In a pre-9/11 poll, 67% of Ohioans said they preferred a CCW law that had training and background checks. Yet this isn't what we've been hearing from the gun ban lobby, now is it?

After reading these results from Zogby, you'll have good reason to expect that 67% figure has gone up in Ohio, as the numbers have gone up nationwide. We certainly don't expect to be seeing these new findings in the national headlines this week. But it is BIG national news.

The highly respected research firm Zogby International has conducted the first installment of its 2004 Zogby Values Poll, surveying 1,200 voters nationwide on issues that included firearms and hunting. Working with the Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University and the O`Leary Report, Zogby`s questions interestingly examine differences in thinking between people living in the states that voted for George Bush in 2000 (Red states) and Al Gore (Blue states).

On firearms, at least, they all seem to agree. Click on the Read More..." link below for the good news.

Jan. 22, 2004
Chicago Sun-Times

Three days after Christmas, someone broke into the DeMar family home in
Wilmette through a dog door, stealing a television, an SUV and the keys to
the home.

The next night, Hale DeMar was prepared for a return visit. With his children upstairs, DeMar, 54, shot burglar Morio Billings, 31, in the shoulder and calf, police said.

Billings was caught at a nearby hospital and charged with felony residential burglary and possession of a stolen car, authorities said.

And, in a move that has drawn criticism, DeMar was cited with breaking Wilmette's ban on handguns and with failing to update his firearm owner's identification card.

The misdemeanors are unlikely to bring jail time. Wilmette Police Chief George Carpenter did not criticize DeMar for protecting his family but said homes are safer without handguns.

DeMar, in a letter sent to the Chicago Sun-Times, is now speaking out:

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read the letter.