Sat Aug 28 23:45:11 2004:

I wanted to give you an update on an experience with the Hamilton County SO while applying for a CHL.

I submitted the application without my SSN written down. The person handling the fingerprinting did not know this was acceptable; he had been told the Webcheck would not accept a submission w/o the SSN present -- that it was a "required field" for him to click "submit."

I produced a copy of Ohio AG Petro's notice about the giving of the SSN being optional, per federal law. After reading it with interest, he called a State agency, who let him know he could enter 000-00-0000 for the SSN and it would work (which it did). He was understanding, even though he tried to convince me to just put down the SSN at first.

Eight (8) days later I received the call that the CHL was ready to pick up! That's pretty fast, especially considering people have said leaving off the SSN will make it take much longer! Kudos to the HCSO for a professional and speedy job well done!

Thanks for your work for the people of Ohio,

"Solomon"

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August 30, 2004
CNSNews.com

Sunset of Assault Weapons Ban May Fire Up Gun Debate

(CNSNews.com) - The war in Iraq and the economy may dominate the fall presidential campaign, but with the federal assault weapons ban set to expire in two weeks, the gun debate is sure to intensify.

Peter Hamm, communications director for the Brady Campaign to Stop Gun Violence, said it was "premature" to predict the level of importance the gun issue would play in this year's presidential and national elections.

However, if the assault weapons ban, which took effect in 1994, is left to expire, Hamm promised that the Brady Campaign would try to make elected officials who allowed it to sunset "feel as much pain" as possible at the voting booths.

"The NRA, President Bush, and the leaders of Congress are making a serious political mistake if they let that ban expire," Hamm said. The American people "overwhelmingly" support renewal of the ban, he added.

Supporters of the ban say child and teen deaths from firearms have dropped 50 percent since the law went into effect ten years ago. The overall number of gun deaths, they claim, has dropped nearly 25 percent. But opponents have always argued that other gun laws are sufficient to prosecute criminals who use guns in the commission of their crimes and that across-the-board bans unfairly target law abiding Americans.

Kelly Hobbs, spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association, said Americans have concluded that the ban is "ineffective."

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"The majority of Americans do not support its extension, and that's why it will most likely expire on September 13th," he said.

Hamm said that while John Kerry has not spoken out enough in favor of gun control policies, he noted that Kerry came off the campaign trail and voted to renew the assault weapons ban in the Senate on March 2.

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

August 30, 2004
Miami Herald

By Benedict D. Larosa

Gun-control laws, like all ill-advised measures, have unintended, often unfortunate, consequences. This is especially true in the post-Sept. 11 environment.

Recently, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge upgraded the nation's alert status because of credible intelligence that several financial buildings in New York City, Newark, N.J., and Washington, D.C., are intended terrorist targets. Immediately, heavily armed, submachine-gun-toting government agents surrounded the buildings -- five in all -- and tightened security in the area.

Our founders' wisdom

What about other potential targets? While federal, state and local police were guarding these buildings, who was guarding the thousands of other potential targets nationwide? How long can this level of security be maintained at these five buildings? What if the terrorists wait until the extra security is removed and then act? What if they strike at unguarded buildings somewhere else?

This is where the wisdom of our founders comes into play. They advocated a nation-at-arms where everyone who wished would be armed. They went so far as to guarantee this right in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As men of wisdom, intelligence and education, they knew that no one can always predict the type of threat that the nation might face. So they prepared for every eventuality by providing not only for national and state military (and naval) forces but also for an armed populace.

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