WBNS 10TV (CBS Columbus) is reporting that a Columbus man heading out for a Saturday morning jog took a severe beating from three other men more than half his age.

Police are looking for any possible witnesses to help catch the three robbers. 10TV is not reporting the victim’s last name, and OFCC is not reporting his first.

"These dummies are going to kill me for nothing,” the victim told the news channel.

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As can be seen in this image from 10TV, the elderly victim's face was still black and blue Tuesday night from the beating three days before.

The man was jogging near Champion Avenue and Long Street at about 5 a.m. Saturday when 10TV says he suddenly became a target.

"I was just coming down the street, and the guy asked me if I had a cigarette," the victim told 10TV, before adding that he barely had time to respond “no” before he was jumped.

"And then, before I knew it, two other guys grabbed me like this started beating me all over,” he demonstrated for the cameras.

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

February 06, 2005
Cleveland Plain Dealer

by Sandy Theis

Bumper-sticker slogans don't apply to Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, and that's the way he likes it.

The first Democrat to announce his candidacy for governor wants to keep abortion legal. So does one of the Republican contenders, Auditor Betty Montgomery.

Coleman opposes gay marriage but supports civil unions. So does Attorney General Jim Petro, another Republican running for governor, although Petro prefers the term "binding" unions.

Coleman supports the death penalty. All three Republican hopefuls - Petro, Montgomery and Secretary of State Ken Blackwell - support it, too. Coleman came out against a law that allows citizens to carry concealed weapons. Petro and Blackwell supported it, but Montgomery is on Coleman's side.

On taxes, the last decade shows that everyone but Blackwell backed at least one tax hike. Coleman's: A $4-per-day rental-car tax that voters repealed. Petro and Montgomery's: A 20 percent state sales tax increase that voters rejected in 1998.

Just hours after Coleman announced he would run for governor next year, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Bob Bennett issued a statement that called Coleman's "political views on the death penalty, gay marriage, taxes and gun control . . . out of touch with mainstream Ohio."

Using Bennett's yardstick, the only one fit to lead is Blackwell.

Click here to read the entire op-ed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Related Story:
Anti-self-defense Democrat Mayor Coleman to run for governor

OFCC’s Jim Irvine recently sent a letter to the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer regarding the newspaper’s failure to report when crimes happen in places where “no-guns” signs are posted. Irvine also took the newspaper to task for its failure to use the Media Access Loophole as they claimed they would when lobbying for it.

The Plain Dealer, specifically Mr. Doug Clifton, did not respond, nor did the PD publish the letter. And so we shall do so here.

To the Editor:

In the Saturday, January 29 story, "Man shot in chest during robbery attempt in parking lot" the Plain Dealer did not mention that the Collinwood Food Mart posts a sign that says, "No guns."
Why didn't the shooter obey the sign? Maybe the shooter was there because of the sign. Maybe that is why 5/3 banks (who also display a "No guns" sign) are robbed frequently.

The Plain Dealer posts a "No gun" sign. In light of the two killed and two more wounded by gunfire at the Jeep plant in Todedo (which has a no guns policy) last week, does anyone really believe the signs ever stop a killing? Or do they just stop good employees/customers from stopping the killer?

How many more innocent people will die before companies reexamine policies that prohibit decent, well trained, and state licensed, people from using a gun to stop these killers? How long will they hang a sign on the door advertising their policy to murderers looking for an easy kill? Sadly, the toll continues to rise.

Doug Clifton claims the Plain Dealer prints the names of Concealed Handgun License (CHL) holders as a "public service." Why doesn't the paper state that the shooter did not have a CHL? Why doesn't the paper state that this location banned guns? His "service" is as hollow as the promise on "No guns" signs that seem to be so prevalent in places people keep getting shot.

Were still waiting for the service, Mr. Clifton.

Jim Irvine
Ohioans for Concealed Carry
Strongsville

February 09, 2005
Columbus Dispatch

I respond to the Jan. 28 Dispatch article "Police take shot at assault weapons."

What a joke! If Columbus City Councilman Michael C. Mentel truly wants to protect police officers and citizens, he should turn all of his effort into fund-raising for the Columbus Division of Police so it can hire additional officers and equipment to increase patrols.

Banning these types of firearms does not keep them out of criminals’ hands any more than not banning them. A ban does not affect the criminals who fire upon officers. It affects the law-abiding residents who legally own the firearms.

Let’s face it: Criminals aren’t carrying Berettas. They don’t plop down $500-plus on a firearm at a store to legally purchase it. They buy Hi-Points and other cheap $100 9 mm’s off the street.

The only thing a ban would do is give the false impression that Mentel is doing something to help the community and police force, when in reality he’s not doing squat except wasting taxpayers’ money.

Shane Zatezalo
Hilliard

Commentary:
This issue is still being debated in Columbus. An advisory on the issue is posted at the Columbus City Council website:

Columbus City Council member Michael C. Mentel, Safety Committee Chair, continues his in-depth investigation of unsafe and unregulated weapons. Mentel hosted a public briefing to kick off the effort December 9, and a demonstration of specific assault weapons was conducted on January 27th. This initial briefing session included City Attorney Richard Pfeiffer and Division of Police personnel providing an overview on the types of weapons that have recently surfaced in Columbus, and relevant legal issues raised by any attempt to limit their availability and use.

Click here for information on upcoming meetings.