The following was submitted to www.ohioccw.org by an OFCC supporter.

I was at Henry Bierce Co. in Tallmadge - they are a building supply store. I noticed they had a ''NO GUNS'' sign. I had some ''No GUNS-No MONEY'' cards in my wallet, so I gave one to the very nice lady in the office. She indicated that some organization in Tallmadge has told merchants that they ''should'' post the signs.

She seemed shocked when she asked ''we will lose your business?'' - to which I answered ''Yes, I am afraid so''. I went on to tell her we have been fighting for this for 10 years - and with us it is a matter of freedom and fairness. She knew it had been a long fight and that Ohio was one of the few states left with no CCW law.

She indicated that guns scare her, and why does anyone need to carry? I reminded her of the hurdles to get a license, the results in other states, and the fact that the bad guys already carry.

She was very nice, and polite (as was I) and she indicated she would speak to the owners, who were out of town.

This is their website:
http://www.henrybierce.com

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Floridians have more than 17 years of successful experience with their concealed carry law. Looks as though they've figured out that it is law-abiding license-holders who deserve to be protected - something we must not allow the Ohio media to take 17 years to discover for themselves.

March 25, 2004
Palm Beach Post

TALLAHASSEE -- Squeezed between the cop on the beat and the powerful National Rifle Association, the Senate leaned toward the NRA Wednesday, tentatively approving a bill that would ban government and private lists of gun owners.

"This bill will stop law-abiding gun owners from being profiled simply because they are gun owners," said the sponsor, Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview.

The measure (SB 1152) puts an exclamation point on the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms with criminal penalties and an unprecedented $5 million fine for anyone who knowingly violates its provisions.

In an unusually strong preamble, the bill raises the specter of Hitler's Nazi Germany and Fidel Castro's Cuba as examples of totalitarian regimes that registered and confiscated weapons. Gun registries are not a tool against terrorism but a potential weapon to "harass" law-abiding gun owners, the bill states.

"Further, such a list, record or registry has the potential to fall into the wrong hands and become a shopping list for thieves," the bill states in its legislative findings.

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

What is it about journalists that insist on using phrases like "pack heat" in writing their stories? Few if any persons who apply for licenses would ever be caught referring to this serious responsibility so flippantly.

March 27. 2004
Cincinnati Post

A lot of people in Hamilton County apparently want to pack heat.

Even though a new law that allows Ohioans to carry concealed weapons doesn't go into effect until April 8, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department is already receiving a stream of calls from people wanting to apply for permits.

"We get them in Court Services, we get them in Patrol, we get them everywhere," department spokesman Steve Barnett said.

Barnett said it's difficult to tell how many calls the department is getting because they're being received by so many different offices.

Sheriff's department officials expect the initial onslaught of interest to last about six months.

"It will be pretty hectic for the first six months," he said. "We'll do the best we can."

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