Dear Mr. Hallett...
The following is written in response to Columbus Dispatch editor Joe Hallett's editorial, "Common sense was checked at the door when gun bill was passed".
You have to be kidding
By Gerard Valentino
Over the last ten years I've lived in seven states and Ohio is the only place where so called columnists simply refuse to look the facts in the face. Your absurd, unfounded and insulting assertion that allowing Ohioans to carry concealed weapons will provoke them to become criminals is laughable.
Did you realize there is not a single case of a permit holder in other states accidentally shooting the wrong person? Considering 45 other states allowed concealed carry you would think it might have happened if having a hidden gun would make people overcome their normal temperance.
Did you know Florida permit holders are 984% less likely to commit even a minor infraction of the law than the average state citizen? That there is not a single case of a permit holder EVER using their legally carried gun against a police officer?
Did you even take the time to look at the Texas Department of Safety website to see that only 1/2% of crimes were committed by permit holders?
Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.
Based on your column Ohioans must be more likely to allow the allure of a handgun to overcome their temperance. Is your opinion of Ohioans so low that you think concealed carry works in other states but won't work here?
Or, do you prefer disarming law abiding citizens leaving them at the mercy of criminals?
There is one thing you, and people of your ilk, fail to realize and will never understand. Concealed Carry works, it works because law abiding citizens that go through the permit process are trustworthy and well behaved.
No matter how long you keep your eyes closed to the facts, it will work in Ohio.
Here's a thought! Look at the issue objectively. You might find your common sense approach is really a shallow and intellectually lazy way to form an opinion on this, or any issue. Opinion should be based on research and experience, not common sense.
Common sense says the world is flat and the sun rotates around the earth so I guess you believe that too.
As much as you hate to admit it, and even though it sounds cliche, there is no true Freedom of Speech without the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. That's not common sense, think about it and maybe you'll figure out why. Then again, you probably won't.
Gerard Valentino is the Central Ohio Coordinator for Ohioans For Concealed Carry, a former military intelligence analyst, and an organizer of several Open Carry 'Defense' Walks.
Related Stories:
Columbus Dispatch: 140+ years of anti-self-defense rhetoric
- 1106 reads
