Letter to the Editor: McKinney acted in others' defense

A well-written letter to the editor has been printed in the Cincinnati Enquirer, taking that paper to task for their characterization of Harold McKinney as "taking the law into his own hands."

Since the Enquirer's editorial, McKinney has been cleared of all charges, after a Hamilton County grand jury failed to return an indictment.

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read the letter.

May 17, 2003

"But Harold McKinney was wrong to carry a firearm into a bar and take the law into his own hands." These lines, from an Enquirer editorial on May 15 ("Vigilante man: Hero or villain?"), clearly illustrate the warped view taken by many in public service and the media. What law exactly did McKinney take into his own hands?

A more accurate variation of this line would be "McKinney was wrong to carry a firearm into a bar and take one of his rights into his own hands." This is really what everyone is apparently afraid of. Certainly, "Policing is the job of the police," but McKinney was not "policing." He was simply acting in self-defense of himself and others. Even if the City of Cincinnati decided to pay for the police department at a level that will literally put a cop on every corner, citizens have not only a right, but a duty, to act in defense of themselves and others.

His relationship with the Citizens on Patrol has nothing to do with this incident at all, and is simply being used as a red herring to take away attention from the real issue of the right and duty of everyday citizens to act in self-defense when necessary.

For the Enquirer to be critical of this is shameful. Do you think that if the two miscreants knew that someone in the bar might be armed they might not have attempted the robbery? McKinney is neither villain or hero but simply a man doing his duty as an American citizen.

Don Rabold, Westwood

Click here to read the letter in the Cincinnati Enquirer.