by Chad D. Baus

Behind the security cameras and tall iron gates, behind the stone walls and State Trooper Guard House, Bob and Hope Taft live in a stone mansion the likes of which few Ohioans will ever see, let alone live in.

Over 120 men, women and children took time away from Thanksgiving events and braved the crisp autumn air November 30, openly carrying firearms on "the Mother of All Defense Walks". They came to show Governor Taft the choice his opposition to concealed carry legislation is forcing upon those who need to carry a firearm for self-defense. And even though he didn't show himself, Taft managed to show the Walkers something as well.

"No wonder he doesn't care about what we have to go through as defenseless citizens," one Walker observed while gazing over the iron fences and through the thick arbor borders of the estate. "He probably can't remember a time when he didn't have armed guards and high security protecting his family 24-7."

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Should Ohioans have the right to walk the streets packing a pistol?
By MARK TUSCANO
Ashtabula Star Beacon
November 30, 2003

ASHTABULA — Whether law abiding Ohioans have the right to carry concealed weapons or not, has been an ongoing issue in the Ohio General Assembly this year. It has been a hard fought battle with grass roots support on both sides. On Saturday, those supporting their right to carry handguns rallied in favor of legislation that would allow Ohioans to carry concealed weapons legally.

About 50 supporters assembled in North Park for a rally to support Ohio House Bill 12; proposed legislation currently in committee that may grant Ohioans the right to carry concealed handguns on their person or in their vehicle. Many in attendance wore holsters filled with their own handguns, in plain view, as they assembled and walked the rally route from North Park, south on Main Street to 48th Street, then back on Park Avenue.

John Bailey of Austinburg Township coordinated the rally with help from a couple others including Tracy Williams of Plymouth Township. Bailey secured the permit for the rally through Ashtabula Police Chief Ray Mattson and City Manager August Pugliese.

“I have a lot of respect for the chief, he was 100-percent against the concealed carry legislation in Ohio,” Bailey said. “But he supports our right to demonstrate peacefully.”

As a hunter, outdoorsman and an Army veteran, Bailey has handled guns most of his life. “We need to get involved and support this legislation,” he said.
Bailey cited one case in particular that supports his stand on the issue. A [Seneca County] woman, the victim of a recent rape, was arrested and sentenced to jail time for carrying a handgun in her car.

“I’m totally outraged,” Bailey said. “She had a handgun under the seat of her car because she was afraid. We have Ohioans living in fear. If Governor Taft gets his way, he will be giving criminals all the rights. We want Ohioans to be able to protect themselves.”

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In Ohio, gun grabbers have found perhaps no greater a sympathetic ear than the Toledo City Council.

State law prohibits carrying a concealed firearm for self-defense, and the Court says this is Constitutional, since Ohioans can carry a firearm openly.

But in Toledo, Municipal Code 549.18, Weapon possession in public places prohibited is cited by Toledo Police Chief Mike Navarre as the basis for arresting Ohioans who attempt to exercise their Supreme Court-recognized "fundamental individual right" to openly carry a firearm for self-defense in his city.

Click here to read a letter from the Toledo Police Department on the subject of open carry in Toledo.

Toledo bureaucrats are fond of bans. In addition to the open carry ban (which is, since the Court's recent ruling, begging for a constitutional challenge), Toledo also bans the sale of inexpensive firearms in that city. The consequence is, of course, that lower-income persons have an even harder time protecting themselves. The open carry ban denies them protection on the streets, and the inexpensive firearms ban disarms many, even in their homes.

Despite Toledo's various gun control laws,
crime in Toledo is rampant, and growing. Consider these headlines from just this week.

Nov. 29:
Police seek clues to solve slaying during A-1 Auto Parts robbery

by State Rep. Tom Niehaus
published in The People's Defender

Legislators will return from a two-week Thanksgiving break Dec. 2, and one of the hottest topics is likely to be Governor Bob Taft’s latest announcement about conceal carry legislation.

Whether you support the right of citizens to carry concealed guns or not, the governor’s announcement November 18 may have ramifications far beyond this one piece of legislation.

Legislation involves compromise. It requires participants to negotiate in good faith. The announcement from the governor’s office adding another condition before he supports a conceal carry bill seems to break that good faith concept.

