Just weeks after the Cleveland Plain Dealer announced it would stop wasting space by publishing the names of Ohio concealed handgun license-holders in its print edition, Ohioans For Concealed Carry can now report that another policy change at the Plain Dealer has been made to protect CHL-holders’ identities from being available to Internet search engines like Google or Yahoo!.

Soon after the Plain Dealer first began publishing the names of license-holders from nine northeast Ohio counties on its website, it was discovered that this abuse of the Media Access Loophole had resulted in making a simple Google search on a license-holders’ name turn up their status as an Ohio Concealed Handgun License-holder.

Thanks to the irresponsible actions of these anti-gun editors, information about Ohio citizens the General Assembly truly meant not to be available to the public began showing up under a simple Internet search engine query.

One of the many reasons for concern over this problem is that Ohio gun-ban extremist Toby Hoover is on record encouraging employers to consider whether or not a potential new-hire is a CHL-holder before hiring.

"The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence agrees with the governor. The public has the right to know who has a permit so we can make appropriate choices for our families. We have the right to not hire, socialize, or share public space with those who carry hidden guns." (November 21, 2003)

By making their status as CHL-holders available through a simple Internet search, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, whose editor had already admitted to knowingly violating the will of the General Assembly by publishing the names in the newspaper, irresponsibly made this type of discrimination that much more easily accomplished.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of a Kent, Ohio OFCC member, who over the course of several weeks’ time worked with both the newspaper editor and the executive director of Cleveland.com on an effort to protect the names of licensees from Internet search engines, OFCC can now report that the Plain Dealer has made another change with regard to its policy on handling these records.

From: [OFCC member, Kent, Ohio]
To: Ohioans For Concealed Carry
Subject: RE: Plain Dealer
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005

I’ve made some progress on the Google search issue.

I talked with a Plain Dealer editor and asked him directly if their intention was to make their CCW list more accessible than public records. He said "No". I then explained the whole issue of doing a general search using Google or other search engine and our names appearing. He said that when they decided to put the CCW list on their website they never thought about external search engines accessing it. Then I asked him if they were agreeable to at least removing the search engine capabilities so that someone couldn't type in my name using Google (or other search tools external to their website) and have that portion of their CCW list appear. He said that they would discuss it and get back to me. Well, he did get back to me and said that they would look into it further to see what could be done.

The executive director of Cleveland.com called me the next day and left a message saying that she did looked into it and there wasn't anything that could be done; it was just the way the website was designed. I called her back and gave her several options regarding how it could be accomplished with minimal re-design. During the next week or two we had several conversations about it and she was actually very cooperative. She said that the PD Editors were taking my concern very seriously and did not intend for the CCW list to be searchable via external search engines. I got the impression that she was really trying to get this thing done but wasn't sure how.

Anyway, she tried my solutions and it worked. If you do a Google search on our names our CCW information will not show up in the results. I know that it's not a perfect solution but at least it's moving in the right direction.

This change at the Cleveland Plain Dealer comes less than one month after the newspaper announced it had 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 these latest moves suggest the editors may be realizing that the lack of a commercial good outweighs their vehemently anti-gun agenda.

Related Story:
Letter: Talking head gets education in media abuse

The Toledo Blade is
reporting that a Luckey, Ohio, man who challenged Toledo police to arrest him earlier this month when he carried his concealed handgun into Toledo's Ottawa Park pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a minor misdemeanor.

From the story:

Bruce Beatty, 49, appeared for a brief arraignment yesterday before Toledo Municipal Court Magistrate David Smith. A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for June 3.

Mr. Beatty was cited for violating the city's park rules. A conviction on a minor misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $100.

Meanwhile, David Toska, chief of Toledo's prosecutor's office, said he will not file charges against city officials despite a police report that Mr. Beatty filed accusing city authorities of violating his civil rights by citing him in the park.

Mr. Beatty contends that the city's ban violates the state's one-year-old law that allows permit-holders to carry a concealed weapon.

The Blade story ends with a line often repeated in its stories on this subject:

The state law specifically prohibits concealed weapons in schools, government buildings, and places of worship, but does not mention parks.

Not surprisingly, the Blade fails to mention what the Ohio General Assembly did say on the subject when it enacted OhioCCW:

"It is the intent of the General Assembly…to enact laws of a general nature, and, by enacting those laws of a general nature, the state occupies and preempts the field of issuing licenses to carry a concealed handgun and the validity of licenses of that nature. No municipal corporation may adopt or continue in existence any ordinance, and no township may adopt or continue in existence any resolution, that is in conflict with those sections, including, but not limited to, any ordinance or resolution that attempts to restrict the places where a person possessing a valid license to carry a concealed handgun may carry a handgun concealed."

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that a missing man's body was found in his own car, which Hamilton County deputies impounded weeks ago during the missing persons investigation.

From the story:

Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis has admitted his deputies - weeks ago - should have opened the trunk of an impounded car in which a man's body was found Monday.

