April 3, 2004
Toledo Blade

Jerusalem Township gun thefts prompt request for information

The Lucas County Sheriff's Department is looking for tips on a burglary at a Jerusalem Township residence in which 15 firearms were taken.

The burglars forced their way into the house in the 1200 block of Lyon Road between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. March 22. The guns, worth more than $4,700, were taken from the hallway and breezeway. Deputies said the homeowner is an avid hunter.

The weapons taken included bolt-action and semiautomatic rifles and pump shotguns. The majority were Brownings or Remingtons.

Anyone with information on the crime or the location of the firearms is asked to call the sheriff's department at 419-213-4917 or the Crime Stopper program at 419-255-1111.

Commentary:
These burglars obviously knew exactly what residence to burglarize to find what they were looking for. They did their homework. This was not random.

So why does the Ohio Newspaper Association insist on policy which will result in MORE stolen guns on the streets of our state?

Why does Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro say it's "a stretch" to believe that criminals would use public lists of concealed handgun license holders as a shopping list?

If Ohio's anti-gun newspapers follow-through on their plan to treat law-abiding citizens like sex-offenders by publishing their names, Ohioans can expect to see many more headlines like this in those very same papers.

Related Stories:
Ohio Newspaper Association advising members to compile lists of CHL applicants

Taft supports not ''stigmatizing'' ex-cons; insisted on stigmatizing CHL-holders

Indiana newspaper hears loud voice of opposition to publishing CCW list

OFCC announces establishment of Ohio Media Monitoring Task Force

In recent days and weeks, the United States has seen increased signs that terrorists may attempt to attack American shopping malls or transit systems such as buses or trains.

The citizens of Israel have faces such threats in their every-day lives for years, and that government has responded by encouraging law-abiding citizens to go armed.

Meanwhile, taxpayer-funded bureaucrats at bus services in Toledo, Columbus, Youngstown and Cleveland are ignoring Section 9 (read: ignoring the will of the Ohio General Assembly) and attempting to ban CHL-holders from buses.

In addition, some Ohio mall operators are posting discriminatory signs telling CHL-holders to stay away.

Given the fact that the millions upon millions of CHL-holders in our nation are known as the most law-abiding of citizens, while terrorists continue to prove their exhibit their desire to murder innocent Americans at will, why are they more concerned about law-abiding citizens than they are about terrorists?

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

The Akron Beacon Journal has published an op-ed which highlights once again what we've told you before: Anti-gun extremists are the true sufferers of paranoia.

Appropriately entitled "Concealed guns bring fears to light", the Beacon Journal op-ed starts out bad, and gets worse from there:

You're a cop. You pull a car over for a burned-out taillight.

You approach the driver's door. The window is down, and the driver has his hands on the steering wheel.

"I have a gun,'' he says.

Welcome to the letter of the law. Under Ohio's new concealed-carry statute, this is exactly how it is supposed to happen. This declaration will not only be perfectly normal, but good citizenship.

But in real life, as in theater, the specter of a loaded gun changes everything. It adds tension. It raises questions. It sets the heart to a higher beat and races the mind toward possibilities.

Get used to it.

You're getting your Monday-morning coffee. A co-worker tells you about his prowess at the shooting range over the weekend. He pats his hip.

"Ol' Bessie did me proud,'' he says, pulling back his suit jacket to reveal a pearl-handled revolver.

The mistake of confusing law-abiding citizens who choose to bear arms for self-defense with criminals isn't just confined to the urban areas of Ohio. Consider these thoughts from the (Napoleon) Northwest Signal:

"No way," said Bev Elling, assistant manager of Wendt Shoes, about the possibility of having concealed weapons in the downtown Napoleon business. "I don’t want them in here. It would scare me - I’m not a gun girl. I am here by myself at times and that’s not something I would want in a million years. Sure, it’s a small town but I don’t think so. Nobody will want (concealed weapons) in businesses."

"No, we will pursue the sign," said Rosie Williams, co-owner of Lily and Rosie’s. "Even in small towns there are murders, robberies, and you’re always reading about thefts."

NOTE: There are PLENTY more businesses in Napoleon and across the state who will welcome CHL-holders with open arms. In fact, OFCC member and business owner Brian Berry will not only be welcoming CHL-holders to his Napoleon and Defiance stores, he is offering a 10% discount for any OFCC member that shows their membership card in at all locations of Learning Etc. and The Scrappin' Zone.

Grassroots supporters are driving the effort to inform businesses of the reasons for which posting discriminatory signs banning CHL-holders is a bad, even dangerous idea.

They are also driving the effort to inform each other about businesses which have made the decision to post signs, and OFCC continues to receive emails about these businesses.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for a few of the most recent letters.

During the open carry 'Defense' Walks, Kroger corporate management informed inquirers that the company was enforcing its firearms ban under a very liberal interpretation of Ohio law regarding firearms prohibitions where liquor is being dispensed (served).

As the following story shows, gun prohibitions like Kroger's only succeed in disarming the law-abiding. The story also displays the painful circumstances of yet another innocent Ohio woman who was forced to be stalked and terrorized with no option for legally defending herself.

UPDATE:
Business ban hypocrite: Kroger stores in Ohio enacting concealed carry ban

April 01, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

Gunshot victim ‘has always come to everyone’s rescue’
Family not surprised man risked life for co-worker

After taking a bullet in the gut to save a co-worker, John Brining’s only regret was that it meant canceling his Saturday guitar lesson.

"That’s why he went to work two years ago, to help pay the family bills, buy a guitar and take lessons," Heather Savage, 29, of Groveport, said of her younger brother.

Outside his hospital room at Grant Medical Center yesterday, police, family members and the woman whose life he might have saved said the same thing: John Brining is a hero.

Brining, 19, a bagger at a Kroger in Canal Winchester, was shot in the abdomen Tuesday by a man who burst into the store looking for cashier Sharma Rochester, 52.

John Brining’s family was shocked when police told them he’d been shot. But they weren’t surprised to learn he had risked his life to save another.

"John has always come to everyone’s rescue," said his 26-year-old sister, Hope Brining, who lives with John and their mother, Lynda, in another Groveport home.

"He just felt like it was his job to protect Sharma," Hope said.

Brining knew Sharma Rochester’s stepson Christopher D. Rochester had threatened her, Hope said, "so he would go out and check the parking lot for her" before she left work.

When Rochester showed up at the store about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday and pointed a gun at his stepmother, John ran to help.

"He said there was no way he was going ‘to let that bastard shoot her,’ " Heather said.

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