The evidence OSHP Superintendant Paul McClellan can't find

At the behest of the Taft administration, Ohio State Highway Patrol leadership has repeatedly voiced its opposition to any concealed carry reform law that allows persons to exercise their right to self-defense in an automobile.

In opponent testimony before the Ohio House Criminal Justice committee, Capt. John Born argued in favor of keeping in place a ban on carrying loaded weapons in cars, stating that if a person is attacked, she can "just drive away".

Ohio Highway Patrol Superintendant Paul McClellan opposes HB12, claiming that "there is no statistical or anecdotal evidence which supports that concealment and transportation of a weapon in a motor vehicle is effective or safe as a defensive or deterrent measure."

As the hour of Senate adoption of a substitute House Bill 12 approaches, we thought it'd be healthy to review just how much REAL LIFE evidence there is that our right to self-defense MUST BE preserved in our private vehicles, as a part of reforming Ohio's concealed carry ban.

Following is a wealth of anecdotal evidence Superintendant McClellan can't seem to find.

We have been warning about opposition from the Ohio Highway Patrol for months now. In "Reality Check for the Ohio Highway Patrol", we told you about Ohio Highway Patrol Capt. John Born expressing the OHP's opposition to any bill that would allow citizens their right to self-defense in an automobile.

In "Burden of Proof: Taft and Highway Patrol have no case against CCW, we provided some of the many examples of how CCW promotes officer safety.

In "Don't Get Borned'' Pt. 2: Many more citizens who couldn't 'just drive away', we provided many, many more accounts of citizens who couldn't "just drive away" when they were attacked in their cars, or who, while driving, came to the aid of fellow human beings who were being attacked.

Recently, we reported about these defenseless Akron drivers couldn't take Capt. Born's advice when attacked.

• Click here to read about a Georgetown man who was shot to death in his truck while visiting Cincinnati Saturday.
• Click here to read about a Toledo woman who was shot to death in her driveway, also on Saturday.
• Click here to read about a defenseless 84-year old woman who was stabbed to death last year in her car, which was parked in a parking garage in Mayfield Heights.
• Click here to read about a defenseless battered woman who was stabbed to death by her husband last year in her car, hours after police left the scene, unconvinced that he presented any danger.

As if this weren't enough, we've come across still more examples of persons who saved their own life, or the life of another, when attacked in or around their car.

St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg, FL

After Raymond and Cheryl Wojkielewicz pulled their Buick into a stall at a St. Petersburg, Fla., self-serve carwash, he got out and began vacuuming the back seat and their pet dogs' cage while she remained in the passenger's seat eating an ice cream bar. With the cool treat melting in her mouth and her thoughts lost in the din outside, Cheryl was startled when an armed man suddenly appeared at her window and demanded, "Give me your purse or I'll kill you!" When Raymond who had been crouched out of sight popped up, the man shot twice through the car. As his wife screamed, Raymond pulled a 9 mm handgun, for which he has a carry permit, from his waistband and fired back. The attacker, now wounded, dropped the purse and bolted, but seconds later let loose another barrage when Raymond cautiously emerged from cover to scan the area. Finally, the would-be robber fled and was pursued by police. Wojkielewicz, who has legally carried his pistol concealed for two years, said, "This is the first time I've ever had to draw it."

The Rocky Mountain News, Denver, CO

When a 6-year-old girl was kidnapped from in front of her Denver, Colo. home, her relatives went to the police to report it. They then conducted a search of their own, spotting a van that fit the description of the kidnapper's vehicle. The girl's aunt, Marla Big Horse, flagged the van down and saw her niece inside. Big Horse, armed with a handgun, ordered the man out of the vehicle, freed her niece and held her kidnapper for police.

The News, Birmingham, AL

Nevelyn Akins of Birmingham, Ala., was about to drive her 4-year-old daughter to a nearby restaurant when a man jumped into her car. He grabbed the little girl around the neck and threatened to kill her if Akins didn't drive him where he wanted. Cautiously slipping a .38-cal. revolver from her purse, Akins drove until she was ordered to stop. When the kidnapper tried to pull the child into the back seat, Akins fired, hitting him in the arm. She fired again as the man tried to wrestle the gun from her, and killed him with a shot to the chest.

