Human right of self-defense doesn't end at the workplace

Headed to work: Assault, robbery reported on Maple Avenue
November 10, 2004, Sandusky:

A Central Avenue man told police he was jumped by two or more men early
Tuesday morning while he was walking to work.

The man, from the 800 block of Central Ave., told Sandusky police he was
walking to work shortly after 4 a.m. Tuesday near the 1000 block of
Maple Ave. when two or three men grabbed him from behind and threw him
to the ground.

Police said the man was struck several times by the subjects, and at one
point was turned over and punched in the jaw by one man. After regaining
consciousness, the man walked to Firelands Regional Medical Center and
called police.

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Email from concerned Ohio CHL-holder

To: OFCC
From: David V.
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 13:47:44 –0500
Subject: anti-CCW sign

I went to the Sunoco on the corner of Byrne and Glendale in Toledo today to get gas, and noticed a LARGE sign proclaiming that I cannot carry concealed firearms on the premisis.

I asked the manager why they put the sign up. She said that they put the sign up because they did not want to get robbed. I told them that criminals would view the sign as a "unarmed victim zone", since criminals operate without fear of consequenses.

Sunoco does not discriminate in Michigan but if they are going to discriminate in Ohio I am not shopping or buying gas there.

David V.

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Whirlpool Corp. sues to block new Oklahoma CHL-holder parking lot exemption

Whirlpool Corp. has sued to block a new law that allows employees to
keep guns in their locked vehicles on workplace parking lots. The law
was scheduled to take effect Nov. 1, according to the Associated Press,
but a federal judge blocked it. Only Kentucky has a similar law.

"This is a standard company rule that's intended to protect employees ... and to minimize the risk of any incident occurring," Whirlpool said in a statement to FOX News.

State Rep. Jerry Ellis, a Democrat, believes that keeping guns off employer property won't prevent workplace violence.

"People that are going to do violence in the workplace ... it doesn't make any difference how many laws that you have on the books. They have no respect for the law and they're going to do it anyway," Ellis told FOX News.

Oklahoma's heavily Republican legislature and Democratic Gov. Brad Henry overwhelmingly support the law, which was drafted after 12 workers who were found to have stored guns in their parked cars on company property were fired. Those 12 are now suing.

(Click here to let Whirlpool know what you think of their efforts.)

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For a look back at attempts by OFCC to protect Ohio workers' right to self-defense while traveling to and from work, click on the "Read More..." link below.

Commentary:
When Ohio employers prohibit their workers from protecting themselves while traveling to and from work, when businesses disarm law-abiding customers in hopes of deterring violent criminals, and when a company sues to prevent employees from protecting themselves even when traveling to and from work, is it any wonder that the FBI says workplace killings are the fastest-growing homicide trend in the country?

Not only can Ohio employers and businesses prohibit guns on inside their buildings (the same prohibition could be made to apply to guns in company-owned or leased cars), they can also tell you what you may (not) keep in your car while in their parking lot.

As mentioned in the FOX News story, Kentucky law does not allow businesses to dictate what CHL-holders keep in their vehicles while on business property. Did Whirlpool's lawyers bother to call the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce before creating this policy or filing this suit? Did they ask if there have been problems with liability or insurance issues, or with compliance to OSHA standards, or with ANYTHING at all to do with the Kentucky parking lot exception? NO. But back when we were fighting for the parking lot exemption during the lobbying phase of HB12, we did:

Mr. Jeff Alan, Director of Legislative Education in the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, has told OFCC that they did not oppose this language when the bill was being considered. Further, he said that in the 7 years since the law was passed, they haven't had EVEN ONE report of a business having troubles with the parking lot exemption. What's more, there is no history of any litigation on the issue. Mr. Jim Ford, Director of Business Education, travels around the state to businesses large and small. He concurred with Mr. Alan.

The thing to keep in mind here is this: Kentucky's law, unlike HB12, does not give KY businesses the blanket immunity that HB12 does. So what do Ohio's business lobbyists have to fear? Nothing.

On the other hand, disarmed employees and customers, it would appear, have a great deal to fear if businesses obstruct their right to self-defense, even in their personal automobile.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and Ohio Manufacturer's Association fought for the removal of a parking lot exemption like Kentucky's provision in HB12. Senator Steve Stivers backed the successful attempt to remove the provision in the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, which was chaired by Sen. Steve Austria.

Related Stories:
Why do so many employee manuals render workers defenseless?

Attacked in workplace parking lot

Proof: Citizens deserve right to choose self-protection in parking lots

Ohio's working families deserve right to self-defense to and from jobs