Letter to the Editor: Concealed carry can aid public safety

The Toledo Blade has printed an excellent letter to the editor addressing the exploitation of the CWRU shooting by anti-self-defense extremists.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

5/29/03
To the Editor:

It was inevitable that insensitive anti-gunners would try to capitalize on the unfortunate shooting at Case Western Reserve University to attempt to derail Ohio’s passage of "concealed-carry" legislation. It was miraculous that only one person died, given the shots fired.

But the truth is, existing gun control legislation has a lot to do with not preventing the shooting. And an effective "concealed-carry" system in Ohio (like in the majority of other states) might have prevented the event, or at least mitigated it. In at least three recent school shooting incidents, in Pearl, Miss., Edinboro, Pa., and Santee, Calif., school personnel with "concealed carry" permits stopped incidents in progress with their handguns.

In Pearl in 1997, Assistant Principal Joel Myrick heard the first shot, and headed for his truck to get his firearm. By the time he returned, captured, and disarmed the shooter, two victims were dead and another five wounded. Police did not arrive for another five minutes. Had Mr. Myrick been "carrying" inside the school, perhaps more of the victims would have lived. Utah’s governor signed legislation last month allowing teachers to "carry" in Utah classrooms. Perhaps this is the wave of the future.

Ohio residents should heed their sheriffs and help them get their way on this issue. They understand how concealed carry helps law enforcement nationwide. Although the Ohio Highway Patrol has concerns about guns in cars, not one licensed "concealed-carry" individual has ever shot a law enforcement officer, nationwide, while hundreds of citizens have come to the aid of officers, and saved the lives of several.

Let’s support concealed-carry reform in Ohio.

VINCE KOERS
Defiance

Click here to read the letter in the Toledo Blade.