In a April 2003 Columbus Dispatch op-ed, Dr. John R. Lott, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said as follows:

"A year after the right-to-carry law is enacted, Ohioans will wonder what all the fuss was about. Claims that Ohioans' safety is endangered will lose credibility once people see that criminals, not law-abiding citizens, have the most to fear from Ohioans' increased ability to defend themselves."

With the one year anniversary of OhioCCW approaching, Lott's predictions have certainly come true, and even the anti-gun media is being forced to admit it.

Despite years and years of being told to look at the successes in other states, Ohio newspapers have begun to write "the first year of concealed carry" stories expressing surprise at the lack of problems here.

A headline in Tuesday’s Akron Beacon Journal reports "Ohio legislation now year old, and much-feared road rage, other problems absent, sheriffs say".

From the story:

Ohioans have been carrying concealed weapons -- legally -- for nearly a year now, and so far, area law enforcement officials say they have not encountered the problems many feared.

Last April, when Ohio became the 46th state to permit law-abiding citizens to carry guns, some in law enforcement worried that routine traffic stops and road rage incidents would turn violent.

That hasn't happened.

After a quick concession from the Hamilton Journal-News, which admits "we believe Ohio’s concealed-weapons law has worked well in its first nine months — especially here in Butler County," the newspaper immediately turns its editorial focus on what (but not why) not to improve in Ohio’s CCW law.

While proponents of the new law are happy with the numbers coming out of Butler, Clermont and Montgomery counties, they are complaining that 36 of Ohio’s 88 county sheriffs are placing undo additional restrictions on the permit process, such as requiring applicants to make appointments.

But we don’t believe having to make an appointment is an undo burden on an applicant.

Ohioans For Concealed Carry, which this newspaper uses as a source, but fails to name, has first opposed appointments because they violate the spirit (and in some cases even the letter) of our “shall issue” law, and second because we can document that appointments are suppressing license-issuance. Why do the editors fail to address these issues? The editorial doesn’t say.

We also don’t believe the law should be amended to restrict access to the names of those who receive concealed-carry permits. Therefore we are against a proposal by Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican.

The closet thing to a reason offered for opposing closure of the Media Access Loophole appears as follows:

The law as crafted does permit concealed-carry but also includes safeguards. Those need to be preserved.

How has the Media Access Loophole been utilized to safeguard the public? The newspaper doesn’t say.

In the Akron Beacon Journal, a similar editorial has been published.

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

Have editors at the Cleveland Plain Dealer finally realized its readers are not interested in seeing the names of Concealed Handgun License (CHL)-holders from Northeast Ohio printed in their newspaper? Have they finally realized that there is nothing to fear from fellow citizens who have broken no laws, violated no other persons' rights, and who simply wish to exercise their constitutional right to self-defense? Or perhaps more likely, have they just realized that publishing CHL-holders' names is a revenue-loser?

Whatever the case, Editor Doug Clifton's newspaper recently changed its practice of publishing the names of CHL-holders in the pages of its newspapers, and announced instead that it would only be abusing the Media Access Loophole by posting the names on its website.

Before it was passed, the Ohio Newspaper Association claimed the Media Access Loophole was necessary to hold sheriffs accountable and ensure that only the "right" people were obtaining licenses. The law currently reads that the identity of a CHL-holder may be obtained if the newspaper states that it is needed for the public good.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has never proven a public benefit to publishing this information, and this latest move suggests the editors may be realizing that the lack of a commercial good outweighs their vehemently anti-gun agenda.

CLICK HERE TO ASK YOUR LEGISLATORS TO PROTECT LAW-ABIDING PEOPLE BY AMENDING HOUSE BILL 9 AND CLOSING THE MEDIA ACCESS LOOPHOLE.

Related Story:
Poll: 2/3 of Ohioans believe others have too much info about them

Lawmaker wants to close Media Access Loophole

Taft supports not ''stigmatizing'' ex-cons; insisted on stigmatizing CHL-holders

Despite a host of state and federal laws prohibiting children from possessing firearms, and from bringing them into a school safety zone, the Columbus Dispatch is reporting that 117 kids were either suspended or expelled last year for bringing guns into "gun-free" Columbus City school zones.

The news came to light in the wake of news that a second-grader had shot himself in the hand with a .45 caliber handgun he found somewhere other than his home and brought to school in his backpack.

OFCC President Jeff Garvas says enough is enough – it’s time to stop relying on failed gun control restrictions, and start focusing on education.

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