January 22, 2004
Newark Advocate

HEBRON -- A retired police officer, a Zanesville bar owner and a construction worker who spends a lot of time on the road have this in common: They each plan to get a concealed gun permit and say the number one reason they will start carrying a weapon is for personal protection.

"I do a lot of time on the road. You never know where you might end up," said Dave Greenlee, 37, of Zanesville.

Greenlee, who works in construction, said he plans to get a permit as soon as possible once he completes the mandatory 12-hour gun safety course. He said he "definitely" wants his wife to have a permit, too, and carry a gun for her personal protection.

In light of overwhelming interest as tracked by a recent online survey by The Advocate, the newspaper asked people at an area sporting goods store why they intend to start carrying a concealed weapon. Of the 1,900 respondents to the non-scientific poll, 78 percent said they intend to apply and carry a weapon.

William Dawson, 64, of Somerset, said he probably won't carry a handgun all the time, but there are places where he travels that having a handgun is reassuring.

Dawson, who retired from a career in law enforcement, said: "There are times it would be a comfort to carry -- not all the time, but there are areas it would be a comfort to know it's there."

Ohio became the 37th state to pass a right-to-carry law after Gov. Bob Taft signed the controversial bill early this month. The law is slated to go into effect April 11.

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January 22, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

Why would The Dispatch publish the Jan. 9 article with the headline "Ohio fares poorly on firearms safety"? This headline would have summarized the article much better: "Groups that wish to ban private firearms ownership unhappy with Ohioans exercising constitutionally protected rights."

Between 2000, when Ohio had a C rating, and 2004, when Ohio received a D, was there any significant increase in gun deaths? How was the "fact" arrived at that death rates were 33 percent higher for F-rated states than for A- and B-rated states?

A quick check by the Dispatch staff into FBI statistics would reveal the truth. The newspaper has an obligation to check facts before printing them. Death rates did not and have not changed upon passage of Ohio’s concealed-carry law. This law has not even been implemented, yet these groups state that it would have changed our safety rating. How scientific is that? There is no valid scientific correlation between these anti-constitutional, gun-banning groups’ ratings and firearms safety.

I wonder how many people besides myself subscribe to The Dispatch just for the Sunday coupons.

ROBERT W. HAMMOND III
Marysville

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COMMENTARY

By Diana Wagman

Guns are bad. All my life, it's been that simple. At my son's preschool, if a child pointed a banana and said "bang," he was admonished to "use the banana in a happier way." As far as I was concerned, the 2nd Amendment gave us the right to protect ourselves against invading armies, not the right to buy a gun and keep it under our beds.

So what would make someone like me change my mind? I met this gun enthusiast. As research for my new novel, I asked him many questions, all the while voicing my disgust. My character might use a gun, but I never would. "Come to the range," the gun guy said. "I'll teach you to shoot."

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