We've said it before and we'll keep on saying it: so-called "gun free" zones do nothing to prevent persons intent on breaking the law from doing so. Ohio's concealed carry law contains far too many defenseless victim zones, which do nothing to deter criminals, but do everything to endanger potential victims.

Bullet hits door in college dorm

February 13, 2004
Toledo Blade

BLUFFTON, Ohio - Someone fired a small-caliber handgun inside a Bluffton College residence hall Wednesday night, shattering the peace the Mennonite college holds dear.

No one was injured, and no weapon - or suspect - has been located. The bullet grazed the hallway’s block wall, then struck the door frame of the second-floor resident adviser’s room in Hirschy Annex, a three-story men’s dormitory.

"We cleared the whole second floor and interviewed all the people who were there, but basically we have no leads at this time," Bluffton Police Chief Reid Foust said. "The students heard it, but they all said the same thing. They all said they didn’t see anything."

Campus-wide, students were notified of the incident by voice mail yesterday morning and informed that all residence halls would be locked 24 hours a day until further notice.

"It’s very bizarre, especially for our college," said Simeon Talley, a sophomore from Columbus. "I wouldn’t expect it to happen at Bluffton College. We’re a very safe college. We don’t have many problems."

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February 13, 2004
Dayton Daily News

DAYTON -- A teenager was shot in the leg today during a failed carjacking outside Colonel White School for the Arts.

Larry Ethun, a Dayton Fire Department paramedic, said a male was shot once in the leg, a non-life-threatening injury. He was taken to a hospital.

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Ethun said the shooting took place in the parking lot of Colonel White, 501 Niagara Ave., shortly after 1 p.m. after the victim, an 18-year-old senior and another student returned from lunch, police said.

The shooting was a carjacking, said David H. Sherrer Sr., of the Dayton Police Department. Police said the shooting occurred when a man approached the student and demanded his new car. The student refused and was shot.

One school official, who said he got a good look at the shooter, said the attacker was not a student.

The gunman fled on foot and police are searching for him.

Officials placed the school under lockdown.

We're not sure from the title OR from the article, but we think this is a pro-concealed carry article. If so, it'd likely be a first for the Dayton Daily News.

By Doug Page
Dayton Daily News

February 11, 2004

More than 200 people gathered in Xenia last week to find out how to carry a concealed firearm. More were turned away from the door for fear the fire marshal might close the crowded meeting room.

I attended out of curiosity. After reading some newspaper columnists, I wondered if the armed Vandals were descending on Ohio. Big city columnists tend to get in a tizzy over an armed citizenry.

I also attended because of a vested interest. I've stared down the barrel of several armed citizens, though I'm sure none of them would qualify for a concealed carry permit.

It is surprising that when staring down the barrel of a cheap .32-caliber weapon, its muzzle grows to the size of a 50-gallon barrel — as I told the officer who answered the call at my convenience store.

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