In a November 17, 2004 story published in her home state of Alabama, Dr. Condoleeza Rice, current National Security Advisor and recently-nominated Secretary of State, spoke out on how growing up in a segregated South formed her views on many issues, including gun control:

Rice, 50, head of the National Security Council, was raised in Birmingham by parents who believed strongly in religion and achievement through education. Her mother taught at Fairfield High School. Her father was a minister at Birmingham's Westminster Presbyterian Church who also worked as a high school football coach to augment his salary.

Rice has said memories of Birmingham's racial turmoil shaped some of her core values.

The Ohio Supreme Court could not have been more clear. The Court was so clear even the anti-CCW media reported it correctly:

FRANKLIN CO. SHERIFF JIM KARNES WAS WRONG TO DEMAND "PROOF OF NEED" FOR A T.E.L. APPLICATION.

Apparently there is one person left in the state who still doesn't get it:

Nov. 18, 2004, Columbus Dispatch:

[Karnes] has issued three emergency permits, but all three have expired, and a person can apply for the emergency permit only once.

"You got to have a reason to be scared. Otherwise, I'm going to have people
filing applications for an emergency permit that really don't have a reason to
have a gun," Karnes said.

He is seeking further clarification from the state attorney general's office.

Either Karnes is planning to keep asking until he finds someone who will agree with him, or he is unable to understand simple instructions about how to enforce the law.

If the former, he's going to be asking for quite a while. If the latter, he should not be allowed to continue in his job as sheriff of one of the most populous counties in our state.

Related Stories:
Media coverage of Supreme Court ruling uniform: A WIN for CCW

Ohio Supreme Court Unanimously Affirms OFCC Position on TELs

Franklin Co. Sheriff needs help with the definition of ''OR''

November 18, 2004
Slate.com

Guinea Get Your Gun

By Emily Yoffe

I pressed the Beretta AL391 Urika deep into my shoulder and against my cheek, as if gripping a shotgun stock were as natural as holding the strap of my purse. I said, "Pull," in a firm yet casual way, to convey that, sure I drove here in a Volvo, and the radio in the Volvo is tuned to NPR, but I'm actually the kind of woman who loves the smell of cordite in my hair. Two weeks ago I was so ignorant about firearms that I thought shotguns discharged bullets and I didn't know the difference between a revolver and a semiautomatic. But here I was shooting trap, in which clay disks, the moving target simulating a bird in flight, are released at unpredictable angles from a small trap house. As the "pigeon" flew on my command, I swung the shotgun to follow its arc and pulled the trigger. My instructor called out, "Oh, yeah!"

"What happened?" I asked.

"You hit it," he said.

"I did?" I replied.

I called "pull" again and fired. Even I could see this orange disk disintegrate. "Pull," pow! "Pull," pow! My excellent instructor, Ricardo Royal, is a large man, but was surprisingly light on his feet as he did a little dance next to me and sang out, "Annie Oakley, Annie Oakley." I took turns with my fellow student, a middle-aged man who consistently missed and who now looked as if he'd be happy to forget about the target and blast me instead. (It was a look I have provoked in many other people, who fortunately were unarmed.)

In Human Guinea Pig I engage in unusual activities and hobbies. This time I wanted to see if a novice—a nervous novice—could in a few lessons learn how to be a decent shot. I do understand that there is nothing unusual about owning firearms. Surveys show almost half of American households have them. But I live in the District of Columbia, which has one of the nation's toughest gun laws. Residents are not allowed to own handguns, and if one of us feels a need to discharge a weapon, we are supposed to file a request with the chief of police asking for permission. (He must spend all his time answering yes, as D.C. has one of the country's highest murder rates.)

Click here for the complete editorial on Slate.com.

November 19, 2004
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Matius: Spada's gun barrel ad loaded with misinformation

by Julie Carr Smyth

Columbus - Some Cuyahoga County voters found themselves looking down the barrel of a gun a couple of days before the Nov. 2 election. In the form of a glossy campaign flier, that is.

The startling gun barrel ad, distributed by the Ohio Republican Party for State Sen. Bob Spada, was aimed at discrediting Democrat candidate Robert Matius in the race for the u-shaped 24th Senate District that rings outer Cuyahoga County.

It accused Matius of having "dangerous ideas" about concealed weapons because he was supported by the pro-gun Ohioans for Concealed Carry.

November 17, 2004
WDTN Dayton (NBC Ch. 2) (click for complete story)

Two Colonel White students were carjacked while stopped at a local store to buy drinks. Police say they stopped at the AM PM Market on Salem Avenue to buy sodas.

The owner and driver of the car went in to by the sodas and his cousin stayed in the car. That is when the suspect came up, opened the driver’s door and got inside to steal the car. The suspect started driving away and that’s when the cousin bailed out of the car while it was moving.

The victims suspect they were after the chrome wheels on that car. They say they're mad about this. “Me and my wife work hard to give him the best. He has a nice car. He has spinners on his car. It’s the wheels. I was scared to get them when we got them but it was something that he wanted. And I try to give my kids what they want if they are doing good in school. He’s graduating this year. So he deserved it,” said the victim’s father.

Police tell us they have identified the suspect in this carjacking but they're not releasing his name just yet. They are hoping officers will be able to track him down or that he’ll turn himself in.

Commentary by OFCC Senate District 10 Coordinator Larry Moore:

These kids were lucky. They were not harmed and they got their car back. Tony Gordon was not so lucky the evening he was shot and killed in Dayton for his car.

