By Chad D. Baus

Last April, NewsNet5 reported a woman in her mid-20s was attacked in the bathroom at rest area off Interstate 77 in Summit County.

Last week, in a live-at-the-scene report from Summit Co., NBC 3 Cleveland revealed that a 22-year old Canton woman had been knocked to the ground, assaulted and robbed behind a rest stop building.

It is bad enough that Ohio law mandates that these rest stop buildings be posted as defensless victim zones. But as volunteers for Ohioans For Concealed Carry have been reporting for some time, the Ohio Department of Transportation has gone beyond just posting the rest stop buildings.

----- Original Message -----
Sep 05 21:39:32 2004
Subject: Ohio rest stops

I just happened to pull into a rest stop on Interstate 77 between Ghent Road and Wheatly Road going towards Cleveland and I noticed a "No weapons" sign posted as you pull into the parking lot saying weapons were not allowed on premises.

This rest stop was a scene of a rape just a few months earlier, I believe. I thought it was legal to have a concealed weapon on the grounds, just not in the buildings. I would have thought just the buildings would have been posted.

Thanks -

Anthony C
Ravenna, Ohio

Another OFCC volunteer began chasing the rabbit that same week in September, after seeing two state highway garages posted in a similar fashion:

One day after a man murdered four people in a "no-guns" bar in Columbus, the Dayton Daily News is reporting that a 28-year-old man tried to shoot a bouncer Wednesday night as the bouncer escorted him from Sloopy's Bar in the Oregon Historic District.

The paper reports the man was taken to the Montgomery County Jail pending the filing of charges — aggravated assault, carrying a concealed weapon and inducing panic.

Police dispatched to the bar, 613 E. Fifth St., at 11:45 p.m. on a disturbance call were told by witnesses that the man was being escorted out by three bouncers because he had been in a disturbance involving a woman.

The DDN story states that when the bouncers approached the emergency exit door that faces Fifth Street, the man pulled a firearm from his waistband, pointed it at a bouncer and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire.

The bouncer tried to restrain the man, who "grabbed the slide to the weapon and chambered a round into the cylinder of the gun," the report said, then he ran about 10 yards from the door and fired once at the bouncer.

Police arrested him near the bar and found a 9mm automatic pistol during a search of the area.

Related Stories:
Four victims shot dead in ''No-guns'' Ohio nightclub

More armed criminals in state-mandated victim zones

Kidnapped from a state-mandated victim zone

Armed employee thwarts robbery attempt in company parking lot

The Akron Beacon Journal reported December 10 that Akron police received a call at 7:10 p.m. from a woman who said her daughter was with a man who had a restraining order filed against him, said Akron police Lt. Sylvia Trundle.

When police drove into the area of the Courtesy Inn at 210 W. Market St., the man shot the woman in the head after pointing the gun at two other people and attempting to fire, Trundle said.

Remarkably, the newspaper reports the victim was expected to be released from a hospital Thursday night or early today.

Police told the Beacon Journal the gunman, Joey Smith, 26, whose last known address was in the 1000 block of Packard Avenue, tried to shoot a man and the victim's mother, but the gun did not fire. He then shot a 19-year-old woman, who Trundle said was his ex-girlfriend.

The man threatened suicide several times, and put a gun to his head in the parking lot before going into the motel room, police said. According to the newspaper, police negotiators persuaded Smith to come out of the room around 10:45 p.m.

Related Stories:
Battered North Carolina wife refuses to be a victim

Mother: restraining order, cameras & pepper spray didn't save my daughter

Restraining nothing

Multiple restraining orders fail to restrain; Hamilton County woman dies

Right to self-defense coming too late for some domestic violence victims

Akron: Yet another attack after ''restraining'' order fails to restrain

December 7, 2004
Cincinnati Enquirer

Every few months we hear of a tragic story of how a gun gets into the wrong hands and "accidentally" fires ("Boy shot playing with rifle" Dec. 4). In all of my years of shooting handguns, rifles and shotguns, I have come to the conclusion that guns never "accidentally" fire. A person must have his or her finger on the trigger, pull back with some force and move that trigger far enough for the gun to fire.

I feel for Timothy Cooper and his family, but for the article to state that the gun "accidentally" went off is misleading.

