Letter to the Editor: Carjacker protection ranks kids as less important

September 10, 2003
Newark Advocate

Here is another reason a large group of Ohio citizens are fed up with Taft. The Ohio Legislature has not passed a realistic concealed-carry law. How many more people will be robbed, raped, physically battered, stabbed, shot or even killed simply because they were law-abiding citizens of Ohio? The passage of HB12 would have been the answer in assisting in the prevention of some of these atrocities.

It appears to me that Governor Taft is knuckling under to the pressure of the Ohio Highway Patrol with its demands of how and where to carry a concealed weapon. These people are servants of the public -- not lawmakers but law enforcers. The patrol wants those people who would have a concealed-carry permit to be forced to have their weapon locked up when children under the age of 18 are in the vehicle. But if there are people in a vehicle over the age of 18, it would be permissible to have a loaded weapon in plain, open sight or holstered in open sight.

Now to me here comes the question: Are the children's lives less important than adults? Apparently some of our higher office-holding elected officials think so. In my opinion, this would lead to profiling of victims.

The social predators of today would gladly prefer to attack an automobile with children in it because they would know that because the driver would be a law-abiding citizen, the weapon would be locked up and the driver would be defenseless.

Rick Jones
Sciotoville

Rick Jones is the OFCC PAC Senate District 14 coordinator, which is represented by Senate President Doug White. If you live in Senator White's district, please contact Rick at [email protected] and find out how you can help!

Click here to read the letter in the Newark Advocate.