By Chad D. Baus

Earlier this month, Republican State Senator Kevin Coughlin, who declared his candidacy for the 2010 governor's race in January, began circulating an email designed to bring the Second Amendment to the front and center of early GOP primary discussions.

This week, former Congressman John Kasich, who declared his own candidacy for the Republican nomination at the beginning of June, issued with his campaign's first official statement on the subject of gun rights.

When the decade-long battle for concealed carry reform was raging in Ohio, pro-Second Amendment advocates recognized the Lima News as one of the few newspapers whose editorial page featured opinions as firm in support of the Second Amendment as they were on the First.

Five years after Ohio's concealed carry law took effect, the newspaper's news room has proved that they too continue to be one of the few journalistic enterprises in Ohio capable of providing an objective look at Second Amendment issues.

In a story entitled "Concealed carry five years later - Why it works", reporter Greg Sowinski takes a look at the increasing numbers of concealed handgun license-holders, the police view, views from opponents, and a look to the future of CCW.