Columbus homicide rate climbing

Murder is on the rise in the capital city. There have been 5 murders in 2 weeks in the Columbus area.

Since January, 47 people in Columbus have been the victim of a homicide.

If the violence continues as this pace, the murder rate will top last year's numbers. Eighty-one people were murdered in Columbus in 2002.

After months of record-setting pace in Cincinnati homicides, a bit of reprieve has come following the defensive shooting of an armed robber by block watch volunteer Harold McKinney.

For an even better perspective on how arming law-abiding citizens can deter crimes like homicide, consider Indianapolis, a city twice the size of Cincinnati, and almost 10% larger than Columbus: The homicide rate in Indianapolis (Indiana is a shall-issue concealed carry license state) has declined steadily for the past four years - to 83 last year.

Every day that Ohio's Republican leadership waits to pass concealed carry reform increases the defenseless victim list in our state, and forces otherwise law-abiding citizens into making a choice between facing felony arrest or being unable to defend themselves. This simply should not be.

Click here to read the entire story from the Ohio News Network.