Ohioans For Concealed Carry would like to invite you to join
senior OFCC staff at the First Annual OFCC/TDI Fun 'n Gun!

This fun event will be hosted by the Tactical Defense Institute, Ohio's premier tactical training facility. This event will be a combination of basic tactical training and IDPA type scenario shoots. Geared for both beginning and advanced shooters, it promises to be a day of fun for all.

When:
Sunday, April 3rd
9am-5pm

Where:
Tactical Defense Institute
2174 Bethany Ridge
West Union, OH 45693

100% of the proceeds from this event will go to the OFCC PAC to help fight to get representatives elected to the Ohio legislature who will represent YOUR rights!

Join instructors from both TDI and OFCC as we kick off spring with a bang!

The (UK) Sun is reporting that the rate of armed attacks against British citizens continues to soar out of control.

In the news story, Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Keith Povey blasted the rise in violence recorded by police as “unprecedented”.

He stressed: “The public, police and the Government are rightly concerned about the level of violence routinely displayed on our streets.

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“There has been a troubling increase in the use of firearms." (emphasis added)

This is an extraordinary statement, given that Britain has already banned just about every type of weapon that a criminal might want to use. Handguns were made illegal in 1997, and nearly every other firearm (even BB guns) is now subject to a complex regulatory regime.

In the Sun story, Povey also highlighted the terrifying knife culture spreading across the country. His warning, says the Sun, came within hours of a man going on a stabbing rampage in North London, leaving one dead and five seriously injured.

The Sun reports incidents of violence against individuals soared nearly 15 per cent to 955,800 in 2003/04 — up from 834,900 the previous year. Burglaries of homes and businesses fell to 818,600 in 2003/04 from 888,800.

Sir Keith urged new Home Secretary Charles Clarke and police chiefs to crack down on the soaring violence, particularly the explosion in gun and knife use.

He stressed that less than one in four crimes leads to a conviction. The Tories seized on the official report to blast Labour’s failure to tackle
violent crime.

Shadow Home Secretary David Davis fumed: “After seven years of this Government, violent crime has spiralled out of control.

“This report demonstrates why people think it is not safe to walk the streets for fear of being attacked."

Meanwhile, in a country where civilian ownership of firearms, and the practice of carrying them concealed for self-defense purposes, is at an all-time high, another news report says crime in Ohio cities is following a trend experienced by the rest of the nation: DOWN.

Crime fell in Mansfield during '04

"For the second year since 2000, unless there is a massive spike in crimes until the new year, violent crime will be down by 11 percent and overall crime down by 4 percent," police Chief Phil Messer said.

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Columbus murder rate drops big in '04

Columbus, the state's largest city, saw a dramatic 20 percent drop: 89 homicides in 2004 through Friday afternoon, compared with 111 in 2003.

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Cincinnati homicides decrease 12% in 2004

After five straight years of increasing killings, Cincinnati finished 2004 with a 12 percent decrease in homicides.

Sixty-six people died from homicidal violence in the city last year, compared with 75 victims in 2003. The 2004 total is slightly skewed because it includes two victims who died from injuries sustained years ago, most recently a 69-year-old man beaten in 1991.

The pace of killings slowed dramatically in the second half of 2004, when 26 people were slain - compared with 39 during the same time period in 2003. The 75 victims in 2003 marked a 26-year high.

Lesson, Americans? GUN CONTROL DOESN'T WORK to reduce crime or enhance safety. It is a failed social experiment, and should NEVER be tried here.

Related Stories:
Op-Ed: Add Gun Control To Litany Of Misbegotten Gov't Plans

National Post (Canada) - More gun control isn't the answer

Gun Control Failure: British Residents Trained to Treat Gunshot Wounds

Op-Ed: Whither Gun Control?

On Christmas Eve, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported that the Brown County Sheriff's office would be down to just one cruiser starting at the beginning of the year.

The Brown County News Democrat has published a more detailed story, which reveals that the sheriff's office is preparing to release felons because they do not have the funding to keep them incarcerated.

While residents learned of staff reductions and budget shortfalls in the Sheriff's office on Monday, Brown County Common Pleas Court Judge R. Alan Corbin and Prosecutor Tom Grennan had to begin preparing to release convicted felons from jail.

It was not something Judge Corbin was prepared to do.

"I think that it's imperative that we be able to put felons in jail or prison if and when necessary," said Corbin. "I have an interest in seeing that our felons are incarcerated."

Corbin said that if he is forced to make decisions of who will be released, it will be a difficult one that he and Prosecutor Tom Grennan will have to look at together.

"We shouldn't have to allow felons to be freed like this," said Corbin.

