Toby Hoover, executive director Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said a mouthful in yesterday's Senate testimony, as did her anti-self-defense partner from the Brady Campaign in Washington D.C., John Shanks.

Unfortunately, the truth and their testimony seem to have parted company before they entered the hearing room.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus inserted in blue.

One of Toby and Shanks' complaints is that HB12 does not specifically address the types of handguns can be carried—it only states that the weapon could be used with only one hand. Mr. Shanks suggested that the legislation obligate Ohioans to be trained with the same weapon they intend to carry, as is required in Texas.

Opponents of a bill to allow Ohioans to carry hidden handguns argued yesterday it is so vaguely worded that it could permit carrying assault weapons similar to one used last week by the Case Western Reserve University gunman.

"The gun in [the Case Western] incident that concerns us is a Cobray M-11 9-millimeter pistol, which is a banned assault weapon by name under the 1994 assault weapons bill - not banned to own, but banned to sell," said John Shanks of the Brady Campaign and Million Mom March.

"These types of weapons, like the M-11, could be legally carried in the state of Ohio if this law passes," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice.

The Senate is on a fast track to pass a conceal-carry bill within weeks, setting up a potential showdown with Gov. Bob Taft, who has vowed to veto it without support from major law enforcement groups.

Ohio’s bill, like the laws in most states that permit conceal-carry, generally refers to "handgun," essentially a firearm that can be carried with one hand.

"There are no restrictions in this bill on what is a handgun," said Toby Hoover of the Toledo-based Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence.

Biswanath Halder, 62, has been charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder for killing one person and wounding two others during Friday night’s rampage at Case Western in Cleveland. The second weapon he carried was a Ruger 9-millimeter handgun.

"[The Cobray] was banned in 1994 and is an illegal weapon, but that didn’t change the outcome one bit at Case Western," said Jim Irvine of Ohioans for Concealed Carry. "He didn’t follow that law. Neither did he follow the current law on carrying concealed weapons. The university prohibits bringing weapons onto campus, so he violated that law, as well as numerous other laws on discharging weapons and injuring people.

"The idea that changing House Bill 12 would have any impact on what he did or anyone like him is preposterous," he said. "The types of people who commit these crimes are not law-abiding."

Ohio is one of four states without some system for allowing its average citizens to carry concealed handguns.

Several law enforcement organizations, including the Fraternal Order of Police, are expected to testify next week. The FOP last session dropped its opposition to the bill when the Senate made a number of changes, a move Mr. Taft said brought him "very close" to agreeing to a conceal-carry compromise.

Many of those changes, however, angered nearly every gun-rights group except the National Rifle Association and are not a part of this year’s House-passed bill.

Click here for the entire story in the Toledo Blade.

The anti-crime activist getting national attention for shooting a masked robber in a bar last week plans to defend himself by saying Northside has become so unsafe he had to carry a gun.

Hal McKinney doesn't want to besmirch the reputation of his historic city neighborhood, where he has spent countless hours walking the streets as a volunteer with Citizens on Patrol.

But as he faces charges of carrying a gun into a liquor establishment and felonious assault, it's time to tell it like it is, said his lawyer, Mark Naegel.

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

House Bill 12 has been added to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice's agenda for public testimony on May 20 at 10:00 a.m. and May 21 at 9:00 a.m. in the North Hearing Room, Second Floor, Senate Building.

The purpose for Tuesday's hearing for HB12 is, essentially, to hear testimony from The Buckeye State Sheriff's Association (which supports the bill), as well as from the Fraternal Order of Police (a labor union which who oppose some, but not all, of the language in House Bill 12), and from the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ohio Highway Patrol, both of which are considered anti-self-defense, bureaucratic organizations who oppose the bill in any form.

ALERT! In testimony before the Senate committee, anti-self-defense and Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence spokesperson stated that concealed carry reform is a male issue, proven by the fact that no females come to Columbus to testify on behalf of HB12.

