Dispatch: Gun - concealment supporters to walk at governor's house

CAPITAL NOTES
November 25, 2003
by Lee Leonard

First the Statehouse, now the Governor's Residence

Gun-toting demonstrators protesting the lack of action on a concealed-weapons
bill plan to conduct a "defense walk" Sunday afternoon outside the home of
Gov. Bob Taft in Bexley. This time, they'll be carrying signs and other visual
displays as well as holstered handguns of their choice.

About 60 gun-rights advocates circled the Statehouse on Nov. 12, showing their
displeasure with the delay over House Bill 12, which has cleared the House and
Senate in different forms and is now deadlocked in a conference committee.

Taft angered gun advocates last week by adding another condition for approving
the bill: public disclosure of the names, counties of residence and birth
dates of conceal-/carry permit-holders. Previously, his opposition centered on
law-enforcement and safety concerns.

Chad D. Baus, organizer of the rally, said the protesters want to show that
carrying weapons openly, as current law allows, could be more intimidating
than permitting Ohioans who pass a background check and a training course to
carry concealed handguns.

Baus said the protesters will walk on the public sidewalk around the mansion
and have notified the Bexley police.

"Obviously we will be respectful of private property and state property," he
said. "It's not meant to be threatening in any way. It's a message."

Orest Holubec, a spokesman for Taft, indicated the gun-carrying protesters
pose no problem. "The governor's very well-protected," he said.

From Chad Baus: The word "intimidating", which was attributed to me, is not accurate. What I DID say is that we find it ironic that opponents of concealed carry reform, who demand higher and higher levels of training and privacy-invading checks in the name of safety, advocate open-carry, with no training or background checks. Also, it is disappointing the Dispatch continues to report the attendance number at the Statehouse Walk as half of the number who actually signed in to Walk, despite several prior notifications of the discrepancy.