In a move that more closely resembles the behavior of a band of terrorists than a 155-year-old news organization, the editor of the Ashland Times Gazette has announced that he has taken the privacy of 400 or more concealed handgun license (CHL)-holders hostage, and will release the information unless the Ohio General Assembly bends to his will.

In a March 19 editorial, Times-Gazette editor Ted E. Daniels announced that his newspaper has been collecting the names of CHL-holders in Ashland County. (This abuse of the Media Access Loophole was originally recommended to newspapers by the Ohio Newspaper Association.)

By Ken Hanson

You can relax! Get outside and enjoy the first days of spring. Thanks to quick and decisive action, a second-grade menace will no longer be stalking his next victim within the halls of Columbus Public Schools, at least for a while. Thank you, zero tolerance, for removing this predator.

In case you missed the original story, a Columbus second-grader last week found a handgun on his way to school. Kids being curious creatures and all, he picked up the handgun and placed it in his backpack. Unfortunately, this ended up at the child's school, where it discharged, wounding him in the hand.

That appears to be the extent of fact pattern. A young child, 7 years old, maybe just turned 8, doing something that comes naturally to young children WHO HAVE NOT BEEN TAUGHT ANY BETTER.

For those of you with children, think about it. Does a 7-year-old act with inherent evil in their heart, or are they just inherently curious, and will get themselves into the most absurd of situations unless THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BETTER? As a responsible parent, would you prefer your school system shield your child from any mention of guns and pretend they don't exist, or for them to teach your child "Stop! Don't Touch! Leave the area and tell an adult!" You'd be amazed the violent resistance your school boards express to teaching that simple message.

So, considering "It takes a village" to raise a child, how does our kinder, gentler society address this young child's shortcomings? Education? A critical reexamination of where we, as a society, failed this child by not teaching him the most basic of gun safety rules? Accountability for schools that considers it a basic mission to teach acceptance of differing life styles, and even establishes an afrocentric school to celebrate and accommodate those rich heritages, while at the same time shunning state funding for gun safety training?

No, we suspend or expel the second-grader. Think about that statement for a second while reflecting upon the fact pattern. We SUSPEND or EXPEL the 2nd grader.

Now, as a 7-year-old, or just turned 8-year-old, this child is forever encumbered, scarred and perhaps ruined based upon 30 minutes of his life. If expelled, he will be held back and have to repeat second grade. He will go six months to a year without formal school instruction in a district that already has one of the highest flunk-out rates in the nation. All of his friends will move on. He will get used to staying home and watching morning TV. His teachers will forever view him as the one who brought a gun to school.

Does anyone really think this kid will ever emotionally or educationally recover from an expulsion? With an expulsion, we have given a death penalty to a second grader who WAS NEVER TAUGHT BETTER. Who has failed who in this situation?

When everyone is gathered in the Superintendent's office that fateful morning as this child's fate hangs in the balance, the school administration on one side or the table, the second-grade menace on the other side of the table, which side of the table should society remove from the equation?

For my money, it is the side of the table that treats a second grader who WAS NEVER TAUGHT BETTER the same as the 16-year-old gang banger when it comes to bringing a handgun to school.

The Marion Star has published an interesting interview with one of the 301 Ohioans who have received a concealed handgun license in Marion County.

The CHL-holder, Dwight Cimino, is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and served three tours in Vietnam.

The story begins like this:

When Dwight Cimino was almost 5, a drunken driver hit and killed his 21-month-old sister and left him with a scar between his eyes.

Cimino said in a free society people have power that they sometimes shouldn't.

"There are some folks out there, and they don't need firearms, but they have them, and there are some folks out there, and they don't need driver's licenses," Cimino said.

The semiautomatic Colt 45 that he carries on his hip is a privilege of what Cimino calls a free society.

It is hard not to wonder if the Star picked Cimino because of his answers to two questions: "How do you feel about the rules concerning carrying in a car?" and "How do you feel about the media having access to CHL-holders' personal information?"

Cimino told the Star he "he has no trouble following the [car carry] law", and "sees no harm [in the Media Access Loophole] as long as journalists use the list of permit-holders' names responsibly."

Although there will be varying opinions held by CHL-holders in our state on which parts of the law need to be fixed, polls of OFCC members and supporters have indicated that there is almost universal opposition to rules regarding CHL-holders' in motor vehicles, and on the media's access to CHL-holder's information.

Overall, however, the article gives an accurate portrayal addressing the "why" question:

He feels safer carrying a weapon and said everyone should be taught to be aware of their surroundings and responsible for themselves, something he learned serving in the Navy. Not only do permit-carrying gun holders feel safer, he said, but if a criminal is thinking of attacking a small woman for example, he could reconsider because the concealed carry law adds an element of doubt.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that Evendale police officer Stephen Roach reported his personal .40-caliber Glock missing at 1 p.m. Monday, 2½ hours after he left it in a fourth-floor restroom, according to a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office report.

According to the report, Roach didn't immediately realize that the gun was missing. When he went back to the restroom looking for it, the gun was gone.

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

Submitted to OhioCCW.org by: (Jeffrey F.)

The Ironton Tribune is reporting an armed robbery of a Lawrence Federal Savings and Loan in South Point, Ohio, a community of less than 5,000 in population. This is the second robbery at this bank in the past four years.

"Someone made a withdrawal at the Lawrence Federal Savings Bank Thursday morning but he didn't use his checkbook.

A lone gunman walked into the Solida Road bank in South Point at approximately 10:30 a.m. and walked away with an undetermined amount of money."

All three of Lawrence Federal's banks are posted with the discriminatory "No Guns" sign at all of their entrances.

It is also appropriate to mention that of the other banks in Lawrence County, only Lawrence Federal branches posts "No Guns" signs denying their customers right of self-defense. All of Lawrence Federal's locations are listed in the "Do Not Patronize While Armed" database as a criminal protection zone.

When will these businesses realize no matter how large or small a community is, they're still vulnerable to the exact danger of big cities?

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that Dayton police are saying a shooting that left a 34-year-old man in critical condition could be a case of self-defense.

From the story:

A man walked up to a Catalpa Drive home Thursday night and began firing shots, police said. The homeowner fired back, according to a report on WHIO-TV, Channel 7.

Dayton police were called to a nearby apartment complex where they found the injured man. He was taken to a hospital.