Youngstown: Some hail, others fear concealed-carry law

One local gun shop has had a large increase in business in recent weeks

February 18, 2004
Youngstown Vindicator

Diane Demetrios remembers well the intruder who once entered her Boardman candy shop and robbed a teenage worker at knife-point.

Standing in her business, where shiny, decorative hearts dangle over a tempting array of treats, Demetrios cited the episode in explaining why she backs the new Ohio law that allows qualified residents to carry concealed handguns.

For her and others, the world is full of lurking dangers, and people have a right to protect themselves with deadly means.

Demetrios wouldn't say whether she'll get a permit when the law takes effect in April. "Let's just say I know how to shoot," she said, smiling.

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Regardless of the perils of modern society, allowing citizens to lug hidden guns isn't the answer, some argue.

"It's kind of dumb," said Jerry Koncsol of Girard. "I don't see any reason why you need to be carrying a gun. Somebody innocent's going to get killed."

Leslie Kloc of Warren called the law a bad idea.

Background checks

Mary Ann Martinko of Boardman said she frets whether background checks tied to concealed-carry permits will succeed in weeding out the unsuitable.

A gun is "too dangerous in the hands of someone who shouldn't have it," she said.

Declaring that he's too old to bother getting a concealed-carry permit for himself, Loren Hayes of Guilford Lake said that he's still pleased they're being made available for others. "It's a good law," Hayes said.

Holding a similar view is Tom Radovich of Youngstown. "I like the fact that if I need to, I can do it legally," Radovich said of packing a gun.

While Deme- trios is one businesswoman who is untroubled by the law, Kimberly Wilson, who manages Mickey's Army-Navy in Warren, could not contain her disgust.

"It's crazy," she blurted.

Wilson imagines nightmarish scenes in which flaring tempers reach critical mass in a blaze of gunfire that sends hot lead screeching through the store.

Wants to ban guns

"I'd want a sign out on the door" that bans guns inside the business, Wilson said.

She doesn't dispute people's right to carry. "It just scares me," she said.

Guns and those who bear them don't alarm Marilyn Miller, a co-owner of Miller Rod & Gun, north of Poland.

"I love a .45," Miller said, offering her thoughts on suitable handgun calibers for concealment.

Miller oversees what firearms enthusiasts would consider a little corner of heaven.

Rifles and shotguns stand in crowded ranks along the walls of the narrow store, which is perfumed with the metallic aroma of machine oil.

A wall display bristling with handguns is in the back behind the counter, on front of which hangs a metal sign quoting what some consider scripture — the Constitution's right-to-bear-arms clause.

Miller placed several handguns on the counter, among them a silvery snub-nosed .38 that would fit easily into a purse.

Business is booming

Since the law passed, the store has been swamped with calls and visited by scores of buyers.

So many people want to know about training that the store is keeping a list.

"A lot of people who have never had a firearm are coming in," Miller said. Men are bringing in their wives, sisters or girlfriends to pick out a gun.

Women are becoming increasingly interested in firearms, Miller added. She theorized that they're less willing to rely on the men in their life to protect them.

In choosing to bear arms, you need to ponder the gravity of it, Miller advised.

"You're making a decision that, if your life is in danger, you're going to shoot. It's not something you want to consider lightly."

Despite critics' objections regarding the new law, citizens may now choose whether to carry hidden heat, which might leave criminals wondering if their next victim will be armed.