Media continues to howl over amendment to House Bill 9

When the idea to amend House Bill 9 (a media-backed open records bill) to protect the privacy of Ohio concealed handgun licenseholders was first proposed in committee by Rep. Bill Seitz in March of 2005, one would have thought the sky was falling. The Wicked Witch of the Ohio Media, as I termed it at the time, shrieked as if she were melting.

Just a month later, the not-so-grand old lady breathed a sigh of relief when Seitz withdrew his amendment, purportedly under threat of a Taft veto.

The media thought it had won the day. But what a difference a year makes.

On March 15, 2006, under the strong leadership of Speaker Jon Husted, the full House voted 93-1 to pass Amended House Bill 9, which includes language that will protect the privacy of CHL-holders. The bill is now under consideration in the Ohio Senate.

Much writing about was done at the time, and judging by a story in the Canton Repository last weekend, they aren't nearly done.

Click the 'Read More' link for more.

From the Canton Repository's Michael E. Hanke:

A couple weeks ago, when I wrote in praise of Rep. Healy’s introduction of a bill to make private businesses performing public functions for government open their meetings and records to the public, something kept nagging me about a previous public records vote by the legislator. I couldn’t recall it and couldn’t find it, but Copley Ohio’s Statehouse Bureau Chief Paul Kostyu could. Here is what he e-mailed:

“Healy voted against tabling an amendment to House Bill 9, (State Rep. Scott) Oelslager's public records improvement bill. The amendment would restrict journalists' access to records of concealed-carry gun permits. Oelslager tried to get the amendment killed by tabling it. Healy voted against tabling and then voted to add it to the bill. He then voted for the amended HB 9, as did Oelslager, John Hagan, and Boccieri.

“So, what Healy can now do is tell gun folks he voted with them by putting release restrictions on the permit information, while telling open records advocates that he voted to open records because he backed Oelslager’s bill. I think quite a few Dems as well as GOPs took that attitude so they could have it both ways at election time.”

Hanke was informed by Kostyu that the bill's sponsor, Rep. Scott Oelslager is working in the Senate, “trying to get the gun amendment out over there, which would force the House to either accept the change or send the bill to a conference committee.” Because Taft has threatened to veto any bill with language protecting the privacy of gun owners in it, Kostyu told Hanke that “if Taft follows through and the amendment is still in HB 9,” writes Kostyu, “then HB 9 fails and Oelslager has to start all over in January.”

Mike Hanke ends his snotty-nosed whining with this:

Some gun owners think making concealed-carry permits public would make their homes targets for burglars. First, do you really think burglars would request the list from the sheriff? Second, and more importantly, do you think burglars would want to break into a house of a gun-toter, or into a gun-less house? Maybe they would want the list to find out where not to tread.

If you'd like to tell Mr. Hanke what we all know, namely that...

a) burglars do not have to (nor are they allowed to) request the names from the sheriff. Instead they are reading them in their local anti-gun newspapers

and

b) burglars who want guns will definitely want to break into a house where they know they exist. And by definition, burglars will be breaking in when they know the owner isn't home

and

c) perhaps Hanke should be equally concerned about robbers, rapists, stalkers, etc, who could just as easily use the list to find out who is not armed.

....you can email him at [email protected].

While you're at it, please make contact with Rep. James Aslanides (R-Coshocton), who is leading an effort to roll back the media access if the "privilege" is abused.

"If they abuse the privilege, we can cause them to lose the privilege," he declared, pointing out that the Pennsylvania Legislature struck a similar provision after a newspaper published a list of permit holders.

Aslanides can be reached at:
Telephone: (614) 644-6014
Fax: (614) 644-9494
Email Address: [email protected]

After voting for the concealed carry law, Sen. Steve Austria seconded this warning, adding that publishing the names of license-holders would be the exact kind of abuse they're referring to, since publishing these names would threaten the safety of the very men and women who have chosen to bear arms for self-defense.

Austria can be reached at:
Telephone: 614-466-3780
[email protected]

"I don't think we need to worry about journalists doing their job," state Sen. Marc Dann, a Youngstown area Democrat, told Mr. Aslanides at the time. Mr. Dann is now a candidate for state Attorney General.

Dann can be reached at:
Telephone: 614-466-7182
[email protected]

Rep. Scott Oelslager is the sponsor of the ONA's open records legislation, and is working to get the privacy protection taken back out of House Bill 9.

Oelslager can be reached at:
Telephone: (614) 752-2438
Fax: (614) 644-9494
Email Address: [email protected]