Cleveland-area 'Defense' Walk ''total success!''

Nearly 100 people openly carried firearms (and picnicked) at the Potluck Picnic and 'Defense' Walk in Lorain on Sunday. There were men and women of all ages, people young, old, short, tall, black, white - all there supporting our right to self-defense.

One participant named Scott, reported that "from the moment the first group stepped off and out of the park, car horns started blowing from supporters in the traffic, including a couple of long blasts of an air horn from a passing pumper
of the Lorain Fire Department."

The local radio station, WEOL, deserves kudos for steadily announcing the event Sunday morning, and for giving details and directions.

OFCC's Greg Kopp reports "the Cleveland-area Walk was covered by the local CBS affiliate, WOIO 19. The coverage was fair. The facts, as far as I could tell, were correct. Dan White, the organizer, got a quote, as well as OFCC President Jeff
Garvas (identified as a Bill Supporter). The anchor correctly finished the piece by saying that 45 states already had a CCW law." Channels 8 and 43 (Action News) also covered the event - details on their reporting to follow.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, which had up until now not covered the 'Defense' Walk movement anywhere in Ohio, did send a reporter and photographer to Lorain. Both the Lorain Morning Journal and Elyria Chronicle Telegram also sent reporters.

Click on the Read More... link below for links to post-Walk media coverage.

Cleveland's Action News (WOIO): People hit streets to campaign for right to carry concealed weapons
Click on the headline to open the Action News video player - the streaming video clip is nearly two minutes in length.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Men walk for right to hide their weapons
This coverage is, unfortunately, about the best we can expect from the Plain Dealer. From the misleading headline to the use of words like "gunmen", they did their best to distract from the point of the event. Still, they managed to work the truth into the story - there were people of both genders, and even children, at the Walk. There was a lot of fried chicken at the potluck lunch, there were lots of supportive honks and waves, and there were no protestors.

Elyria Chronicle Telegram: High court ruling triggers gun walk
Most of those participating in the eight-tenths of a mile walk are opposed to open carry laws, which recently were reaffirmed by the Ohio Supreme Court.
They organized the march and wore their firearms to show the absurdity of the law, said Ken Wilson, president of the Firelands Peacemakers. Firelands Peacemakers Cowboy Action Shooting Group in Rochester is a group of men, women and children, who dress in period clothing and gather to shoot using pre-1900s firearms.
“Ohio is only one of four states that does not allow law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons,” Wilson said. “By passing this law, they are turning Ohio into the Old West. All of us are out here with guns on our hips. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. Would you rather see people who are trained strap one on or have people walk around like we are today?”