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

A Seneca County concealed-weapons case that brought statewide attention to the problems with current Ohio law has officially come to a close, and once again, a victim has been victimized.

Kathryn Howard, 29, of Fostoria pleaded guilty in Seneca County Common Pleas Court to a charge of improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle. Judge Michael Kelbley sentenced her to 180 days in jail but suspended 170 days. She was given credit for three days served and will have to serve the remaining seven days sometime within the year.

The case began in July, 2002, when Ms. Howard, who was a passenger in a stopped vehicle, was arrested by the Ohio Highway Patrol for having a gun under her seat. Howard explained to the trooper that she was a former rape-victim, and carrying the firearm for her defense and security, (per Ohio's affirmative defense law). She was arrested and prosectuted.

In November, 2002, Judge Kelbley dismissed the charge, saying that the state’s law on carrying a concealed weapon was unconstitutional. Seneca County Prosecutor Ken Egbert, Jr. appealed the ruling to the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Lima.

After the Supreme Court ruling in Hamilton County, Mr. Egbert then pursued an amended charge against Ms. Howard. As is common with many who are charged under this law, Ms. Howard pled to a lesser charge rather than risk being found not to have had an affirmative defense.

For eight months, while the case was on appeal, Ohio's concealed-carry ban was unenforcable in Seneca County. During that time, according to law enforcement officials, the county experienced no problems. This experience proves once again that Ohioans are as capable as citizens of Vermont or Alaska to carry firearms for self-defense without ANY licensing structure.

Click here to read the story in the Toledo Blade.

Related Stories:
7th month of freedom & security in Seneca County

Second chance for rape victim's affirmative defense plea??

On October 23, just two days after 'Defense' Walkers paid a visit to his hometown of Manchester, Senate President Doug White reversed four months of refusals and appointed conferees to a House Bill 12 conference committee. White explained the months of obstruction to the Dayton Daily News at the time, saying he "delayed appointing conferees because he didn't want his Senate members harassed and pressured by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights advocates for months while behind-the-scenes negotiations continued."

Thankfully, Senator White now seems to be much more willing to hear from individuals and groups of citizens on the public records issue, although he believes the debate "slows [HB12] down" and prevents the legislature "from being able to put this to bed very quickly" (which of course is what Gov. Taft has wanted all along).

On Wednesday, White told the Associated Press he agrees with Speaker Householder's initial concerns about Taft's latest demand. "Initially I’m very much opposed" to Gov. Bob Taft’s request that this legislation turn personal information about permit-holders into public records.

White also seemed to mirror Householder's willingness to compromise on this issue for the good of getting a law.

According to the Dayton Daily News, White is not categorically rejecting Taft’s request, but said that he "wants to discuss it with hunters, sportsmen and others interested in concealed-carry legislation." White said if he can be assured 'my friends out there are OK with it' then he might go along with it, 'even though I don’t like it.'"

White also told the DDN he does not carry a handgun and is not likely to if the bill passes. But, he said, "I don’t want people to know I don’t carry." Since no citizen in Ohio can carry a concealed handgun legally, or openly, without fear of arrest, one wonders why this admission is newsworthy, or why White bothered to comment on it in the first place.

Nevertheless, President White and Speaker Householder are now in agreement on Taft's latest demand - they both oppose the concept, and are both willing to compromise to get a law. But since they agree, further compromise should not be necessary.

Now that Senator White has expressed willingness to publicly oppose the Governor, he should immediately notify HB12 Conference Committee Chairman Aslanides that he is ready for the committee to meet, and hammer out a final compromise report on HB12 - one that can win the most votes from both chambers, and committments to a potential override scenario.

Contrary to media reports and the hopes of some, Senator White's latest comments confirm there should be no reason for further delays in sending a bill to Bob Taft.

'Defense' Walkers calling on Taft to stop obstructing HB12

James A. "Tony" Gordon, a 27-year-old father, died on Wednesday, August 6,
2003 after being shot in the chest during an attempted carjacking in Dayton.
On Sunday, November 30, his family will join other Ohioans concerned about
the right to self-defense in a Walk around the Governor's Mansion.

Tony's family will be wearing t-shirts bearing his image. Other Walkers are
expected to carry photos of Gordon, and other Ohioans who were rendered
defenseless by Ohio's concealed carry ban. In October, the family attended
a Walk in Manchester, Senate President White's hometown. Two days later,
White reversed four months of delays by appointing conferees to a committee
on House Bill 12, the concealed carry bill.

