Is Ohio behind the times? Besides, who wants a dramatic reduction in violent crimes, an increase in law enforcement safety, and a feeling that one would know that they could protect themselves, their children, and their loved ones in a crisis situation?Of all the 44 states that have a concealed carry law there has never been a state repeal that law.

I, for one, would love to have such problems as a reduction in violent crimes, safer law enforcement officers, and knowing I could protect my family.

If you feel the same way as I do, contact Ohio Senate President Doug White and encourage him to appoint conferees to work out the unsafe language contained in the Senate amended version of House Bill 12.

Rick Jones
Sciotoville

Rick Jones is the OFCC PAC Senate District 14 Coordinator.

Three men who Lincoln Heights police say killed two people IN THEIR CARS, and committed a host of other crimes, were arrested Tuesday.

Their accomplice, however, is still at large.

Henry Woods, 26, and brothers Jermaine Lowery, 24, and Randall Lowry, 24 were indicted on murder, robbery and arson charges. They were tracked down in Chattanooga, Tenn., because they were acting suspiciously and were driving a stolen car.

Police are still looking for the fourth suspect, 24 year-old Nicholas Bolden.

The men face charges in two murders and a list of other felonies that include carjackings, robberies, kidnappings and arson - and those are just the ones police know about. Police believe there were several more victims who never reported the robberies.

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