The Ohio Division of Wildlife has been reviewing the impact of the Ohio concealed carry law as it relates to hunting regulations, shooting ranges operated by the Division, wildlife areas, and other issues.

The Division presented the proposals for the 2005 – 2006 hunting regulations to the Ohio Wildlife Council on January 5, 2005. Disappointingly, these proposals did not include any changes to the current Ohio hunting regulations regarding concealed carry.

To download a summary of current regulations, along with commentary from OFCC’s Senate District 10 Coordinator, Larry S. Moore, click here (.pdf). Please download and distribute this report at your conservation club or hunting club and ask your fellow hunters to contact the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

To read the report online, click on the "Read More..." link below.

The following story was published by American Banker Online on January 7, 2004. The Wall Street Journal republished the story on its subscription website, www.online.wsj.com (and mentioned OFCC in its Morning Update email blast), that same day. It is being republished here with permission.

When reading this story, it is important to keep in mind that the striking comments made by Fifth Third Bank's vice president of investigations were made immediately prior to the shooting of Officer Bryan Hurst at a Fifth Third branch in Columbus, and published on the very day Hurst was killed.

January 7, 2005
American Banker Online

Ohio Debate: Do Customers and Guns Mix?

by Katie Kuehner-Hebert

A year-old Ohio law letting more people carry concealed guns has ignited a debate there over whether banks posting "no guns" signs in branch windows may attract would-be robbers rather than deter them.

When a January 5 Cincinnati Enquirer story announced that Hamilton County Commissioners were planning to send "secret shoppers" in to test how helpful county employees are when dealing with the general public, Ohioans For Concealed Carry's first question was, "will the commissioners also send faux shoppers into the Hamilton County sheriff's office?" According to the Cincinnati Post, they will indeed!

Commissioners told the newspaper they plan to shop only departments under the commissioner's jurisdiction for the first quarter of the year, but will try other departments, such as the prosecutor's and sheriff's offices, by spring.

The Post reports that doesn't sit well with Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis.

"I am totally opposed to the program," he said Tuesday. "I believe it is a waste of time and manpower."

Leis told the Post he doesn't need a secret shopper to tell him that his office already has an excellent reputation for customer service.

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

The January 10 issue of the Cincinnati Enquirer contains a story on the proliferation of gun crime into the suburbs, co-written by Jane Prendergast,
Enquirer staff writer. Unfortunately, the story also contains a quote from one law enforcement officer who seem to think that guns, and not the criminals who use them, are the problem:

"It's just ungodly how many guns there are in today's society," says Steven Sarver, police chief in Colerain Township.

Sarver says that, because of Ohio's new concealed-carry law, his officers are taught to ask almost immediately: "Do you have a permit to carry a gun?" He says police have to be prepared for a disturbed motorist to start firing.

"Is it likely? No. Is it possible? Yes," Sarver says. "And because it is possible, that's what police officers have to be worried about."

If gun crime is growing out of control in his jurisdiction, perhaps Chief Sarver needs to look in the mirror, instead of at law-abiding gun owners who are simply trying to protect themselves.

In the same issue of the Enquirer Monday, another story by Pendergast reveals that on the city's most dangerous streets, people who shoot others are rarely caught, prosecuted or sent to jail.

The article talks about how few arrests and
convictions there have been for shootings in
Cincinnati. For instance, in District 1 alone (the 5 sq. mile downtown area) there were 94 non-fatal shootings last year that yielded only 12 arrests, 3 convictions, and 2 jail sentences. (One conviction was for illegal carry, not the shooting, and
the criminal only got three years probation!).

While police blame uncooperative (read: SCARED) witnesses, this story offers more proof that the police can't protect us when they can't put the most violent criminals behind bars.

Thankfully, the stories indicate more citizens are realizing that they themselves are responsible for the protection of themselves their neighborhoods:

"Put a cop on every corner, and there'll still be crime in the middle of the block," says Zeek Childers, an owner of the new Front Porch coffee house in the neighborhood and vice president of the Price Hill Civic Club. "Just more cops isn't the answer. The answer is that people need to invest a little. You know, they call it sweat equity."

WNBS10TV.com is reporting that two men tried to rob a home east Columbus, and that the homeowner shot one of the robbers.

According to the report, two men charged into the home and came face-to-face with the armed homeowner. The robber fired a shot, which grazed the homeowner, who then returned fire. Police say the robber died from those wounds. Police were able to track down the other suspect.

The homeowner, who has not been charged, wasn't injured during the incident and police believe the man who was shot and killed was in the act of committing a crime.

Compare the successful results from this Columbus incident (victim unhurt, attacker dead), with the many other home invasion reports that have filled Ohio newspapers in the past week (click on the "Read More..." link below).

One year ago, and on the heels of passage of Ohio's concealed handgun license law, a Columbus Dispatch reporter asked OFCC's Chad Baus his reaction to the Brady Campaign's (Handgun Control Inc.) annual grade card, which gave Ohio a D-plus for its "ability to protect children from gun violence."

"I was hoping for an F," Baus was quoted as saying. "The Brady Campaign has a history of giving states with the lowest crime rates and least restrictive gun laws" failing grades.

In that same story, Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, predicted in the Dispatch that passage of House Bill 12 "would have taken us down to an F minus."

As is quite common with regard to Hoover's predictions about what would happen if concealed carry became law in our state, her estimate of our 2004 Brady bunch grade did not come to pass. But for once, we actually wish she HAD been right.

In a Jan. 12 press release, the Brady bunch has announced Ohio has moved to a D-minus grade, "because the state passed a dangerous new law that forces police to let almost anyone carry hidden handguns in public."

Ohioans For Concealed Carry is confident that passage of a strong concealed carry reform bill that addresses many of the problems with Ohio CCW, we can achieve the coveted "F" that so many low-crime states have achieved.

Related Stories:
Gun Control: Explaining The Brady Campaign Report Card

Losing on all fronts, Brady left trying to spin numbers of CHLs issued

The News (according to gun ban extremists)

More good news about liberalized gun laws...from gun ban extremists!

More proof from gun ban extremists...that bans don't work!

OOPS! Brady Campaign touts study proving OUR point (again)

Gun Control March Lacked Numbers and Impact, Critic Says

''Working for an 'Idaho F' ''

By Dean Rieck
Ohioans For Concealed Carry

A lot of Ohioans have put off getting a Concealed Handgun License because they think it’s too difficult. But even though the new Ohio CCW laws are among the strictest in the nation, they aren’t that bad when you compare them to some of the blatantly anti-gun laws around the world.

In South Africa, the Firearms Control Act was implemented in July 2004. This act forces South Africans who want to own a gun to take a training test. They need the training test to get a proficiency certificate. They need the proficiency certificate to apply for a competency certificate. They need the competency certificate to apply for a license.

And the application procedure is complex and lengthy, based on your date of birth. Citizens born between January 1 and March 31, can apply for a license this year. However, those born between April 1 and June 30, have to wait until 2006. In 2007, those born between July 1 and September 30 can apply. And if you’re unlucky enough to have a birthday between October 1 and December 31, you’ll have to wait until 2008.

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