He said Tuesday that his office will investigate the actions of three employees involved in the case of missing man David Mollberg and of the discovery of his car last month in Anderson Township. Investigators thought Mollberg had committed suicide in the Ohio River when the car was found at a river access area in Anderson Township on March 11, but learned Monday that Mollberg's body was in the trunk.

The car has been in the sheriff's impound lot since March 11.

"I can tell you that trunk should've been forced open" by either the deputies on the scene when it was found, or by the detective assigned to the case, Leis said. "I have to admit we made a mistake by not popping that trunk."

Mollberg, 49, of Colerain Township, was found in the trunk of the 1987 Chevrolet Caprice on Monday afternoon when a sheriff's captain happened to be on the impound lot and noticed an odor. The captain told someone to open the trunk, and deputies found the body. Leis said Mollberg had put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.

Sheriff Leis recently objected to a plan by Commissioners Phil Heimlich and Pat DeWine to send "secret shoppers" in to his office to test how helpful county employees are when dealing with the general public.

"I am totally opposed to the program," [Leis told the Cincinnati Post]. "I believe it is a waste of time and manpower."

Leis told the Post he doesn't need a secret shopper to tell him that his office already has an excellent reputation for customer service.

Leis, who recently signed on as a county chairperson in anti-self-defense candidate Betty Montgomery's campaign for governor, told the Enquirer his office will investigate the actions of the officer and supervisor at the scene as well as the detective assigned to the case, to see if any disciplinary action is warranted.

When OFCC's Rick Kaleda notified the AAA Ohio Motorists Association of his intent to cancel his membership because of AAA's posting of discriminatory"no-guns" signs, he had in the back of his mind a statement from their website:

"We exist for our members and will judge everything we do by how well it serves their needs. AAA services, programs and products will meet the highest standards of quality and will be continually reviewed to ensure maximum member benefit. AAA services and products will be tested, proved practical and reliable and offered only to add value to membership."

Judging by the below email, Rick is the only one keeping this statement in mind.

From: "Newbacher, Brian"
To: Rick Kaleda
Subject: RE: Won't be renewing my membership
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 2005

Mr. Kaleda,

We are disappointed to hear of your decision but wanted to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail. As a result, we will be sure to honor your request by not attempting to renew your membership at the expiration of your current membership year. Thank you.

Brian Newbacher
Director of Public Affairs
AAA East Central
BNewbacher@aaaoma.com

It is interesting to note that, as far as OFCC has been able to determine, Ohio is the only AAA in the country that has adopted this discriminatory policy. According to one OFCC Steering Committee member, who also cancelled his membership in Ohio recently, the national AAA has refused to get involved, even though they have not had a single problem in any AAA allowing CCW anywhere in the country.

We doubt Mr. Newbacher can address why we Ohioans are so dangerous with guns compared to the rest of the country. Or maybe he considers the all other AAA offices too dangerous.

Before one believes that Mr. Newbacher is "protecting" customers and employees, click to view the extensive list of crimes committed at "no-guns" businesses. Is advertising that customers and employees inside your business are defenseless really such a "safe" idea?

Related Stories:
Former AAA member shares note he received after canceling membership

AAA Ohio Motorist Association loses 20-year member

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April 20, 2005
Coshochton Tribune

To the Editor,

My name is Todd Berry, and I am a convicted felon serving a sentence for crimes of which I am not proud. Before I go on, let me say how truly remorseful I am for what I have done. The pain I caused in the community was both unwarranted and unjustified. To those I have hurt I am truly sorry.

Coshocton is at a point where crime is rising, and places to put those who commit the crimes are becoming overcrowded. When this happens, victims are sometimes neglected, and unfortunately, some criminals slip through the cracks of justice. You do not need to look very hard to see that the courts are bogged down with cases that ultimately end up in some type of plea bargain. Often the criminal is represented by an overworked and underpaid Public Defender, causing the voice of the victims to, regrettably, fall on deaf ears.

You only need to look at recent events to see this. A man was charged with raping a little girl. Rape is a first-degree felony, but the prosecutor, who is an elected public official, recommended that he be released on a $5,000 bond. The judge granted his request. $5,000 is all it took to put this man back into the community where he could hurt another innocent child.

Throughout my time in the judicial system I have encountered many repeat offenders that have managed to plea bargain their case to get a lenient sentence. Many times these offenders get released from prison, and recommit crimes in Coshocton only to yet again receive a break from the court system. When the people we elect fail to see this type of repeated pattern, or for that matter, see it and neglect to act upon it, then they fail you who voted for them. Our elected officials, therefore, play a role in the victimization of more innocent people. If these public servants had done their jobs, and caught the repeated pattern of recidivism, then innocent citizens might not have had to go through the fear, the pain and the loss so many have unjustly endured.

Remember a public servant is just that. They are put in places of authority for the people and by the people in order to serve. Do not be afraid to write or call your public servants and ask questions. Find out what they are doing with the power you, the community, have entrusted to them. After all, they do work for you.

Todd Berry
Belmont Correctional Institution

When justice fails to protect - only you can protect you