Bill Redman
Covington

The Akron Beacon Journal reported December 8 that a 22-year-old woman was robbed at gunpoint early Tuesday morning in an apartment complex parking lot in the 7200 block of Stuhldreher Street Northwest.

The woman was approached by two men just after she parked the car, according to the township Police Department. One man pointed a handgun at her and ordered her out of the car. The men took her purse, cell phone and car keys.

Commentary:
It can be certain that fighters for civil liberties would be all over Ohio if tenants were being told they could no longer keep pornography/a copy of Mein Kampf/ a Bill Clinton autobiography/ etc. in their apartments.

Yet when another constitutional right is violated - when they are told they may not keep a firearm in their home for self-defense - these so called civil-liberties fighters are silent.

Research is ongoing, and it is not yet known if this apartment complex is one of several in Ohio that have disarmed residents in their personal living space. But this incident highlights the fact that owners of apartment complexes, trailor parks, etc. are endangering those who live and visit in those places when they enforce prohibitions on their property.

According to reports sent to OFCC, the following locations are enforcing CHL bans in their tenants' personal living space:

December 8, 2004
WHIOTV.com

Police in Springfield are searching for four men in connection with breaking into a home. The home invasion happened at a home on Oak Street on Tuesday morning.

Andre McGary said the men, carrying guns, shot and killed his dog and then forced his wife and four children into a bedroom.

McGary said the men stole jewelry, cash and took electronics out of a car that was in the garage.

Commentary by Larry Moore, OFCC Senate District 10 Coordinator:
It is sad that a man's home is no longer his castle, and respected by others.

Some areas seem to be more likely to have your 'castle' invaded now than during the Dark Ages, when various groups invaded and raided the castles of old Europe. We can not dig moats and stock alligators around our modern castles to offer protection. Modern technology, such as 911, does not protect a homeowner when taken by surprise as in this case.

There are villains and thugs who will take up arms and prey on the unprotected. The honest law-abiding citizen homeowner must be prepared to defend his family and his castle. While many in our society loudly proclaim that more guns causes more violence, the violence against the unarmed and unprotected continues.

Citizens who are not taking serious steps to protect themselves, including proficiency with firearms and obtaining a concealed handgun license, are taking the risk of allowing themselves and their families to become victims.

I can only imagine the terror that this man's four children felt and the nightmares they may experience. A father's responsibility is to protect his family. I have always taken that responsibility seriously while praying I never have to use deadly force.

align="right">
During this holiday season, if you have not yet been a victim of crime give thanks and rejoice. Then take a moment to reflect upon some real security measures. Perhaps it is time to give your family a gift certificate for a concealed handgun course or some additional range time. It could be the gift that saves their life!

TRAINING & APPLICATION:

Will wonders never cease - a national media outlet with a well-known anti-gun bias publishes a story on business gun bans that actually addresses the self-defense component...

December 10, 2004
USA Today

Companies that ban guns put on defensive

Ronald Honeycutt didn't hesitate. The Pizza Hut driver had just finished dropping off a delivery when a man holding a gun approached him.

Honeycutt wasn't about to become another robbery statistic. He grabbed the 9 mm handgun he always carries in his belt and shot the man more than 10 times, killing him.

Honeycutt faced no criminal charges, because prosecutors decided that he acted in self-defense. But the 39-year-old did lose his job: Carrying a gun violated Pizza Hut's no-weapons rule.

"It's not fair," says Honeycutt of Carmel, Ind., who has found another pizza-delivery job and continues to carry a gun. "There is a constitutional right to bear arms. If I'm going to die, I'd rather be killed defending myself."

Employers have long banned guns from the workplace as part of a violence-prevention strategy, but those policies are being tested as states pass laws making it easier for residents to carry concealed guns — in some cases, crafting legislation that strikes down employers' attempts to keep guns off company property.

That means employers, who have traditionally shied away from such politically charged issues as gun control, are filing lawsuits to preserve their no-guns-allowed rules. Gun owners are also fighting back, boycotting companies that ban guns or fire workers for having them.

Click here to read the complete story in USA Today.

Related Stories:
Whirlpool backs out of workplace gun ban suit, but doesn't lift ban

Human right of self-defense doesn't end at the workplace