By Gerard Valentino

As soon as the bill designed to fix the poison pills in Ohio’s concealed-carry legislation was introduced the establishment media began their predicted smear campaign. The usual suspects were represented in the crusade of misinformation about the bill with the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper leading the charge.

Ohio’s current concealed-carry law requires the state’s sheriffs to give a list of license holders in their county to any member of the media. Several newspapers then published a complete list of license holders in their county. The Cleveland Plain Dealer also keeps a current list on their website.

The proposed bill revising the law protects battered spouses and people receiving death threats by giving them the option of signing an affidavit, under the penalty of perjury, stating they fear for their life. Once they present the affidavit to their respective sheriff they can opt out of having their information released.

Ohio’s establishment media sees this as an affront to the first amendment freedom of the press. Knowing, however, that they would quickly lose the battle of public opinion if the truth about the new bill became known they have purposely printed misinformation by claiming it would completely eliminate their ability to get the names of license holders.

At best, they are misinformed about the bill - more likely they are making a concerted effort to trick Ohio’s citizenry.

So, we have yet another instance of the establishment media making the news instead of just reporting it. Not surprising considering their openly anti-gun agenda and history of pandering to anti-gun extremists.

Members of the establishment media defend their practice of printing license holders’ private information as a matter of public safety by claiming Ohioans have the right to know who among them is carrying a gun. They also try and spin it as a way to verify that criminals or someone otherwise ineligible are not getting a license.

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The Ohio State University appears to be starting their students down the liberal anti-gun path that the majority of media outlets have taken in Ohio. Unfortunately it does not appear that they are teaching their students how to do a little research before publishing their misleading drivel. This is not surprising as many media reports are not entirely factual as we have seen recently with the Associated Press and Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Shortly after the introduction of HB347 by Rep. Jim Aslanides, OSU's student newspaper "The Lantern" published an editorial crying for the death of bill in the name of the First Amendment and the need to have a media "watchdog" over Ohio's County Sheriffs.

After some uninformed statements about the media losing all access to CHL-holders information, the author goes on to show how misguided he or she truly is. The Professors overseeing this program should be ashamed that an editorial such as this was made public.

As you read, keep in mind that OSU is a state university and is heavily subsidized by funds from your tax dollars, and this is how they are used.

From the Editorial:

The right to privately conceal and carry a firearm is not inherently greater than the right of the public to know who carries firearms in an open forum. Those who choose to participate in the concealed carry program should do so because they are confident their decision is necessary and dutiful. If that is the case, there is no need to fear retribution for concealing and carrying a firearm. If the reason to carry a gun in public is justified, there should be no fear of attacks or need for media sanctions.

The concealed carry bill passed by Governor Bob Taft last year required sheriffs release a list of those holding the permit to the media upon request. Under the new proposal, reporters would be unable to learn who holds a concealed carry permit. No safeguards will be in place to alert the public of people unlawfully carrying concealed weapons in their community.

Under no circumstances should a person's decision to carry a concealed weapon be withheld from public knowledge or media scrutiny. A person who holds a concealed carry license is granted, by law, certain privileges - but concealed carry is not a right. It should not be treated as a right, and should not receive special protection from the government. The government has a greater responsibility to public safety and the preservation and respect of others' rights. The public's right to safety is undoubtedly hindered by the new proposal.

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