According to the story, the Brown Co. Commissioners office approved the 2005 budget on Dec. 17. The Commissioners cut $730,000 from the previous budget.

Cuts were necessary, the paper says, because the county's revenue has declined slightly and the cost of doing the county's business continues to increase.

The Sheriff's office took the hardest hit because it has the largest part of the county's expenses. The office uses around 40 percent out of the general fund. Brown County Sheriff Dwayne Wenninger said that he has more operations money than all other departments put together.

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

Two days after a Greene Co. couple was shot at and assaulted after stopping to help a woman who was flagging them down on a roadside, another violent attack on a would-be good Samaritan in Akron highlights the need to be prepared to defend your life in ANY situation.

The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that a 59-year-old good Samaritan was jumped and beaten after he stopped to help a woman change a flat tire at West Market Street and Grand Avenue.

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According to the newspaper, Joseph Kish III told officers that he pulled over at 7 a.m. Wednesday when he saw the woman in trouble. As he walked up to her, three men attacked him and hit him numerous times. One of the blows struck Kish in his right eye, leaving it swollen shut and badly bruised.

Police told the Beacon Journal they believe the Norton man was set up and that the woman didn't have a flat tire.

Police say Kish was robbed of $25, his driver's license, a credit card and other cards.

After the assault, Kish experienced chest pains, and was taken to Akron City Hospital. The newspaper says he told officers that he had open heart surgery in late October.

The Beacon Journal reports the woman whom Kish tried to help was in a four-door '90s Buick. One of the attackers was described as black, in his 30s, 6 feet 5 inches tall and 300 pounds, but descriptions of the other men weren't as detailed.

December 29, 2004
New York Post

by Dr. John Lott Jr.

This month the National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report on gun-control laws. The big news is that the academy's panel couldn't identify any benefits of decades-long effort to reduce crime and injury by restricting gun ownership. The only conclusion it could draw was: Let's study the question some more (presumably, until we find the results we want).

The academy, however, should believe its own findings. Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, a survey that covered 80 different gun-control measures and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun-control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents.

From the assault-weapons ban to the Brady Act to one-gun-a-month restrictions to gun locks, nothing worked.

The study was not the work of gun-control opponents: The panel was set up during the Clinton administration, and all but one of its members (whose views on guns were publicly known before their appointments) favored gun control.

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

by Chad D. Baus

Having lost legislative battles against concealed carry reform in Ohio and across the country, having seen the unsuccessful Clinton Gun Ban go down in flames, having watched another anti-gun Presidential candidate get beat on the gun issue, and having witnessed crime rates fall nationwide even as more and more Americans carry firearms for self-defense, the Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control Inc.) has been reduced to trying to spin recent news stories about the numbers of CHL applicants in states that have recently passed laws.

On its website, a recent Brady Bunch headline screams "Ohioans Reject Concealed Handguns – No Interest in NRA’s CCW Law". The story claims that "very few people actually want to walk around with a hidden handgun" in Ohio, and that "the same lower-than-expected numbers on gun license applications have come out of Michigan, Minnesota and Missouri, each of which has approved new concealed carry laws since 2001." In what is purported to be a statement proving their conclusions, the story quotes Bob Corwell, Executive Director of the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association (BSSA), as saying applications are "down 30 percent [from projections]" in Ohio.

What these gun ban extremists don't tell their readers is WHY Cornwell says applications are less than some expected, nor do they tell the truth about what the Ohio Legislative Service Commission's actual estimates about how many CHLs would be issued in the first year actually were.

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

The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that authorities are investigating a bank robbery that occurred Wednesday morning in Kenmore.

The story says employees at the FirstMerit Bank in the 1000 block of Kenmore Boulevard reported that three ski-masked men with handguns entered the bank about 9:40 a.m., and demanded money. FBI officials were quoted as saying two of armed criminals jumped over the counter.

Akron police told the Beacon Journal the men were seen running toward 18th Street Southwest and may have left the area in a black car.

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The Beacon Journal makes no mention of the prominently-displayed "no-guns" signs, identical to the one pictured at right. Taken at a Garfield Heights FirstMerit robbery earlier this year, the red sign in the background was posted after the robbery - "This office closed temporarily due to an emergency. We regret the inconvenience."

While no FirstMerit employee has been willing to speak on record, citing fear of being punished at work, after the Garfield Heights robbery one employee did provide comment upon condition of anonymity:

"Over and over we are robbed, and one day someone is going to be hurt or killed. But they will not even consider the safety of their employees or their customers. They think and claim that they are, but it never fails - this happens and they are helpless to stop it. This robbery is another perfect example of them being helpless in protecting us, leaving us helpless to do it ourselves".

