On January 25, OFCC published a letter from Tim Inwood, recounting his experience questioning gubernatorial-hopeful and State Auditor Betty Montgomery about her anti-CCW record.

Just over a week later, on February 8, it was (OFCC Central Region Coordinator) Gerard Valentino's turn to query Betty on her opinion of law-abiding citizens who choose exercise their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense...

Sent: Tue Feb 8 21:44:04 EST 2005
From: Gerard Valentino

I went to hear Betty Montgomery speak this evening. After she spoke it came time for the question and answer session.

Everyone got to write questions down and a moderator read them. Good luck was on our side and he asked mine first.

My question was: "Even though it works in 45 other states, you opposed legal concealed carry in Ohio. Now that it has been nearly a year since Ohio's law was implemented without a single case of a license-holder improperly using a gun, have you reconsidered your position?"

She responded that she respected the views of people that supported concealed carry but she couldn't agree to support CCW because of the time she spent as a lawyer and the "dastardly" (yes, she said dastardly) crimes committed against law enforcement by people with guns.

So she basically equated license-holders with dastardly criminals.

Then she said, "I don't want to live in a society where everyone carries a gun."

There was no chance for a follow-up question.

Gerard Valentino
Ohioans For Concealed Carry

Sent: Thu Feb 10 19:08:07 2005
Subject: That poor man

Dear OFCC,

I have been reading your website for some time now per request of my
husband, he has been wanting me to get a CHL since he has one and I never
really felt motivated too until I seen a picture of that poor mans face that
got beaten.

I have always read your stories about someone being robbed or beaten, but by
actually seeing a picture of the victim on your site really makes me feel
bad for that man. It opened my eyes up to reality, I guess you could say.

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This is the first time that I have ever seen a picture of injuries caused to
a victim by a attacker, and I have to admit that is very scary to think that
it could be my picture on there or a member of my family.

I have decided that I need to carry a gun and have called and set up a class
to attend to get my concealed carry license. I am just glad you showed this
story before it was my picture on there!

I have showed this picture to my friends at work and it sickens them also
about how this man was beaten. They too are going to go get the training
to get a CHL.

I am glad that you opened my eyes up to the fact that it could just as easy
been my picture on your website all beaten up.

THANKS!

Debbie

Related Stories:
The tragic face of defenselessness

68-year-old woman mugged
Her attacker approached the woman at the back of her home and asked for directions, according to police reports. He then punched her in the face, knocking her down into a lawn ornament, and ran away. The woman sustained a cut and bruise to the left side of her face.

February 10, 2005
Akron Beacon Journal

I wondered how long it would take the likes of Toby Hoover, the Brady Campaign and the news media to pounce on their anti-gun drivel ("Portage killings spark debate,'' Beacon Journal, Jan. 26). I find it ironic that Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, stated that 40 percent of gun sales don't require a background check. Where did she pull that figure? Referring to the "gun-show loophole'' that allows felons to obtain firearms, her figures differ greatly from the U.S. Justice Department, which shows fewer than 2 percent of firearms used illegally came from gun shows.

Hoover seemed to be talking out of both sides of her mouth in complaining about Ohio not having background checks for private sales. Former President Bill Clinton, through a myriad of red tape, astronomical license fee increases and hostile on-site inspections, drove more than one-third -- or 183,000 -- licensed gun dealers out of business. These are the same folks who process the background checks. It seems the point is not to prevent sales to felons but to drive as many dealers out of business as possible.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a reliable advocate of any gun-control scheme, recently reported it found no evidence that gun control had any effect on crime trends in America. In other words, criminals disregard gun laws. No kidding? And according to the Justice Department, "assault weapons'' have been used in too small a percentage of crimes to have any bearing on total crime rates.

The number of right-to-carry states has risen from 17 to 46. The percentage of the population living in such states has doubled to 60 percent. There are more guns and more people carrying guns. Firearms sales have increased by 70 million. Yet the FBI said the nation's violent crime rate had decreased 12 straight years to a 26-year low. Anyone credit the fact the prison population is at an all-time high? (Although in the Akron area, we seem to have an all-time high of criminals running amok.)

