Letter to the Editor: OSU Dean's anti-gun letter poorly researched

The following letter by Buckeye Firearms Foundation board member Gerard Valentino was published in the Aug. 2 edition of The Columbus Dispatch in response to a letter entitled "Guns in bars are public health threat":

The July 17 letter "Guns in bars are public health threat," from Stanley Lemeshow, was a poorly disguised anti-gun hit piece, written under the guise of scientific research. Lemeshow is guilty of using out-of-context statistics, anecdotal evidence and outright deception to push an anti-gun agenda at the expense of the truth.

He also tried to create the perception that guns are a risk to public health by providing only one side of the equation. Since there are more than 30 states that allow guns in establishments that serve alcohol, the data is readily available to prove such policies are not a threat to public safety. Instead of using conjecture and twisting irrelevant data to fit his viewpoint, Lemeshaw could look at that data and data kept by the Texas Department of Public Safety to see how many legally carried guns are used in violent attacks.

The only reason he chose to ignore such readily available information is it doesn’t speak to his side of the argument. The fact is that less than 1 percent of crimes committed in Texas are perpetrated by concealed-carry permit-holders. Unless you believe people in Ohio are more lawless than people from Texas, it is easy to see that concealed-carry license-holders are a threat only to criminals.

By using flawed methodology and flawed logic and by ignoring pertinent information, Lemeshaw did a disservice to the people of Ohio. He also embarrassed the Ohio State University, where he is the dean of the College of Public Health, because a first-year college student would get a failing grade by turning in a paper devoid of proper research methods.

GERARD VALENTINO
Pickerington