Citizens on Patrol block watch volunteer no ''vigilante''

Harold McKinney put himself in harms' way daily as a volunteer for a neighborhood crime watch group. Since taverns in his neighborhood are often the targets of violent crime, he made the decision to carry the gun in case he ended up in trouble.

So when Joseph Person and Demeico Hester, both 18, went into Junkers Tavern at 4356 Langland Ave., Cincinnati, about 11:12 p.m. last Thursday to hold up the place, and when Person drew a handgun, McKinney knew his life (and those around him) was in immediate danger. He drew, fired, and shot one of the robbers, stopping the attack and sparing innocent lives.

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

As proof of just how faulty Ohio's affirmative defense laws are, and just how impossible it is to actually exercise your Constitutional right to self-defense in our state, McKinney has been arrested and charged with felonious assault and having weapons in a liquor establishment. He will likely also be charged with carrying a concealed weapon.

Several letters to the editor, expressing support for McKinney's defensive action, have appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Some have even pointed out how this highlights the need for HB12 to become law.

One person in the Akron Beacon Journal, on the other hand, condemns McKinney's action, calling it "vigilantism".

"We have mixed feelings about vigilantes. Yes, we know that Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood are ridding us of scum. We are frustrated by the ponderous pace and impotency of law. Yet we also understand that these lone gunmen are breaking laws that somehow, no matter how glacially, protect us."

He doesn't both to describe HOW these laws (which he admits only the law-abiding adhere to) are protecting us. But without trying, even this letter-writer exposes the need for an immediate change in Ohio's ban on self-defense with a firearm, when they say "We have just witnessed an exercise in vigilantism. We are glad the scum is gone. But what is the price of our relief? From the viewpoint of the world community, we have acted outside the law. We have acted as vigilantes."

Harold McKinney, the individual who saved lives by shooting one of two armed robbers, posts as Hal.009 at Free Republic - if you'd like to contact him, he can be reached there. The main discussion thread for this subject is at this link.

A legal defense fund has been set up for him, at Northside Bank in Cincinnati. Don Beimesche, bank vice president and cashier, couldn't give a specific figure, but said 15 to 20 donations had already come in as of Wednesday afternoon, barely 48 hours since the fund was opened.