May 14, 2004
Columbus Dispatch

Sheriffs should take time necessary to handle concealed-carry permits

Like it or not — and The Dispatch doesn’t — the legislature has given Ohioans the right to carry concealed weapons after they have been issued a permit by a county sheriff.

The state’s 88 sheriffs now have the responsibility of taking applications and screening them to make sure applicants have completed 12 hours of training and that permits don’t go to convicted felons and the mentally ill. These safeguards are vitally important to Ohioans’ well-being and should not be shortchanged.

Some of the proponents of concealed carry have complained that sheriffs are taking too long to issue permits, even though the law is only 1 month old and allows sheriffs up to 45 days to approve or deny each permit.

This impatience suggests the complainers don’t much appreciate the gravity of allowing people to mill about society with loaded guns in their purses and briefcases.

The concealed-carry law, ill-advised as it is, was passed by the legislature, and local officials must abide by it. Those opposed should not drag their feet in complying.

But most Ohioans would take issue with the contention of concealedcarry backer Gerard Valentino, who declared, "A concealed-carry permit shouldn’t be any different than a driver’s license or a marriage license."

Whoa. While the cynic may say that a marriage license in the wrong hands can do plenty of damage, the danger doesn’t extend to most members of the public, so it’s appropriate that this permit is relatively easy to get.

On the other hand, Valentino may be onto something with his first example. Compared with a concealed-carry permit, getting a driver’s license requires many more hours of training and the holder needs to carry insurance to cover any damage he might cause while using a car. Valentino probably would object, but similar provisions would improve the concealed-carry law.

As it is, the law — not to mention public safety — requires careful background checks, and sheriffs must not be hurried through them.

Click on the “Read More…” link below, for the OFCC Central Ohio Coordinator Gerard Valentino’s response, which has been submitted to the Dispatch for publication.

----- Original Message -----
From: Dan Stuka
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Attention everyone who is an employee of General Motors, Ford, or Chrysler:

The GM Parma, OH. plant has agreed to pay for a 12 hour gun safety class for its employees. This $165 will now be covered under the Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP).

At the Parma plant, we have had approx. 600-800 people sign up for this class, making it the largest "Personal Enhancement" course ever.

If you work for GM, Ford or Chrysler, (we all are UAW-represented and have similar benefits) and would like info on how to get the 12 hour Gun Safety class paid out of your educational benefits, contact me at Stuka43@aol.com.

Commentary:
You read this right - up to 800 enrollments for a 12-hour gun safety course that will meet the requirements for obtaining an Ohio CHL! Common sense would dictate that the greater majority of them are interested in obtaining a CCW license.

This plainly indicates that there is a strong pro-Second Amendment faction, even in the major labor unions. If this doesn’t get the Democratic National Committee and liberal Republican politicians like Ohio’s Mike DeWine and George Voinovich to take note, nothing will – save for being beaten at the polls.

TARTA learns what Dairy Mart now knows...criminals don't care about weapons prohibitions. TARTA got a bonus - they learned that if all the firearms in the world magically disappeared, criminals would simply switch to items as innocent as a broomstick.

May 17, 2004
Toledo Blade

Man arrested in robbery of East Toledo carryout

A man who, police say, menaced a carryout clerk with a broomstick during a robbery of an East Toledo carryout Friday was arrested downtown last night by police after he refused to get off a TARTA bus.

Christopher Feemster, 28, of 1711 Nevada Ave., was charged with robbery and disorderly conduct.

A police crew recognized the man last night at a Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority stop near Jackson Boulevard and St. Clair Street as a suspect in Friday's robbery of Wally's Carry Out, 561 East Broadway. The robber fled with a large amount of cash.

TARTA personnel called police about 8:30 last night, asking for help with a man refusing to get off a bus. Mr. Feemster was taken into custody and booked at the Lucas County jail.

Related Story
Toledo's rage against self-defense takes a TARTA bus ride

Attorney General concurs: City and county gun banners preempted by state law

This woman moved, changed her phone number, and even obtained a protection order to hide from this stalker. Had she obtained a CHL, some Ohio newspapers would have aided this man with his goal of pursuing her, by publishing her name with other CHL-holders, as callously as they would publish a list of sex offenders.

May 6, 2004
Dayton Daily News

XENIA | A Minster man will be sentenced June 18 after he was convicted Wednesday of stalking a 27-year-old Xenia woman to whom he sent 105 menacing e-mails in less than one month.

A Greene County Common Pleas jury convicted Theodore Hoying, 42, of menacing by stalking and intimidation of a witness. Assistant county prosecutor Robert K. Hendrix said he will ask for the maximum sentence of 6 1/2 years.

A boisterous Hoying repeatedly called the woman a liar Tuesday as she described his communications with her and the terror she said it created. She said he sent the e-mails between August and September.

She testified that she has moved and changed her phone number to avoid Hoying, who showed up at her job at least twice. He was able to get her home and e-mail addresses despite her efforts and a civil protection order filed in Dayton on Jan. 31, 2003.

Hendrix said Hoying began stalking the woman two years ago when she refused to date him. A hearing is pending in Municipal Court on a charge Hoying violated the temporary protection order.

Related Stories:
SPITE: Two Ohio newspapers violate privacy of county CHL-holders

Taft supports not ''stigmatizing'' ex-cons; insisted on stigmatizing CHL-holders

Indiana newspaper hears loud voice of opposition to publishing CCW list

Ohio media: Rotten Apples and Sour Grapes

Cleveland Plain Dealer's past vs. present on firearms highlighted in obituary

Columbus Dispatch: 140+ years of anti-self-defense rhetoric

CAN WE TRUST REPORTERS?

Polls suggest less than half of the country will agree will this editorialist on her opinion about abortion. Polls show nearly 80% of the country will agree with her on protecting the right to choose to bear arms for self-defense.

We are sharing this article not to enter into the debate over abortion, but rather to encourage consideration by those liberals (we know you’re reading!) who believe in a woman’s “right to choose”, so long as she isn’t choosing to obtain a concealed handgun license.

5/5/2004
USA Today

By Mary Zeiss Stange

Two Sundays ago, hundreds of thousands of women converged on Washington, D.C., in what was billed as a March for Women's Lives. As a demonstration for reproductive rights, the event was about much more than abortion. The marchers' placards evoked a broad range of issues relating to women's health and security. Yet one issue curiously absent from the day's agenda was the pervasive violence against women and girls.

That theme will figure prominently in the next big demonstration, scheduled for Sunday, when the Million Mom March organization will gather on the west lawn of the Capitol for the "Mother's Day March to Halt the Assault."

The marchers plan to pressure Congress to extend the federal ban on assault weapons, which is set to expire in September. For many people — including the liberal-minded politicians and celebrities on whom organizers count to attract publicity — the two marches, one pro-abortion rights and the other anti-gun, will be on a seamless ideological continuum.

But they shouldn't be.

The option of arming oneself for protection is a matter of personal choice in many of the same ways, and for the same reasons, as the option of ending a pregnancy.

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