Ken Blackwell says as Governor he'll close the media access loophole

Ken Blackwell, current Secretary of State and Republican candidate for governor, has announced that if elected, he will push for legislation to stop media access to the list of concealed handgun licenseholders.

From his website:

While the US Constitution was being ratified, Samuel Adams said that the “Constitution shall never be construed to authorize Congress to infringe the just liberty of the press or the rights of conscience; or to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.” He made it very clear that the founding fathers were not talking only about the right for militias to bear arms, but talking about the right of law-abiding citizens to bear their own arms.

As a life member of the National Rifle Association, Ken Blackwell is steadfast and resolute in his support for the right to bear arms. In 2004, Ohio passed a conceal carry law to allow peaceable citizens to carry their firearms. As Governor, Ken Blackwell will push for legislation to stop media access to the concealed carry list. Concealed carry permit holders should have a right to privacy and not be treated like criminals. Statistics show that concealed carry permit holders are only a threat to criminals.

To our knowledge, Mr. Blackwell is the first major-party candidate to have publicly introduced a call for some type of firearms law reform into his campaign.

Blackwell faces another pro-gun opponent in the GOP primary, Jim Petro, who as Attorney General has done a superb job of implementing Ohio's concealed carry law. Petro's website states that "Jim Petro was an early and public supporter of Ohio’s Concealed Carry Law."

Also in the pro-gun category among Republican candidates is Pete Draganic, who recently told Buckeye Firearms Association that he has "problems with the idea that someone can be charged with “improperly” carrying a firearm while they are licensed to do so and as a result they can lose their right. The law seems almost designed to allow the right to be exercised while at the same time intimidating those who do so."

These three pro-Second Amendment candidates are opposed in the primary by current State Auditor Betty Montgomery, who is on record having opposed concealed carry reform before it was passed, and having supported calls from gun ban extremists to give the full public access to the list of CHL-holders' private information. It will no doubt come as bad news to Ohioans eager to see HB347 passed into law that Montgomery has announced in a recent campaign mailing that she "will not seek to change the rights of Ohioans to carry concealed weapons under Ohio law." Change isn't always a bad thing, and House Bill 347 is just the type of change law-abiding citizens are asking for.

For more on these candidates' stances on the Second Amendment and your right to bear arms for self-defense, check out the Candidate Voter Guide:
A LOOK AT THE 2006 GOVERNOR'S RACE.