"I would like to thank all of the people who have been so kind to us in this
terrible time of our lives! I loved my son so very much and will always have
this big empty hole in my heart," said Phyllis Gordon, Tony's mother. "I
also would urge everyone who believes that we have the right to carry a
weapon to defend ourselves, such as in the situation that my son was put in,
to please contact your congressmen and let them know how you feel! Maybe if
Tony was able to have a weapon, he would be here now!"

Ohioans For Concealed Carry is concerned with all criminal victimizations -
the desire to reduce violent crime is a key reason why we advocate the
passage of a concealed carry law, such as every state surrounding Ohio, and
45 states in our nation, now enjoy.

What brought us special concern in Tony's case was the manner in which he
was victimized. According to Lt. John Huber, Dayton Police department, Tony
was killed while trying to "drive away" from his attacker "and was shot for
it."

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

Fairborn man assaulted, robbed answering door
Dayton Daily News
November 26, 2003

FAIRBORN | A 20-year-old man told police that four masked men rushed into his apartment Monday and put a gun to his head before stealing two handguns, Fairborn police reported.

The man said he opened the door of his apartment, in the 200 block of Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, about 9 p.m. believing a neighbor was knocking. He told police the men barged in and began assaulting him, but when he realized the gun one of them had was a plastic toy he struggled and yelled for help, according to a police report. Police said he told them the suspects fled when neighbors came to his aid.

Witnesses also told police that two semi-automatic handguns — a black Lama .45-caliber and a chrome Jennings .380-caliber — were stolen, according to the report.

Commentary:
Since the victim's firearms were clearly the intended target of these criminals, it is obvious they knew they were present in his home. If concealed carry licenseholders' personal information is made open to the public, criminals like these will be provided a list of Ohio homes in which they can find firearms to steal.

These criminals had a toy gun when they invaded this home. Because they knew exactly which home to rob in order to get what they wanted, they were able to use that information to assault this man and steal his property. Now they have two real guns.

After the campaign waged by the Ohio Newspaper Association and various liberal editorial boards to advance Taft's latest agenda, we would've espected declarations of victory in today's headlines. Yet only the Plain Dealer is among the conspirators who informed their readers of this update, which undoubtedly indicates they were not successul in "sinking" HB12 with the public records issue.

11/26/03
Sandy Theis

Columbus - House Speaker Larry Householder said he's willing to negotiate with Gov. Bob Taft over the governor's demand for the state to disclose the names of people who are issued permits to carry concealed handguns.

Gov. Bob Taft appeared to derail the long-debated gun bill last week when he threatened to veto it unless it requires the state to disclose the name, birth date and county of residence of people who are issued a gun permit.

House and Senate leaders initially rejected Taft's demand, but Householder reversed himself yesterday.

"Let's try and work out the differences and get things settled once and for all," Householder said.

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

Ohio’s Legal Logjam
by Blaine Smith, Assistant Editor, America's 1st Freedom
December 2003

With the Ohio Supreme Court letting stand a ban on the right to carry, the ongoing fight for the rights of Ohio citizens is being waged in the state’s legislature. And neither side looks ready to give in.

Late September 2003 found the Ohio Supreme Court overturning previous rulings by a Hamilton County judge and the 1st District Court of Appeals, both of which found Ohio’s ban on carrying firearms for self-defense violates the state’s constitution.

This ruling came in spite of the Ohio Constitution’s patently explicit declaration that “The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security.” In both the majority and dissentingopinions, all seven justices presiding agreed that “[T]he right to bear arms for defense and security provided by the Ohio Constitution is a fundamental right.” However, a five-judge majority favored curtailing the express rights described in the state constitution, and leaving the work of reversing 140 years of flawed public policy to the legislature, instead of making an informed, just decision that would restore an individual right to those to whom it rightfully belongs - individuals.

Attempts in the Ohio legislature to enact a law recognizing citizens’ right to carry firearms is being hobbled in much the same way - by elitists in positions of power who have unduly stalled the legislative process for reasons no weightier than personal interest or fraternal association. This comes at the expense of no only constitutionally protected freedoms, but, as a recent study shows, violent victimizations numbering in the hundreds each month.

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