Pop quiz: What do sufferers of eating disorders, combat veterans, rape victims, grief sufferers and police officers who have experienced traumic events have in common?

If, as a means of recovery, they checked themselves into a counseling facility or stress center (or if a family member helped them check in), they share in common being profiled by the Ohio gun ban lobby and certain Ohio newspaper editors as being "people no one wants to have packing a loaded handgun."

Yes, that's right. If followed through to it's logical conclusion, the recent balleyhoo over a supposed conflict between the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Ohio's new concealed carry law would seek to prevent citizens like these from exercising their Constitutional right to self-defense.

Simply because she needed help in a mental care facility while recovering from a violent rape, and checked herself into a mental facility, Cincinnati Enquirer editors apparently believe a victim should be prevented from ever being able to obtain a concealed handgun license (CHL).

Simply because he needed some time in a stress center to deal with the loss of a child, writers at the Dayton Daily News infer that a father is not to be trusted with a concealed firearm.

Simply because she was nearly killed by a drugged-up felon while trying to make an arrest, and sought professional help in a recovery facility before going back on the job, Toby Hoover, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, seems to suggest a former police officer deserves to be treated like the criminal she once took off the street.

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

Sadly, even had the police been informing people of this threat, history shows they would likely be recommending against the most effective form of deterrence and self-protection - armed citizens.

February 9, 2004
Dayton Daily News (click for complete story)

DAYTON -- Leslie Bloodsoe limped into her upstairs bathroom, stepped gingerly into her bathtub and instinctively pulled the shower curtain shut.

Bloodsoe should have been at work as an RTA Project Mobility van driver Jan. 15, but she had knee surgery two days before, and was taking it easy in her Emerson Avenue home.

She had heard the loud BANG! of her kitchen door being kicked in, then heard tires squealing down the street.

"My heart was racing."

The bathroom doorknob jiggled.

Someone was in her house.

Police believe Bloodsoe was a victim of a brazen burglary ring believed to have hit more than 50 houses in northwest Dayton in the past year. The burglars cut telephone lines, presumably to disable alarm systems, Sgt. Moises Perez said.

Bloodsoe, 35, a mother of three, said she wishes she had known her home's break-in was among them. One burglary had occurred eight days before hers just a few doors away in her Fairview neighborhood.

"I didn't know there so many," Bloodsoe said. "(The police) could have let us know about all these break-ins," she said. "We could have taken some precautions."

The irony would be humorous if it wasn't so deadly serious. This elderly man's employer, the Dayton Daily News, has worked for years to prevent the restoration of his Constitutional right to defend himself, and they continue to do so today.

February 4, 2004
Dayton Daily News

A Dayton Daily News carrier was shot in the leg during a carjacking as he delivered newspapers this morning, police said.

Henry L. Caver, 74, of Dayton told police he was delivering in the 1500 block of Bancroft Street just before 5:40 a.m. when a man shot him in the right shin, then took his Plymouth Caravan, according to a police report.

Caver was treated at an area hospital. His wound was not considered life-threatening, according to Daily News officials.

Caver's van was later found on fire in the parking lot of Western Manor apartments, 1718 N. James H. McGee Blvd., according to the police report.

Related Stories:
More Senior Citizens Armed with Guns

Mary, Mary, quite contrary, where did your intelligence go?

Rotten Apples & Sour Grapes - the liberal media rant against Ohio Concealed Carry

After April 8, criminals like these won't be able to ignore laws and victimize with impunity, certain that their intended victims are unarmed. That's because after April 8, drivers and homeowners like Mr. Reed will finally be able to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense.

February 3, 2004
Chillicothe Gazette

A home invasion on Owl Creek Road was thwarted Tuesday morning by a feisty homeowner, leading to the arrest of two Chillicothe men.

After the men were stunned by the homeowner's aggression, they ran to a waiting Chevrolet Camaro and took police on a high-speed chase on city and county roads.

The pursuit ended in Chillicothe after the suspects hit a parked car on Sycamore Street.

Police arrested and charged Ronald D. Woolum, 31, of 237 Park St., and Erik Rouke, 37, of 459 Belleview Ave., with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony. Woolum, the driver of the vehicle, was also charged with fleeing and eluding, resisting arrest and no operator's license.

Sheriff Ron Nichols said both men are in the Ross County Jail on $250,000 bond. Nichols said Rouke could face additional charges of parole violation.

The incident was like a television movie come to life for William Reed.

"Everything happened so fast," he said. "All I could think was 'Oh no, these men are not going to rob me.'"

It only infuriated the hard-working husband and father.

"These bums need to get a job. I put too much time and energy into making my life and my family's life better to let these bums rob me," he said.

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

IMPORTANT NOTE: The following parody, by OFCC's Rick Jones, was adapted from a recently-published Ohio news story about a woman who says she is being discriminated against at work because of her religious beliefs (the original story may be accessed by clicking here). Very few words were changed.

Since some gun ban extremists like Toby Hoover are encouraging people not to "hire, socialize, or share public space with those who carry hidden guns", could stories like this about those who exercise their right to choose to bear arms for self-defense at work be far off?

Summer, 2005

ANYWHERE, OH - For one city woman in particular, carrying a handgun for self-defense is sacred -- and she says she should not lose a job because of it.

"Jesus told his disciples to sell their clothes buy swords for self-protection. It's in the Bible that we care for and protect one another," Sunny Sally, 48, of Main Street said. "I was raised this way. My mother instilled it in me, and my grandmother instilled it in me. My mother worked two jobs to take care of us, as a single parent, and she never was without a means to protect her children."

She said attends numerous training sessions on firearms and self-defense, and is a part-time volunteer instructor.

"I was very upfront with everybody about my beliefs."

Sally is suing Major Inc., saying she was fired from its Main Street store because of her beliefs.

In a lawsuit filed in Anywhere County Common Pleas Court, Sally seeks reinstatement to her job, back pay, lost benefits, forward pay, punitive damages, court costs and attorney fees.

The lawsuit claims Sally’s inalienable rights of self-preservation were violated.