Ohioans For Concealed Carry is pleased to announce our first annual Party in the Park - scheduled for September 4th at a Central Ohio park.

Although many of the details are being worked out, we plan on having a family event and will welcome all pro-concealed carry Ohio residents, friends and family from far and wide.

Our website will be updated as information is available, so keep your eye out for further announcements that will include the location, time, and other details.

As you start a great summer this Memorial Day weekend, keep summer's last weekend - Labor Day - in mind to spend with other concealed carry supporters.

This is your chance to meet with hundreds of your closest friends and the most dedicated concealed carry advocates in the state! We'll see you there.

Legal concealed carry is not only permitted, it's encouraged!

May 29, 2004
Cincinnati Enquirer (UPDATED STORY)

ROSELAWN - The owner of a convenience store shot and killed an armed man wearing a black ski mask who authorities said was intending to rob the store, police said Friday.

Abdrab "Abe" Ashishi, of West Chester, was the only employee working at the Shop Rite, in the 7900 block of Reading Road, when he shot and killed David A. Billups, 40, of Forest Park, about 9:45 p.m. Thursday.

Billups is the 32nd person to be slain in Cincinnati this year.

Ashishi called 911 to report he shot someone trying to rob him.

When officers and emergency medical crews arrived, they found Billups - wearing a ski mask and black leather gloves and armed with a handgun - lying on the floor just inside the store with a gunshot wound, police said.

Clerks at the store Friday afternoon said Ashishi was distraught about the shooting and would not be returning to work until next week. Ashishi did not return repeated requests for interviews.

Police interviewed Ashishi, but authorities had not made a decision Friday as to whether charges would be filed in the case.

Detectives and prosecutors still had to discuss details of the shooting before a decision would be reached, said Karl Kadon, a prosecutor and spokesman for Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen. The death is a homicide, but he said the law allows people to use deadly force when justified if there is an immediate threat of harm to themselves or someone else.

If authorities deem the shooting self-defense, the case will not go to a grand jury. But if there's probable cause to believe it wasn't, the facts of the case will be reviewed by grand jurors who decide whether a charge will be issued, Kadon said.

By Friday afternoon, there was a steady stream of customers into the Shop Rite and no visible signs that a robbery had occurred at the store.

Shop Rite, which usually closes at 11 p.m., is in a shopping strip that includes a check cashing/electronics store, international food market and a church.

Employees at several stores in the area described Ashishi as a quiet man who keeps to himself, and said robberies at area businesses are rare.

Unlike the situation in Cuyahoga Co., when that sheriff failed to do his duty under the law, the Delaware Co. sheriff had a desire to follow the law, and was in need of the proper tools.

OFCC steering committee members have been working tirelessly to get this situation resolved, and we are pleased to announce that aggressive action is now being taken to correct the situation. Special thanks go to the Ohio Attorney General's office, and to Representative Jon Peterson (R-2) (a 2002 OFCC PAC Endorsee) for their assistance in this matter.

May 27, 2004
NBC4Columbus.com

DELAWARE, Ohio -- The first round of applicants for concealed carry permits in Delaware County will receive phone calls or letters in the next few days notifying them if their applications have been approved, according to Sheriff Al Myers.

Myers said the county has received more than 500 applications for permits since the new law went into effect April 8. His office has issued more than 100 licenses, and more than 50 appointments have been made to issue more licenses.

Myers said he will appear June 1 before the Board of County Commissioners to ask for an additional temporary employee to help with the applications. He said the most time-consuming part is the background check, especially waiting for out-of-county responses.

"I support the Second Amendment, and the statute says I need to process these applications in 45 days," Myers said. "I take that legal obligation seriously."

Myers also said he instructed his deputies to use a "common sense" approach in deciding whether to make an arrest for a person carrying a concealed weapon.

"There are folks out there who legitimately carried a gun prior to the new law, and now their old affirmative defense has been taken away," Myers said.

Myers said he consulted with Delaware County Prosecutor Dave Yost, who agreed to review all charges personally before presenting them to the grand jury.

"He agrees that people shouldn't be turned into criminals because they're waiting on paperwork," Myers said.