The following OhioCCW news submissions were both received on the same day, and both address an Ohio retail store and their decisions about the posting of "no-guns" signs...

Death of a Clark Station
Submitted by: Jeff M.

A small Clark gas station in Lockland (near Cincinnati) always had a good price
on gas, if there is such a thing. For the neighborhood it's in, one would think
twice about putting up an anti-gun sign, but they did. It was recently decided
by the owner to close down the business due to break-ins and too many times
being robbed. Some people just can't see the writing on the wall, but
apparently the bad guys did. Friday is their last day in business and today the
alcoholic beverages were at half price. Funny thing, all the advertising and
miscellaneous signage was out of the windows except...that's right, the
anti-gun sign was the only thing still on the glass.

They Took The Signs Down
Submitted by: David K.

Another excellent article from the Lima News pointing out how ridiculous the posting of "no-guns" signs are...at the Lima News.

March 9, 2005
Lima News

As the Ohio Legislature worked in late 2003 to restore the people’s right to carry concealed weapons, the alarmists were out in force. They continued even as Gov. Bob Taft signed the legislation in January.

The arguments were the usual ones from people who don’t like guns. No matter that gun violence is primarily a problem caused by those who aren’t bothering to legally carry or register, those opposed to guns claimed we were making society more dangerous.

It didn’t phase them that Ohio was among a handful of states without concealed carry, and other states weren’t seeing bloodbaths caused by licensed gun owners.

The fears persist. But, in the past 14 months, we haven’t heard so much from the antigunners. The first annual report from Ohio Attorney General Petro, himself a guns rights advocate, ought to provide more reasons still for the antigun crowd to keep quiet.

Later in the column, the falacy of posting "no-guns" signs is drawn out:

A concealed carry law, of course, does nothing to keep guns out of a criminal’s hands. The law-abiding gun owner was the victim of Ohioans having no concealed carry ability. The criminal likely isn’t putting much worry into whether some guys in Columbus think it’s OK for him to pack.

Or some guy sitting in the front office at the Lima News, for that matter...

The person responsible for posting these signs is publisher Stephen C. Johnson. Mr. Johnson can be reached at 419-993-2073 or sjohnson@limanews.com.

Click here to read the entire op-ed in the Lima News.

Related Stories:
Caught: Gun Ban Lobby Attempts Rhetorical Revisionism

Say it Ain't So! Lima News, longtime proponent of CCW, posts No-Guns signs

Lima News: Good theology, but RIGHT hand does not know what Left is doing

March 9, 2005
Tucson (AZ) Citizen

by Jeff Smith

They told us not to talk about politics or religion - not if we wanted to keep peace in the family. But they failed to mention guns. Bring up the subject of firearms in most circles and you get a pitying expression that says you aren't among the species that brought air-conditioning and Ingmar Bergman films to the planet.

It's this quick, cold cessation of discourse that makes it so hard to educate the anti-gun crowd to the realities of the matter. They regard people who own and use guns as children of a lesser god, incapable of reason and probably devoid of kindness and compassion. One doesn't talk with creatures like this; one has gate guards to keep them at bay.

And it is this elitist mentality, and the hopeless notion that you can hire people to protect you from harm, that drives the movement to do away with guns in our communities.

I could be wrong about some of these suppositions, but not by much. First among their beliefs, I think, is that humans have evolved beyond hunter-gatherers who struggled to reach the top of the food chain. We are kinder and gentler now, they reason, forgetting that this was George H.W. Bush's line, and the food chain is Trader Joe's.

Pardon me, but if you want to talk evolving, consult Charles Darwin. He'll explain how evolution is about developing the perfect predator.

Much as we wish to live in a world where everybody is nice and nobody has need for a gun, it demonstrably ain't so. There are nasty creatures out there, many of them with opposable thumbs, who dress neatly and cannot be distinguished from a Montessori teacher ... until they stick a 9 mm in your ribs and say, "Your wallet, s'il vous plaît."

What do you do in a case like that?

What does a gun-carrying NRA member do in a case like that? According to the doctrine of those who teach gun owners to qualify for concealed-carry permits, you give him your wallet. Your money isn't worth your life.

It is these everyday occurrences everywhere in the world, sadly, that speak to the necessity for law-abiding people to arm themselves.

There is no right more intrinsic than the right of self-defense: not free speech, not freedom of religion - nothing. If you are set upon by attackers who do not hesitate to use every available means to injure or kill you, is there any earthly authority you can imagine that could justly deny you the right to defend your life?

Of course not. There's no instinct more basic than this.

Click here to read the entire op-ed in the Tucson (AZ) Citizen.