When parents think about "giving their kids the best", as noted in the story, they need to also think about giving their kids the training to survive in an increasingly hostile urban jungle. While these young people are too young to own a handgun or get a CHL, there are self-awareness programs, such as the NRA's Refuse to Be A Victim, that teach people how to avoid sending signals to become easy victims. Perhaps our school system (with many failing in the basic math, science, English scores) are also failing to help prepare kids for the real world.

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d=01fd95fbf3bf7c537e6f041af7fb8c0b" target="_blank"> src="http://www.OhioCCW.org/files/tonygordon.jpg" height=129 width=100
border=0
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Tony Gordon's murderers have never been brought to justice, and his family still grieves. The Dayton media has largely ignored their story and refused to promote a memorial fund dedicated to the victim's daughter and nephew. Why? Because instead of blaming the gun, his family spoke out, calling on the legislature to overturn laws that render innocent citizens defenseless.

During this Holiday season, please consider making a generous donation to the Tony Gordon Memorial Fund.

November 18, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

A western Ohio Democrat who garnered national attention in 2000 when he became the youngest House member in state history at age 18 says he is joining the Republican caucus.

Rep. Derrick Seaver of Minster in Auglaize County, now 22, said he plans to make the switch official at a news conference today with Ohio GOP leaders. Seaver declined to discuss his reasons until then.

It is the first time in recent memory that a state representative has switched caucuses.

Seaver, who was unopposed for re-election as a Democrat two weeks ago, campaigned for President Bush and said he "felt more at home in the Republican Party," said Rep. Jon Husted, R-Kettering, the incoming speaker.

Husted said Seaver, a conservative Democrat, approached him during the summer and said he was considering switching parties.

"I told him we would welcome him," Husted said.

By joining the GOP caucus, Seaver gives the Republicans a 60-39 advantage in the House. That could be significant because 60 votes are needed to override a veto or to place a constitutional amendment on the statewide ballot.

Democrats criticized Seaver for switching two weeks after running for re-election as a Democrat and said he is failing his constituents in Auglaize, Champaign and Shelby counties.

"Derrick Seaver is a very young man who is making a mistake," said Rep. Chris Redfern, House minority leader.

Technically, Seaver, who resigned two months ago as chairman of the Auglaize County Democratic Party, will remain a registered Democrat until he votes as a Republican in a primary. But he is free to join the GOP caucus, officials said.

Seaver was just old enough to vote when he won his first race for the Ohio House in 2000 by just 242 votes. His district was revised in 2001, and he won in 2002 with about 58 percent of the vote.

UPDATE! The Dispatch has published a follow-up story, covering yesterday's press conference:
Youngest lawmaker, who backed Bush, says Democrats have become too liberal (online subscription required)

Commentary:
Derrick Seaver is a two-time OFCC PAC endorsee, and a strong supporter of the right to bear arms for self-defense in Ohio. No matter what party he was a part of, he could always have been counted on to support your right to self-defense. As a member of the majority party, however, he will earn a greater role in crafting legislation which will help improve Ohio's concealed carry law, or to "reform the reform".

During his first reelection campaign in 2002, then-House Minority Leader Dean DePiero said Seaver is "one of the most articulate and hard-working Democratic representatives." His four years in the Statehouse have earned him far more from his Democrat colleagues than a backhanded slight over his age.

Related Stories:
Fine Young (pro-CCW) Democrats
...They're not too young to understand the Constitution. Both Seaver and Bailey support the right of Ohioans to carry concealed weapons for self-defense, as recognized in Ohio's constitution.

Wapakoneta Daily News: CCW Bill Returns
“I think [concealed carry] makes a lot of common sense, if you think about it,” Seaver said. “If you are a criminal and it is your goal to prey on innocent people, you will be a lot more reluctant to do that if they might be armed.”

No matter what Ohio media citizens are exposed to today, the verdict is clear: Ohio CCW won a huge victory in the Ohio Supreme Court Wednesday.

The most comprehensive story was prepared by T.C. Brown of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. We have prepared a commentary to accompany the story, which is provided in below. Links to other stories are also provided.

Top court widens gun-license path in urgent cases

November 18, 2004
Cleveland Plain Dealer

by T.C. Brown

Columbus -- County sheriffs must process applications for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed gun from residents with an affidavit that says they or their families are in danger, the Ohio Supreme Court said yesterday.

In its first ruling on the state's new concealed-carry law, justices unanimously said applicants need only the affidavit and no other proof to be eligible for a 90-day temporary license.

Advocates of the law called it a "huge victory" for potential victims.

The case began after Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes denied an application submitted by Josephine Lee on April 8, the first day the new law went into effect. Lee was worried about a stalker prowling around her Columbus home.

Federal record barred hunting trip

November 18, 2004
Cleveland Plain Dealer

Most people don't need a presidential pardon to go hunting. But an Ohio man did.

On Wednesday, Fred Pitzer of Xenia got it.

The 51-year-old machinist got word that President Bush pardoned his nearly 30-year-old federal conviction, clearing the way for Pitzer to obtain a weapons permit.

"I was jumping up and down," his wife, Mary, said. "I think he deserves it. He's such a good guy. I know he's very happy and pleased."

Pitzer was among six people in the nation who received a presidential pardon Tuesday. He works an evening shift and could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Pitzer, a registered Democrat, was convicted in 1976 of a federal charge of interstate transportation of fake securities. He was driving the car in which a friend was carrying bogus money orders, Mary Pitzer said.

Click here for the full story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

FLASHBACK: December 25, 2002 - President Bush pardons TN man so he can get his CCW permit