Maryland requires a ballistic fingerprint of all weapons (a database of distinctive markings left on a fired bullet), which is easily altered. The Maryland State Police has called the $2.1 million to maintain its system wasted money, as it has failed to solve a single crime since 2000.

This is another gun-control scheme that has failed to reduce crime but harassed the legitimate firearm owner.

To paraphrase Clinton: It's not the gun, stupid -- it's the criminal using it. "Two strikes and you're out'' sounds better every day.

Dennis Fultz
Copley Township

Other recent stories on the failures of gun control:
Homicides up a bit in Cleveland last year
Cleveland police blame easy access to weapons. The British made same claims, then banned nearly all civilian ownership of firearms. Today in that country, violence is skyrocketing out of control, and the government is being buffeted by civilian outrage.

Ballistic Fingerprinting’s a Dud
Another costly gun control failure.

Submachine gun used in holdup
See, this is strange, because submachine guns are illegal...

The Newark Advocate is reporting that Charles W. McCoy kicked a chair and swore on his way out of court Tuesday after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a knifepoint robbery and stabbing at the Dairy Queen in Heath in July.

According to the story, McCoy had waived his right to a jury trial and instead pleaded his case directly to Common Pleas Judge Jon R. Spahr, who sentenced him to 30 years after a 1 1/2 day trial.

The Advocate reports Spahr found McCoy guilty of one count of aggravated robbery, one count of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping -- all first-degree felonies -- and one count of felonious assault -- a second-degree felony.

From the story:

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Witnesses testified that McCoy stabbed Heath Dairy Queen employee Teresa Miller six times after robbing her and co-worker Heather Bonifant on July 23, shortly after the restaurant's 11 p.m. closing time.

At knifepoint, McCoy ordered the two women to put money from the restaurant's safe into bags, then stabbed Miller as she tried to run away. Bonifant escaped unharmed.

McCoy had previously worked at the Dairy Queen and knew both women, since he had worked with them for years. He also previously worked with Miller at Taco Bell.

"(Miller) is a person (McCoy) knew," Oswalt said. "She is a person that has done nothing but be friendly and cordial to him. What does she get for her friendship? A stab in the back -- literally."

"I feel he got what he deserved," Miller said after the trial. "I'd just like to thank Mr. Oswalt and everyone else who helped along the way."

Several Dairy Queen stores throughout Ohio have posted discriminatory signs banning concealed handgun licenseholders. Last summer, after news of this incident was reported, the owner of a Canton DQ contacted OFCC and explained that all franchises are independently owned and operated, and that he has received no order to post signs. Based upon his invitation to CHL-holders, his store will be placed on the Safe Alternatives list.

Whether or not this Heath store had posted such signs, this incident should show the other Dairy Queen stores on the Do Not Patronize While Armed list just how much they are endangering their employees and customers.

February 10, 2005
St. Petersburg (FL) Times

TALLAHASSEE - More than a decade has passed since Sen. Jim King woke up
to find a man pointing a gun at his head.

It's been 15 years since Sen. Evelyn Lynn woke up - twice - to find
intruders in her home.

But both remember the events as if they were yesterday, prompting both
to vote Wednesday for a bill expanding the rights of Floridians to use
deadly force when threatened in their homes and cars.

The bill (SB436) passed the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
unanimously.

It must pass one more committee before heading to the full Senate. An
identical bill is working its way through the House.

Under current law, homeowners cannot use deadly force unless they
believe an intruder intends to kill them or a loved one, or severely
harm them. Although criminal case law tends to favor homeowners, anyone
who kills an intruder can be arrested.

Under the bill, anyone who breaks into an occupied house or car would be
presumed to have deadly intent. Victims would no longer have to
determine the intruder's intent.

"You can't expect a victim to wait and ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Criminal,
are you going to rape me and kill me, or are you just going to beat me
up and steal my television?' " said Marion Hammer, lobbyist for the
National Rifle Association.

Click here to read the entire story from the St. Petersburg (FL) Times.