Ohioans For Concealed Carry often hears from women who are anxious to be able to protect themselves from violent attack, and wondering what they can do to help.

NOW IS YOUR TIME, LADIES! Individuals (of both genders, of course) wishing to offer testimony on their own behalf are encouraged to testify next week!

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

Representatives from Ohioans For Concealed Carry and OFCC PAC were on hand today at the Statehouse, as HB12 received it's third hearing in the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice.

In the interest of time and sanity, we have taken great pains to reduce much of the anti-self-defense blather to the most basic points made.

Toby Hoover, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, went first. She spent her first minute complaining that she couldn't possibly get all of her testimony done in three minutes, as had been requested by the committee's Chairman, Sen. Austria. She wound up testifying for twelve minutes, and spent another 30 minutes answering questions. Throughout her time at the podium, she repeatedly complained about her lack of time to testify.

Harold McKinney put himself in harms' way daily as a volunteer for a neighborhood crime watch group. Since taverns in his neighborhood are often the targets of violent crime, he made the decision to carry the gun in case he ended up in trouble.

So when Joseph Person and Demeico Hester, both 18, went into Junkers Tavern at 4356 Langland Ave., Cincinnati, about 11:12 p.m. last Thursday to hold up the place, and when Person drew a handgun, McKinney knew his life (and those around him) was in immediate danger. He drew, fired, and shot one of the robbers, stopping the attack and sparing innocent lives.

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

It speaks volumes about our educational system that, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, one can read a four sentence letter from a pro-CCW writer that has more truth in it than the lengthy and horribly misinformed letter from a Kent State University professor who teaches on the Constitution.

5/13/03
To the Editor:

I can't help but think about how the tragic death of that student could have been avoided if one person was carrying a concealed weapon. One well-placed shot could have ended the worthless life of the attacker and saved a worthwhile one.

Incidents like this show how much we need a concealed-carry law in this state. It will save lives.

Anthony Romano
Euclid

The entire list of letters, pro and con, can be viewed on the Plain Dealer website.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for OFCC PAC truth-injecting commentary on the two anti-self-defense letters.

Dr. John R. Lott Jr. has written an excellent opinion editorial in the wake of the Case Western shootings, which has been published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Autographed copies of Dr. Lott's book are still available in the OFCC Store, but they're going fast! Click here for more information.

The entire op-ed may be read at the PD website. An copy has been archived on this website in case the PD link expires, and may be read by clicking on the "Read More..." link below.

It's quite a diverse bunch that have assembled together today for the third Senate committee hearing on HB12. They're joined at the hip - all for the purpose of defeating attempts to restore your right to self-defense.

• The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is testifying in opposition to language which prevents businesses from banning firearms from your personal vehicle in their parking lots. But according to the more than ten local Chambers we've called so far (all of which are paying members of the state Chamber), the Ohio Chamber hasn't ever polled it's membership on this issue!

• The Fraternal Order of Police labor union is testifying as well, arguing that you should have to undergo even more stringent training and background checks in order to qualify for a license, and that one of your affirmative defenses should be stripped from you, all in the name of officer safety. But according to the members we've spoken with, the FOP has never polled it's officers on this issue!

Approximately 12 hours after the Case Western Reserve University shooting, Ohioans For Concealed Carry issued a brief remark concerning the tragedy, explaining our belief that to comment before all the facts were known (and while the families of dead and injured were still grieving) would be totally inappropriate. We also predicted that the anti-self-defense activists would observe no such measure of grace or propriety. We were (unfortunately) right.

So when a Cleveland Plain Dealer reader wrote to the reporter who covered the "Million" Mom March's ambulance chasing, and took her to task for not presenting both sides, what do you suppose her excuse was?

I could have given your side equal time, but "...your organization didn't think of having it's own press conference."

The Plain Dealer's Joan Mazzolini seems to have a problem. She apparently doesn't know how to gather facts without someone holding a press conference. Consider the following email exchange:

"Raynolds, Paul - USA" 05/13/03 11:32AM