By Gerard Valentino

Two more businesses where legal concealed carry is banned were robbed last week in Ohio. A BMV office on the east side of Columbus (a victim zone by statute) was robbed on the same day as a branch of Fifth Third Bank, which is a "gun free" zone due to the company’s private policy.

Clearly, it doesn’t matter why concealed carry is forbidden at a location, because the results are usually the same. Only the criminal will be armed despite the signs or laws that ban ownership of firearms to people with a felony conviction. In both of these cases the patrons were left at the whim of a street thug because honest people follow the law and criminals don’t.

Columbus' CBS affiliate, WBNS 10TV, is reporting that female enrollment in handgun classes is at an all-time high and protection is the top motive.

The number of women who carry handguns is rising across the U.S., according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

By Chris Chumita

There are more stories pertaining to our gun rights in Ohio then we can possibly draw attention to with individual daily commentary. But they are all worthy of mention.

What follows is our review of headlines from around the state though a pro-gun rights lens.

From a robbery at a motel to a home invader apologizing after stabbing the wrong person, these articles should be a part of your required reading!

What follows is several days of headlines accompanied by short, concise pro-gun analysis.

By Jim Irvine

A law that protects the right of Floridians to keep their guns locked in their personal vehicles at work took effect on July 1. HB503 will prevent employers from searching cars and firing employees for having guns or a concealed weapons license.

Too often people in other states look to Florida’s good firearms laws and wish we could pass good laws so easily. It’s not always as easy as it seems.

By Dean Rieck

In a brazen show of disrespect for the recent Supreme Court decision, the District of Columbia refused to register Dick Heller's gun when he showed up at police headquarters Thursday morning (July 17, 2008). From USA Today:

USA TODAY's Kevin Johnson reports that the District of Columbia refused this morning to register a handgun on behalf of the security guard whose legal challenge resulted in last month's landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment.

Dick Heller was one of two applicants who were waiting at police headquarters when the doors opened to prospective gun owners at 7 a.m. ET. Officers wouldn't let him register a semi-automatic handgun because local laws still ban such weapons.

"The city still does not yet understand the decision of the Supreme Court," Heller says on the steps of police headquarters. "We have been denied again," he adds.

Dane von Breichenruchardt, president of the Bill of Rights Foundation, said the city was attempting to make gun ownership as "difficult and restrictive as possible."

But that's not the half of it.

By John R. Lott, Jr.

The Supreme Court may have confirmed that Americans have the right to own guns for protection, but the gun debate is hardly over.

The District of Columbia, whose handgun ban was struck down by the Supreme Court, is still planning on banning most handguns.

And the court decision has spurred the media into overdrive to paint guns as dangerous to their owners.

No one who has taken even a quick glance at the crime data can seriously argue that the D.C. gun ban lowered murder or violent crime rates.

The concerns being raised are not the threat from criminals, but that guns pose a risk to their owners.

TX (Dallas Morning News): Copper thief shot

"Garland police say they do not plan to file charges against a 25-year- old man who fatally shot a suspected copper thief this morning. The incident happened shortly before 1:20 a.m. at Bargain Town -- Variety & Furniture store in the 5700 block of Broadway Boulevard, police said. The business owner's son had been guarding the roof after the store had been recently hit by copper thieves. The son said he confronted a man who had climbed on the roof. The son fired his gun, striking the man in the torso, police said. The man fled, climbing back down the building and collapsing on the ground. Paramedics arrived to find the man had died. Police said he had a small backpack with tools investigators believe were used to steal copper." (07/10/08)

UK (Telegraph): Pensioner arrested for chasing away youths with piece of wood

"A pensioner who used a piece of wood to chase away a gang of teenagers who had been throwing stones at his home is facing a jail term after being arrested and charged with possessing an offensive weapon. ... 'This is Britain gone mad. Just what in the world is this country coming to when the police arrest people like me for protecting their own property?'"

The Newark Advocate is reporting that being in a sport that most people don't expect a woman to be involved in is what drives Amanda Gail.

Gail, an 18-year-old Granville resident who was home-schooled, competes in the Scholastic Clay Target Program, which is for youths up to 12th grade.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on Monday that a Twinsburg police officer had been killed in the line of duty.

From the story:

On Sunday, [suspect Ashford] Thompson was arrested without incident at a Cambridge Drive home where he used to live, Bedford Heights Police Chief Tim Kalavsky said.

...They arrested him at 2:41 a.m., less than an hour after police say [police officer Joshua] Miktarian - a K-9 officer who had worked midnight shifts since 1997 - stopped Thompson's car for loud music and suspected driving under the influence.

Two minutes into the traffic stop, Miktarian radioed for help, police said. Almost simultaneously, a 9-1-1 caller reported loud shouting and "pop" sounds.

A minute later, police dispatch radioed Miktarian, but there was no response.

He was pronounced dead at MetroHealth Medical Center at 2:48 a.m., a homicide caused by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Cuyahoga County coroner.

Miktarian, 33, was the first officer killed in the line of duty in the department's 56-year history.

News reports have indicated that Thompson had been issued an Ohio concealed handgun license, and his attorney has asserted a self-defense claim.

Buckeye Firearms Association has placed calls the Twinsburg police department, which refused to answer any questions, and the Summit County Prosecutor's office, which has not returned a phone call.