Clark County: ''Concealed carry law mostly popular with older people''

In addition to having been the only Ohio "blue" county from 2000 to have gone Bush Red in 2004 (a British newspaper's letter-writing campaign asking independent voters to choose Kerry couldn't have hurt), Clark County now has another interesting claim to fame:

There are nearly 800 people who have made the choice to bear arms for self-defense in the county, and the average age of CHL-holders in the county is 64 (the youngest is 23, the oldest 87).

In a November 14, 2004 feature article by Michelle Everhart, the Springfield News Sun made some VERY important observations about the early days with Ohio's concealed carry law.

The article mentions two recent CHL-trainees, Rebecca Webster and her daughter Tammy LeMaster, who completed their training this week, rounding it off with a session in the Clark County sheriff’s firing range.

It was Webster’s first time shooting a gun, the article says. She wanted training because of an incident that happened to a family member, something she did not want to happen to her.

“This has been very eye-opening for me,” Webster, 65, told the News-Sun. “You find how much respect you have for a firearm.”

The News-Sun is to be applauded. Not enough attention is paid by the media to how this law benefits our most vulnerable citizens, namely women and the elderly. And it gets better as Everhart continues:

“Ninety-nine percent of the people are just great, everyday, honest people who want to have the right to have some sort of protection,” Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Chadeayne told the newspaper.

Clark Co. Sheriff Gene Kelly noted that gun battles forecast by opponents have not materialized. And local police agencies told Everhart that officers on the street rarely run into license-holders actually carrying guns, and that when they do, there are no problems.

“The bad guy has always had the advantage because they had the gun or the knife,” Chadeayne was quoted as saying. “The average law abiding citizen had a handicap to the people who wanted to prey upon them.”

The article notes that many people, especially the older license-holders, did not want to go on record about why they want to carry a concealed weapon. But Everhart notes their reasons for carrying echoed each other: "Some fought for years to have the right to have a concealed weapon... Others just want to even the playing field with the 'bad guys.'"

“Most (licensees) are homeowners, responsible and retired,” Kelly said in his News-Sun interview. “They want a feeling of personal protection. There is still a lot of crime and people are in fear.”

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

The News-Suns quotes Chadeayne saying that at least 144 people have come to Clark Co. from adjacent counties because they complete the application process faster and accept applications all week.

The point made by this Clark County Sheriff's Sergeant is an important one, especially when viewed in the context of comments made by Champaign County Sheriff David Deskins later in the article.

Deskins reported that his office has issued 205 permits in the county, which borders Clark Co. The purchase of the machine and supplies “kills” the budget, Deskins was quoted as saying, and it looks dim that he will break even by the end of the year.

But the News-Sun reports that Champaign County only accepts applications one day a week. Sheriff Deskins needs to understand that, thanks to the foresight of some in the legislature, the concealed-carry licensing process is, in some ways, a market-driven business. If one sheriff provides bad customer service or poor hours, the customer will go to a neighboring (competing) county sheriff. If Sheriffs like Champaign Co.'s Deskins wish to get in the game, they need to open their doors 5 days a week to CHL-holders, just as the doors are open for those seeking marriage licenses, etc.

After experiencing a tapering off of applications in July and August, the fall months have seen an uptick. Since the beginning of October, Clark Co.'s Sgt. Chadeayne told the newspaper he has approved 56 licenses, and that he sees from four to 15 people a day. “It’s a constant everyday thing for me,” Chadeayne said.

The article is not without some editorializing, but to be fair, the reporter may not have been as familiar with the implementation of this law as are serious proponents. Consider these comments by News-Sun reporter Michelle Everhart:

"Seven months into the program, there are more questions than answers about the effect of the concealed carry law. Will people be able to use deadly force if faced with danger? Will it reduce crime or add to it? Who will foot the bill for the county’s licensing operation? Should business owners allow people to carry concealed weapons?"

Had this reporter contacted OFCC in preparing for this article, we could have answered many of the questions she believes remain unanswered.

For instance, in the discussion of how training fell off in the summer months, an OFCC spokesperson could have told her that these same training trends are seen across the nation in the summer months - people are too busy in their yards, on vacation, etc. to sit through a firearms class.

As for whether a CHL-holder is prepared to use deadly force properly, we could have told her about Habib Howard, the Toledoan who used his firearm to defend against an armed robber just days after he got his license. Other CHL-holders have deterred aggressive road rage attackers by letting them know they are armed.

The question of whether business owners should allow CCW has been answered time and again across the nation. The vast majority of multiple victim public shootings in the country occur where firearms are banned. OFCC has documented many, many businesses with "no-guns" signs that have been robbed.

As for the expense sheriffs incur, an OFCC spokesperson could have shared how one sheriff has begun helping defray the cost for the equipment by creating KidPrint IDs for parents, and poll worker IDs for the Nov. 2 election. And while her article seems to suggest otherwise, no one expected the program to pay for itself in the first 90 days, especially in counties where sheriffs have severely restricted the hours applicants may submit their paperwork.

Most notably, Ms. Everhart missed a key point when referencing our Do Not Patronize While Armed list. It isn't OFCC that is asking people to stay away from these places, it is the BUSINESSES themselves. OFCC has achieved success at seeing more than 200 businesses in our state remove their signs after customers worked to educate them on the issues.

This reporter wasn't the first to make the mistake of stating that OFCC is "asking supporters not to patronize." As Jim Irvine explained to another newspaper recently, ''It's to let people know they can't go in certain places, so they won't get cited for trespassing,'' said Irvine, who also stated at the time that while anti-gun advocates have taken to calling businesses that ban concealed carry ''gun-free zones,'' he thinks they'd be better off calling them ''victim zones.''

Back to the News-Sun article:

“It’s part of the [business'] prerogative,” said Allan Hess, a trainer with Western Ohio Personal Safety. But he added, “I don’t see how excluding us will make anything safer.”

The News-Sun reports that Mid-Ohio Harley Davidson, which is listed on the Do Not Patronize While Armed list, does not allow weapons because president Brian Cubbage said no one has been able to convince him the law is necessary.

“I wish someone would tell us why they need to carry 24-7,” he said. (Same reason you carry fire insurance on your business, Mr. Cubbage. There, now will you take your ridiculous signs down?)

Brian Manges, risk coordinator for Southwest Landmark, is quoted by the newspaper saying it has always been the company’s policy for employees not to carry firearms and they felt it was only fair to extend that to customers.

Southwest Landmark, an agricultural cooperative with twenty owned facilities and one leased facility in nine counties in southwest Ohio, was not previously listed on OFCC's Do Not Patronize While Armed database.

“We haven’t had a lot of feedback which is pretty good,” Manges told the News-Sun (we are guessing his fortunes are about to change).

Perhaps one of the less-pertinent parts of the article was a segment entitled "Footing the bill". Although the writer admits she had only obtained state-wide data for the first three months (April - June), she still spent a good amount of time noting that most sheriffs had not yet recouped the cost of purchasing an $8,200 machine to produce the concealed carry license in the first 90 days.

The lengthy feature article concludes with a section on what improvements need to be made to the law. Sgt. Chadeayne is quoted as saying many license-holders are concerned with how to carry their fiream in a car, specifically expressing concern about a provision mandating that it has to be in plain sight. Chadeayne told the paper he looks to the state legislators to recognize the problem and correct it in the future.