November 29, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes told central Ohioans how he really feels about the new concealed-carry law passed in January.

In the Nov. 18 Dispatch article "Conceal-carry process clarified", he said: "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."

I guess only the sheriff’s reasons are acceptable when it comes to owning a firearm. Try these reasons and compare.

First, Karnes must not be aware that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement has no duty to protect individual citizens because a person’s security is his or her own responsibility. Second, the Bill of Rights allows peaceable citizens to keep and bear arms without infringement from the government. Finally, Ohio’s concealed-carry law is "shall-issue" legislation, which means the permit must be issued to anyone who applies and meets the qualifications. Good luck, Franklin County!

Wayne Green
Lancaster

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Wed Nov 17 08:11:49 2004:

I can’t help but comment on what I’m reading about this issue of parks banning guns. If I’m attacked by man or beast while I’m in the park system, would they agree to be responsible/ liable for injury that occurred on their property because I was denied my right of personal protection?

Recently, my wife and I took our dog for a walk in the park, and encountered a small pack of dogs which we had known to be collecting there over the last few days (we walk our dog there every day).

When first spotted, they were about 50 yards away. As we continued to walk, our dog became alarmed, and began barking and acting like something was very wrong. We looked back at the pack, and saw that the Alfa male was trying to slip up behind us.

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I told my wife to keep going, because IF something bad happened, I hoped she would be safer. I looked back again, and the Alfa male (I’m guessing shepherd-lab mix, weighing 50-60 lbs.) was now 50 feet from me, with his head down. He WAS coming after us.

What to do here, and where will the results lead? Because we go there every day, we have the phone number of the park office, and I called them as this dog approached. Their response? “We know about the dogs, we called the warden couple days ago.”

I wasn’t going to wait days for a dog warden – we could have lost life or limb right there and then! I pulled the .22 I am licensed to carry and fired a shot into the ground in front of him, hoping to scare him off. Thank Heaven it worked.

Thanks to having my concealed carry license, nothing bad happened to us. I found my wife and dog in the parking lot, and got to go home and eat lunch with my family, instead of spending the day in the hospital, with a veterinarian, or worse.

Rick

Now that the dust is beginning to settle following the implementation phase of Ohio's new concealed carry law, people are beginning to settle in and examine the new law: Where is it working? Where are improvements needed?

Indeed, as OFCC indicated upon passage of the bill nearly one year ago, there are many aspects which, by diminishing the number of licenses obtained, will lessen the downward pressure on crime, and which must therefore be fixed with future legislation.

In an online poll being conducted by the OFCC PAC, one of the most-frequently identified problems OFCC members and supporters say needs attention is the "open carry in a motor vehicle" mandate.

We will begin to address how to move forward on making such improvements in the coming weeks and months, but when considering this specific problem, it is also important to take a look back at how the language made it into the law in the first place.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

The Youngstown Vindicator reported last week that when an employee of Larry's Lounge on Hillman Street exited the bar carrying cash, he was surprised to find someone waiting for him.

After being greeted by the employee, the Vindicator says the man pulled a ski mask over his face and lifted an "Uzi-type" gun from under his coat, shouting "This is a holdup!"

The news story goes on to say the employee diverted the would-be robber's attention by saying, "Look over there!" While the masked robber looked away, the employee ran behind a parked car, drew his own gun, and pointed it at the would-be robber, who fled.

The employee, after doing some investigating of his own, identified the suspect for police, who indicated the man has tried to rob others in the parking lot.

The following stories depict robberies of (unarmed) employees by serial criminals elsewhere in Ohio:

Cincinnati Post - November 23, 2004
Three men arrested last week following the robbery of a University Heights convenience store, shots being fired at officers, and three-hour standoff with a SWAT team were indicted Monday. After a silent alarm was activated by a store employee during the robbery, the trio is accused of being in the car that was pulling out of the store's parking lot just as police were responding. The car was pulled over two blocks away and one suspect was arrested. The other two fled into the woods on Riddle Road where they were accused of breaking into apartments at 724 Riddle Road and holding residents of those apartments hostage. After the stand-off, the two surrendered without hurting the hostages. The pair also are charged in a Nov. 8 robbery of the Days Inn at 2280 Central Parkway in University Heights and an Oct. 28 robbery of the Checks Cashed at 2182 Queen City Ave., Westwood.

Toledo Blade - November 27, 2004
Northwood police are looking for help in identifying a man who has robbed the same gas station twice in three weeks.
The first robbery at the AP gas station, 4433 Woodville Rd., occurred at 10:15 a.m. Nov. 3. The second holdup was at 3:15 p.m. Nov. 20. The suspect brandished a black revolver both times, investigators said. It is unknown how he gets to and from the gas station. No vehicle has been seen, detectives said.

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Attacked in workplace parking lot

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