The Press-Scimitar, Memphis, TN

A Memphis restaurant patron witnessed the armed abduction of an elderly couple as they were forced into their car at gunpoint by a man who got into the back seat. After following them several blocks, Timothy Jewell parked behind the car after it had turned into a driveway. The kidnapper left the vehicle and approached Jewell's pickup, pointing his pistol and ordering Jewell out. But as he stepped back, Jewell displayed a pistol and the would-be abductor fled.

The Herald, Miami, FL

Steven and Marion Winn were stopped at a Miami, Fla., traffic light when an elderly woman in the car next to them began to gesture frantically for help. The Winns gave chase and followed the car for some distance before it abruptly stopped. Winn pulled his .38 cal. revolver as a pair of kidnappers bolted from the car. The woman and a friend had been sitting in the back seat of the car waiting for their husbands when the criminal pair jumped in and drove off.

The Tribune, Mesa, AZ

As Randy Nelson walked down a Mesa, Ariz., street toward his truck, he saw a stranger sitting inside. When Nelson approached, the stranger brandished a gun and ordered him to get in. The gunman directed Nelson to a remote desert road, where he instructed him to get out and then threatened to kill him. When the gunman stepped out of the truck, Nelson grabbed a revolver from behind the driver's seat, fired twice, and sped to safety. Police failed to locate the kidnapper, who was apparently uninjured.

The Morning Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA

After being kidnapped at knifepoint in her own car, a New Orleans woman managed to slip a .25 cal. pistol into her purse from a hiding place in her car. She was taken to a house under construction; and when the would-be rapist turned to look out the window for the arrival of his accomplice, the woman drew her gun and fired three times, mortally wounding her attacker. His body was discovered later in a parked car.

The Observer, Charlotte, NC

"There's never a cop around when you need one," says Wayne Deal of Morgantown, North Carolina. When he saw a woman run from a building screaming that someone was stealing her car and kidnapping her son, Deal hopped in his car and took off in hot pursuit. After a half-mile chase, the criminal pulled over. "It looked like he'd pulled over to push the child out of the car," says Deal. "So I pulled up with my car and blocked him." Deal then retrieved the .22 pistol he legally carries in his car and, firing a warning shot, ordered the fleeing felon to stay put. Police arrived shortly and took the criminal into custody. Mother and son were reunited.

The Advertiser, Montgomery, AL

At 10:30 a.m., in broad daylight, a 35-year-old woman was getting out of her car in a Montgomery, Alabama, parking lot. That's when a man approached from behind, knocked her unconscious, pushed her back into her vehicle, and drove away with her. When she came to, he had driven into some woods. She struggled with him briefly, and then remembered the .38 revolver in her glove compartment. She shot twice, missing, but scaring the daylights out of the kidnapper, who slammed on the brakes and raced away on foot. He remains at large.

The White River Journal, Des Arc, AR

Linda Patterson was walking to her car in the parking lot of a Searcy, Ark., store a few days before Christmas when she saw a man holding a knife on a woman. Patterson pulled a revolver from her purse and yelled, "You had better think twice about what you are doing!" Seeing that she was armed, the would-be kidnapper ran.

The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN

Two men and a woman broke into the Memphis, Tenn., home of a young couple. After raping the wife and taking money and jewelry, the trio bound the couple and a visiting friend. The intruders then kidnapped the husband, stole his car and drove off. The husband was able to free his hands, grabbed a revolver from under the seat and opened fire on his abductors, killing the man and wounding the woman; the third assailant escaped.

The Journal, Albuquerque, NM

Lisa Ways pulled into an Albuquerque, N.Mex., grocery store when an armed couple stuck a gun in her face and attempted to abduct her. The University of New Mexico student handed over her wallet, then forced her way out of the van and struggled with the man. She then drew her handgun from a daypack and shot and wounded him. The couple fled in Way's van but was later arrested. "It was confirmation to me that I've made the right decision about firearms for my own personal use," the student said.

The fight has been won in the Ohio House, but the Senate may be another story. Please click here, to access the list of Senate Committee members, and begin contacting them to voice your opposition to any attempt to add a ban on self-defense in your personal vehicle.