WHAT: Local organizers in nearly twenty Ohio cities held "Defense" Walks in late 2003, at which local activists interested in protesting Governor Bob Taft's obstruction of concealed carry legislative reform "openly carried" their sidearms on a walk through the neighborhood.

WHY: These "Defense" Walks offered a "visual display" of the choice Ohioans and legislators have before them as a result of the Supreme Court ruling: open carry, with no training, background checks or "defenseless victim" zones, as is current law; OR a more discrete form of exercising the right to self-defense - concealed carry, as would be made law with passage of House Bill 12. The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld the practice of "open carry" in Klein v. Leis. If Republican leaders remain reluctant to override a Taft veto in the name of "party solidarity", as Ohio Sen. Carnes recently put it, more and more Ohioans are ready and willing to exercise their fundamental right to bear arms for self-defense by carrying firearms openly.

WHERE & WHEN:

Click here for the complete history of 2003 Defense Walks.

October 3, 2003

A sweeping federal review of the nation's gun control laws - including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons - found no proof they reduce firearms violence.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention appointed a group of scientists to conduct the review, which could be used to undercut the gun-control movement.

The task force reviewed 51 published studies about the effectiveness of eight types of gun- control laws. The laws included bans on specific firearms or ammunition, measures barring felons from buying guns, and mandatory waiting periods and firearm registration. None of the studies were done by the federal government.

In every case, a CDC task force found "insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness."

Commentary:
Unlike gun control laws, the effects of concealed carry reform legislation are not the least bit hard to pin down - violent crime is reduced, plain and simple.

Click here to read the entire story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Related Story:
New Report Shows Ohio Violent Crimes Could Have Been Prevented

October 3, 2003
Concealed weapon case sent back to Common Pleas court

An Ohio State Supreme Court ruling on the carrying of concealed weapons sent a local case that was in the Third District Court of Appeals back to the Seneca County Court of Common Pleas this week.

After Judge Michael P. Kelbley ruled that the current law was unconstitutional in the case of a Fostoria woman, County Prosecutor Ken Egbert Jr. filed an appeal on behalf of the state. Kathryn J. Howard, 28, 1208D Peeler Drive, Fostoria, is facing one count of carrying a concealed weapon stemming from a June 2002 traffic stop in Fostoria where a 9mm pistol was allegedly found under her seat.

Reports say that Howard was a passenger in a car June 20, 2002, when the driver was pulled over and cited for driving while under the influence. A state trooper then allegedly found the weapon beneath her seat while conducting a routine search of the car.

Howard claimed that the gun was a means of self-defense because she had been sexually assaulted in the past, according to court documents.

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