New Report Shows Ohio Violent Crimes Could Have Been Prevented

Estimates suggest thousands of victimizations avoidable each year

Group says Senate/Taft failure to compromise on concealed carry bill to
blame

CLEVELAND: Over four hundred Ohioans would not have suffered a violent
criminal attack if Ohio House Bill 12 was passed into law in June, according to a report released today by Ohioans For Concealed Carry, Ohio's largest grassroots organization focused solely on restoring Ohioans' right to bear arms for self-defense.

The report compares estimates based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data and the
nationwide "before and after" effects experienced after the passage of
concealed carry legislation.

"The conclusion is simple common sense, " said Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans For Concealed Carry. "Hundreds of criminal victimizations and deaths in Ohio are easily preventable by the defensive and deterrent effects of concealed carry legislation."

Ohio – The Heart of All Defenselessness, along with graphical representation of the data sets, can be obtained at www.OhioCCW.org or by contacting OFCC by phone or email.

University of Georgia Professor David Mustard used raw FBI data from nearly
20 years of crime reports when comprising the report for OFCC. Analysis of the results suggest that as each month passes, the political obstruction imposed by the Ohio Senate and Governor Taft are responsible for approximately 3 murders, 18 rapes, 29 robberies, and as many as 96 aggravated assaults.

"In the academic research literature, concealed carry laws are the only gun
laws that frequently show reductions in crime," said Mustard. Based on the
documented reductions seen in violent crime rates after other states have passed concealed carry reform laws, Mustard was able to project the crime reduction Ohio could expect if HB12 was fixed and adopted into law.

Ohio is one of only five states that do not have a legal mechanism for law-abiding adults to carry a firearm for self-defense. The bill that left the Ohio House exceeded restrictions adopted by every state surrounding Ohio, yet the Ohio Senate continued that trend. No legislative body in the nation has enacted the extensive restrictions Governor Taft secretly convinced the Ohio Senate to add in HB12.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol opposes any legislation that would allow license holders to keep loaded firearms in cars, erroneously claiming it compromises the safety of their officers. But the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association and Fraternal Order of Police disagree with the OSHP
bureaucracy. These two major law enforcement groups have indicated that the
Senate's restrictions on carrying a firearm in a motor vehicle are unsafe, since they would mandate frequent handling of a firearm every time someone enters or exits a vehicle. According to Statehouse sources, Governor Bob Taft and the Ohio State Highway Patrol were alone in demanding these controversial amendments.

Representative Jim Aslanides, sponsor of HB12, repeatedly warned Senators to come up with a bill that would be acceptable to the courts and not worry about a veto threat from Taft. Senate President White (R-Manchester) indicated he would do just that - on April 29, he told Gongwer News Service that his chamber would not be looking for guidance from Governor Bob Taft as it begins consideration of a measure (HB 12). At that time, Senator White said he expects the Senate to deal with the bill expeditiously. "We'll do
what we have to do" to get it out of the Senate, he said. "Our focus is not now with the governor." Without identifying the specific provisions, Senator White noted to Gongwer that he didn't see a need for the extra restrictive language from last session's bill, HB274. HB274 died in the
Senate.

Unfortunately, Senator White's words have proven to be far different from his deeds when it comes to amending HB12. In a secretive, 11th hour rush-job last June, the bill was packed with restrictive language no Senator was seeking. Further, these last-minute amendments were never discussed in a public committee hearing.

Senator Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) said "This report proves what proponents
of this legislation have been saying all
along. It's heart-wrenching to see the numbers of Ohioans who are being
victimized while some continue to play politics. I have asked Senate President White to appoint conferees to a committee on Amended Substitute House Bill 12, and I am encouraging other colleagues to do so as well."

The Ohio General Assembly has just returned to Columbus. Ohioans For
Concealed Carry is calling upon Senator White to do what he said in April, do what is right for Ohio, and pass a proper concealed carry reform bill without looking to the executive branch for guidance.

"This report puts it in black and white," said OFCC PAC Chairman Jim Irvine. "Every political delay - brought on by a Republican Senator unwilling to veto a governor of his own party - brings more victimization to Ohioans, in the form of rape, murder, assault and robbery."

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Chad Baus, Spokesperson
Ohioans For Concealed Carry
Telephone: (330) 908-2881 x136
Email: [email protected]
http://www.OhioCCW.org

Jeff Garvas, President
Ohioans For Concealed Carry
Telephone: (330) 908-2881 x112
Email: [email protected]
http://www.OhioCCW.org

RETRIEVING THE REPORT:

Ohio - The Heart of All Defenselessness can be retrieved at www.OhioCCW.org, or via email or fax (must contact either Jeff Garvas or Chad Baus). We have made an Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word version for greater flexibility. The report, along with accompanying charts and graphs, may be re-published if OhioCCW.org is cited as the source.

For a graphical representation of the Ohio victim list, check out the "Ohio Crime Clock" in the upper right hand corner of the homepage.