On March 4, this website published excerpts from an op-ed written by a person who attended a College Republicans event at the Ohio State University, where Attorney General and gubernatorial-hopeful Jim Petro was the keynote speaker.

At that meeting, Mr. Petro was asked about whether he supports reforming the concealed carry law in Ohio, and how he feels about the publishing of lists of concealed handgun license-holders in newspapers such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

It is important to note that his latest comments on making CHL-holder’s information public did not come in a vacuum. On January 9, 2005, the day the Media Access Loophole was signed into law by Governor Taft, NBC4Columbus reported that both Petro and Betty Montgomery said they believed the 'law did not go far enough in allowing public access to the lists of permit holders.'

"'They said they're afraid criminals will be able to find out who has guns and not mug them; that's a stretch,' Petro said."

More recently, after providing testimony in support of House Bill 9, the open records legislation being pushed by the Ohio Newspaper Association, Petro was questioned on his support for a proposal to amend HB9 to close the Media Access Loophole.

From the Dayton Daily News on March 3, 2005:

[Petro] said there should be a "demonstrated need" before exceptions were made to the open records law. Reminded that in the past he had said concealed-carry records should be available not only to reporters, but to the public, Petro said, "I just kind of said the same thing again."

Mr. Petro was able to go into much greater detail as to his thoughts on the public records issue with the College Republicans. Recognizing that truncated quotes in news stories or op-eds do not provide the reader with the full context of a candidate's position, the op-ed writer promised to make available a video link of Mr. Petro's comments.

As promised, a video has now been made available, so that interested parties may hear for themselves his comments on the possibility of closing the Media Access Loophole, and on concealed carry reform efforts in general.

Click here to watch Petro's 51 minute appearance to the OSU College Republicans in RealAudio format. His comments on concealed carry reform begin at 23:50 minutes on counter, and continue through 28:00. (Slower connections may have better luck here.)

One thing that may jump out to viewers is Petro's use of the words "legitimate right" when describing concealed carry.

...We're about the forty-sixth state to finally recognize that this is a legitimate opportunity and a legitimate right for individuals," Petro told attendees.

These comments are significant in light of the criticism Mr. Petro drew last year when he referred to the right to bear arms for self-defense a "privilege" in the Ohio Concealed Carry Training Publication (.pdf), a publication which is required reading for all CHL applicants.

We have been extremely pleased with Attorney General Petro's administration of the concealed handgun license law, and encouraged by his recognition that changes need to be made to current law. We are interested in providing his campaign with whatever evidence necessary to prove a "demonstrated need" exists to prove that Ohio law should allow for law-abiding citizens to be able to protect their private, personal status as CHL-holders from the media and from the public in general.

To share your own thoughts, contact:

Citizens for Jim Petro
64 E. Broad St., Mezzanine Level
Columbus, OH 43215
614-221-2002 (Local)
1-877-JIM-2006
Fax: 614-221-4608
www.jimpetro.com

email@jimpetro.com

April 1, 2005
Cleveland Plain Dealer

In light of Jessica Lunsford's murder in Florida and Jetseta Gage's murder in Iowa, both at the hands of convicted sexual predators, why doesn't The Plain Dealer publish the names of known sexual predators instead of publishing the names of concealed-carry license holders?

I, for one, am not really concerned about who is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Those people by law have never committed any crime, and I feel safer having them around. I am much more concerned, and I think everyone else is too, about whether or not someone in my neighborhood is a convicted sexual predator.

Do us a real public service and publish the names of sexual predators so that we all know who they are and where they live.

Dan Serge
Chardon

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

Just days after is reporting that nine city employees, including two police officers and two police dispatchers, are being laid off effective April 1, the Bucyrus Telegraph Forum is reporting that local businesses are experiencing a rash of break-ins.

From the story:

In the past week, six local businesses have been broken into after hours. In some instances, the doors were forced open or glass was broken out of windows. In all cases, an undetermined amount of cash was taken.

"They're killing us," Bucyrus Police Chief Ken Teets said referring to the break-ins and other vandalism done to vehicles and properties recently.

The rash of crime comes as the city prepared to lay off two police officers because of budget problems. The department is already two officers short and starting Friday will be short two more.

"It's not Chief Teets' or the police department's fault that these burglaries happened," Midwest Furniture store owner Doug Godwin told the newspaper, adding, "We don't need less police officers, we need more."

According to the Telegraph-Forum, Godwin is attributing the rash of break-ins to the fact Crawford County Sheriff Ronny Shawber released 30 in-county prisoners from the county jail last week to make room for out-of-town paying "guests" from Mahoning County, where the prison is overcrowded.

"It was wrong to let these people out and bring in people from other counties. It jeopardizes people's safety," Godwin said.

Other Bucyrus residents have also showed concern recently about the law enforcement layoffs and area crime wave.