FirstMerit has been serving Northeastern Ohio for over 155 years, and purchased branches in Western Pennsylvania in the past decade. Pennsylvania has had a concealed carry law since the late 80's, and up until frustrated Ohio customers began pointing out the hypocracy, these stores have never been posted with discriminatory signs.

Customer Contact Center - 1-888-554-4362
In the Akron area, please call 330-996-6025.
Email: customerservice@firstmerit.com.
(If you would like to hear back from a FirstMerit customer representative, please indicate that in your message.)

IS CRIME ON THE INCREASE IN POSTED BUSINESSES? Is advertising that customers and employees inside your business are defenseless really such a "safe" idea? Click to view a list which documents crimes committed in businesses posted with "no-guns" signs.

Related Stories:
FBI: Ohio bank heists with violent component on the rise

Shots fired by robber at ''no-guns'' First Merit bank

Medina victim sues man who robbed her at First Merit ATM

Another ''no-guns'' First Merit robbery; Branch once held OFCC's accounts

First Merit: Another armed robbery in ''gun-free'' bank

FIVE: FirstMerit victim zone robbed again

Ironic timing for FirstMerit bank to begin posting discriminatory signs

Ohioans For Concealed Carry has learned that there has been a robbery at a parking garage that is leased to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation in Columbus.

While information is still sketchy, initial information is that a female attendant who was working in a ticket booth (behind prominently displayed "no-guns" signs) was robbed on Wednesday morning, December 29.

The criminal informed the attendant that he had a gun, took her purse and stole her car. The attendant is being described as having been "shaken" by the incident.

The scene of the robbery is one block away from the main downtown Columbus police headquarters.

According to our information, the BWC is now offering "personal safety tips" to its employees as a means of consolation. But as regular readers of this website may recall, the BWC was offering advice that was promoting anything personal safety earlier this year, when it published an article advising private businesses to post signs rendering concealed handgun license-holders defenseless.

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

FLASHBACK: Sen. White admits to existence of HB12 vote trading for Taft job appointments

According to sources for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, term-limited Senate President Doug White will join the governor's Cabinet as director of the Ohio Department of Commerce.

The appointment, which the newspaper says is expected to be announced today, allows Gov. Bob Taft to fill the vacancy created when he named Commerce Director and Lt. Gov. Jennette Bradley to be the new state treasurer.

The newspaper observes that although White has no back ground in banking or finance, he will now head an agency that regulates state banks, and oversees the securities marketplace.

White, 62, has expressed a desire to find "life after the legislature", in part because (as he told the Columbus Dispatch last week) continued state employment will allow him to qualify for a state pension.

Some of the worst problems with Ohio's concealed carry law today can be traced back directly to Sen. White's unwillingness to commit to a veto-override.

State Rep. Lynn Olman (R., Maumee) witnessed firsthand Mr. White's loyalty to Mr. Taft.

"I think the appointment speaks for itself," Mr. Olman told the Toledo Blade. "Doug has been a good trooper for the governor, a loyal servant."

As Ohio CHL-holders go about their business each day, struggling to comply with provisions such as the 'plain sight' car carry language, or fearful of attack due to having their right to self-defense on the trip to and from work banned by their employer, or suffering discrimination due to having their name published in a newspaper hoping to deter others from obtaining licenses, they should remember the name Doug White.

Bob Taft did.

Click here to hear White explain why he was unable to find the votes to beat a threatened Taft veto on Ohio's Concealed Carry Reform bill on year ago. The 4 minute report was filed by Ohio Public Radio on December 17, 2003.

Related Story:
''Life after the legislature'': Doug White likely Taft pick for commerce dir.

The assault by a few media outlets in Ohio on thousands of concealed handgun license-holders who have broken no laws, violated no other persons' rights, and who simply wish to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense continues:

An OFCC supporter has alerted this organization that Trumbull County's Warren Tribune Chronicle has once again abused the media access loophole and published the names of CHL-holders. According to another supporter, the newspaper has published lists of CHL-holders in Trumbull, Mahoning, and Summit Counties on an almost weekly basis since last July. The newspaper does NOT print hunting licenses or building permits. Nor do they print the names of those receiving newly-issued drivers' licenses (a group that truly IS a danger to society).

The Warren Tribune Chronicle was one of the first of now seven Ohio newspapers to have published the names of concealed handgun license-holders as though they were social pariah. For this act, the paper was awarded the "Bandemonium Award" in the July 2004 issue of the NRA's national First Freedom magazine.

The Tribune Chronicle has editorialized that there is no anti-Second Amendment motivation behind it being one of only seven Ohio newspapers to publish the names of concealed handgun license-holders. Readers are asked to believe that this abuse of the media access loophole is done "for the public good." Let us test that logic.

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