The Toledo Blade is reporting that a thief followed a West Toledo couple to their car in the St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center parking garage, brandished a knife, and cut the husband's hand yesterday while reaching for the wife's purse.

What the Blade did NOT report is that St. Vincent's affirmatively disarms its customers by posting "no-guns" signs.

The husband, 79, was treated for the wound to his right hand at St. Vincent.

The Blade reports the incident, which was committed in broad daylight, was the third purse-snatching from the medical center garage in the last three months.

Police told the newspaper the thief, dressed in a down coat with a satchel over his shoulder, was behind the man and his wife, as they walked down the hall to the parking garage elevator, which he boarded with them.

The Toledo Blade account continues:

All three left the elevator on the fifth floor. At the car, [the husband] got into the passenger's seat. [The wife] got in and was about to close the driver's door when a man reached over her to grab her purse. [The husband] received a deep cut as he raised his hand to shield his wife and push the man away.

[The wife] kept the purse, but the thief was able to get a wallet. As the thief ran away, [the husband] followed. [The wife] screamed for help, and security officers were there within seconds, police said.

Police had no one in custody last night.

Sarah Bednarski, a spokesman for Mercy Health Partners, which operates the hospital, told the Blade that St. Vincent has continual patrols of the six-story garage and security cameras, one of which captured an image of the man. But tragically, this incident has proven yet again that "no-guns" signs, security cameras, and even guards, cannot protect defenseless patrons.

The hospital spokesperson also told the newspaper that St. Vincent is "examining our safety enhancements. Over the last few months, we have added cameras in our parking garage [and] security staff. We have a mobile van that will take patients and their visitors to their cars if they need an escort. Our goal is always to provide the safest environment we can."

If this is true, then why does the hospital announce to criminals that its patrons and patients are defenseless? Why does it affirmatively act to disarm people who have a human right to self-defense?

The hospital spokesperson told the Blade that "we expressed our regret to our visitors that this happened."

How nice of them.

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The Cosochton Tribune is reporting a 19-year-old man suffered cuts on his face and a stab wound to his leg during a street robbery Tuesday night.

According to the story, the victim told sheriff's deputies he was attacked by two men as he walked toward a friend's house along the railroad tracks in the 400 block of South Fifth Street shortly after 9 p.m.

"Apparently, one had a knife and cut his face, and cut him in the right leg," Lt. Scott Mast told the Tribune.

The 19-year-old reported turning over all the money he had on him, about $2 in change.

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

Media outlets across the state are reporting that Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Robie Resnick has released a six-sentence statement, marking her first public comment since being arrested Monday and charged with driving under the influence. The short statement says volumes.

Resnick, who has plead 'not-guilty' to the charges, claims she will "accept full responsibility for my actions." The 65-year-old justice goes on to state she has had "22 years of sobriety".

According to media reports, State Bureau of Motor Vehicle Records show Resnick was cited for failure to control and weaving in a July 6 accident last year in Toledo. She also was involved in accidents, but not cited, in August 2002 and May 1998.

In video tape of the incident, recorded after six 911 callers reported her for driving erratically, Resnick told police officers she had not had anything to drink. She failed roadside sobriety tests and registered a 0.216 blood alcohol content — more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent — on a portable breath test.

Resnick was driving a state-owned vehicle at the time of her arrest. Under a state policy, she will be barred from driving state-owned vehicles for three years, regardless of the outcome of her court case, because she refused to take the Breathalyzer test. That refusal also means her driver's license is automatically suspended for one year under state law.

The Columbus Dispatch reported Thursday that Ohio’s Code of Judicial Conduct specifically advises judges to respect and comply with the law, always act in a way that promotes public confidence and not "allude to" their judgeship during police traffic stops. However, in one segment of the police video, Resnick can be heard telling troopers "I've always said a Supreme Court justice should have a highway patrolman driving them." Earlier, police say Resnick announced her position as a justice to officers, before driving away against their orders.

Ohio Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer said Resnick will continue to hear and rule on cases that come before the Court remotely. "She will participate and vote on these cases by consulting the briefs and the video of the arguments."

In upholding the constitutionality of the (now defunct) Ohio concealed carry ban in 2003, Justice Resnick sided with the majority, ruling that the restriction on the right to bear arms for self-defense was necessary because it served "a compelling government interest'' - that of protecting the "public safety."

For an excellent comparison of hypocracy of gun ban prohibitionists viewed through the way they treat "alcohol control", click on the "Read More..." link below.

February 2, 2005
Venice (FL) Gondolier Sun

Violent and nonviolent crime was down in Sarasota County in 2004.

Many law enforcement officials agree -- and the numbers show -- there is a direct relationship between an armed citizenry and reduced crime.

Since adopting concealed weapons permits in 1987, Florida's homicide rate has fallen 21 percent while the U.S. rate has risen 12 percent. From Oct. 1, 1987 to Feb. 28, 1994 (more than six years), Florida issued 204,108 permits; only 17 (0.008 percent) were revoked because permittees later committed crimes (not necessarily violent) in which guns were present (but not necessarily used).

In Florida, as in the United States, more than 70 percent of violent crimes do not involve guns.

Violent crime rates are highest overall in states with laws severely limiting or prohibiting the carrying of concealed firearms for self-defense (FBI Uniform Crime Reports).

The total violent crime rate is 26 percent higher in the restrictive states (798.3 per 100,000 population) than in the less restrictive states (631.6 per 100,000 population).

The homicide rate is 49 percent higher in the restrictive states (10.1 per 100,000 population) than in the states with less restrictive weapons laws (6.8 per 100,000 population).

The robbery rate is 58 percent higher in the restrictive states (289.7 per 100,000 population) than in the less restrictive states (183.1 per 100,000 population).

The aggravated (weapon or injury) assault rate is 15 percent higher in the restrictive states (455.9 per 100,000 population) than in the less restrictive states (398.3 per 100,000 population). Using the most recent FBI data, homicide trends in the 17 states with less restrictive weapons laws compare favorably against national trends, and almost all permittees are law-abiding.

Click here to read the entire story in the Venice (FL) Gondolier Sun.