By Chad D. Baus

When a notorious op-ed columnist from the Toledo Blade recently took her latest swipe at OhioCCW in a piece criticizing the job Bob Taft is doing as governor, by claiming that when Taft signed House Bill 12 he "gave the state something most of its citizens never sought or desired", I decided to ask her a few questions. And just as another member of the media did recently, Marilou Johanek has proved to be more inclined to ask questions than to answer them...

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

When OhioCCW became law, Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman ran to a city park, set up a press conference in front of a jungle gym, and expressed how appalled he was that city officials were prohibited from banning firearms in their parks. Coleman, who is now running for the Democrat nomination for governor in Ohio, called the state's concealed carry law "a travesty for our city and for our state."

While Coleman's grandstanding was ridiculous, he deserves recognition for one thing: unlike officials in the City of Clyde and Toledo, Coleman recognized that Ohio law truly does prohibit his city from banning guns in parks.

Given that admission, the discovery of "gun-free" signs posted on city streets comes as a bit of a shock. In a Columbus NBC4i.com report about increased gang activity, NewsChannel 4 included a photograph of a sign that has law-abiding citizens wondering if the City is trying to prohibit their legal right to bear arms for self-defense with a firearm in these communities.

From the story:

Columbus' west side is place where people walk the streets during the day with little worry, but at night, some residents said there's a whole new level of fear in the drug- and gun-free neighborhood.

Many people would not talk on camera because they were afraid of the new west-side gangs.

Undercover officers are now coming face-to-face with what they're calling the New Breed Criminals, a fast-growing gang that is reportedly committing violent crimes and harming innocent victims in Lincoln Park, Andrews reported.


The problem is so severe that gang unit detectives are educating city code enforcement officers.

A three-hour presentation and training session was recently held by detectives who work the streets and read the "writing" on the walls. They are tying graffiti, gangs, drugs and criminals to illegal activity in California, Andrews reported.

Columbus police and Franklin County officials are cracking down on the west-side gang activity and are constantly making arrests, Andrews reported.

But residents said that with low bonds for criminals, many of the offenders are back on the streets the next day.

Are officials from the City of Columbus and Mayor Coleman trying to send a message to people not to bear arms for self-defense in these dangerous communities? Could a CHL-holder be prosecuted for exercise an other-wise legal activity in these so-called "gun-free" communities?

These are important questions, and Ohio's CHL-holders deserve answers.

The following news item was submitted to OhioCCW.org:

"Maybe this is why Papa Johns doesn't want CHL's in their stores...

From Columbus Police Department report website:

Case #: 050365549
Title: Robbery
Subject: 450 - Robbery
Location: 124 E Maynard Ave
City: Columbus
Zone 4, Precinct 4, District 43
Occurred: 5/2/2005 11:00:00 PM
Reported By: Officer Ricks Badge 1546

Report Narrative:

“THE HOME IN QUESTION IS SPLIT INTO 2 APARTMENTS, 1 IS UPSTAIRS AND ONE IS DOWNSTAIRS. VICTIM 1 STATED SUSPECT 1 AND 2 WALKED THROUGH HIS UNLOCKED FRONT DOOR ON SAID DATE AND TIMES. VICTIM 1 STATED SUSPECT 2 WAS DRESSED IN A PAPA JOHN'S UNIFORM AND CARRYING AN INSULATED PIZZA DELIVERY BAG. VICTIM 1 STATED ONCE THE SUPECTS SAW HIM, THEY GRABBED HIM AND EACH POINTED A GUN TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. VICTIM 1 STATED THEY BEGAN BEATING HIM UP IN THE HOUSE AND EVENTUALLY TOOK HIM TO THE BACK YARD AND MADE HIM LAY ON THE GROUND. VICTIM 1 STATED LISTED PROPERTY WAS TAKEN FROM HIM. VICTIM 2 STATED SHE WAS ALSO ROBBED AT GUNPOINT ON SAID DATE AND TIMES. VICTIM 2 STATED SHE CAME HOME AND AS SOON AS SHE UNLOCKED HER FRONT DOOR , SHE WAS GRABBED BY SUSPECT 1 AND PULLED INTO THE APARTMENT. VICTIM 2 STATED SUSPECT 1 AND 2 WERE BOTH IN HER APARTMENT AND SUSPECT 1 HELD A GUN TO HER HEAD, TOOK HER PURSE AND CONTENTS WITHIN, AND HER SET OF HOUSE/CAR KEYS. SUSPECT 1 THEN TOOK HER TO THE BACKYARD AND MADE HER LAY ON THE GROUND AND CONTINUED TO POINT A GUN AT HER HEAD AND THREATENED TO SHOOT HER. SUSPECT 1 KEPT ASKING HER WHERE SHE KEPT HER MONEY. SHE TOLD HIM SHE DIDN'T HAVE ANY, THAT SHE KEEPS IT IN THE BANK. VICTIM 2 STATED WHEN SHE GOT TO THE BACKYARD, VICTIM 1 WAS ALREADY BACK THERE LAYING ON THE GROUND. VICTIM 2 STATED THE SUSPECTS WOULD LEAVE THEM ALONE IN THE YARD FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN COME BACK, AND DID THIS A FEW TIMES. VICTIM 2 STATED SUSPECT 1 WOULD GRAB HER HAIR AND LIFT H”"

Although the company sends its employees into high-risk situations every day, Papa John's refuses to recognize the right of law-abiding delivery-persons who have obtained concealed handgun licenses to protect themselves.

We have been unable to locate any statement or recognition from the company with regard to this attack.

Columbus' WBNS 10tv.com is reporting that a man who had stopped to fill up at a south Columbus gas station last week was robbed, beaten and kidnapped, and police say his attacker is still on the loose.

From the story:

It was around 1 a.m. Wednesday at a station on Frebis and Lockbourne Roads when James Kennenbrew was getting gas.
The 56-year-old was approached by a man with a gun who told him to get into his Thunderbird and drive. The suspect then told Kennenbrew to drive to the Linwood and Cole neighborhood, and during that time the suspect hit Kennenbrew in the head with his gun. When they got to the neighborhood, the suspect pushed Kennenbrew out of the car. The suspect took off with the vehicle but it was later found in roughly the same area that Kennenbrew was pushed out of the car. He was taken to the hospital where officials say he is in fair condition.

Farther north, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that store clerk collapsed on the sidewalk and died after being shot in the neck during a holdup in broad daylight Sunday on Cleveland's West Side, all while defenseless customers watched.

From the story:

The victim, Saleem Muqdady, 28, was pronounced dead at Lakewood Hospital at 7:08 p.m., about a half-hour after the shooting at the Edgewater Delicatessen at Lake Avenue and West 87th Street. Several neighbors said Sunday was his birthday.


The killing occurred just six months after shootings in two other robberies at West Side convenience stores left three people dead. About 10 minutes before Sunday's shooting, police responded to another robbery at a food store at Lorain Avenue and West 47th Street. Police could not say whether the robberies were connected.

A number of witnesses who did not want to give their names said a gunman walked into the deli and demanded money. One witness said the man walked behind the counter, smashed his gun into Muqdady's head, shot him and then ran out. Several witnesses said Muqdady man aged to walk outside the deli before collapsing.

According to the newspaper, Cleveland police had no suspects in Sunday's slaying, which occurred while customers strolled the aisles. Police said they are looking for two men in a dark green Ford Taurus.

Look who else the FBI says is roaming Ohio, looking for his next victim, and then ask yourself if you can justify exercising your self-defense preparedness and carrying only when you "expect" trouble.