Op-Ed: Fear, Loathing and Obstruction of Justice in Ohio

12:30pm Tuesday, January 18, 2005

By Chad D. Baus and Gerard Valentino

CNSNews.com Commentary
January 18, 2005

Dan Rather and CBS News continue to make national headlines due to their forgery-induced attack on President Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign. This high-profile case shows just how far the media is willing to go to push their left-leaning agenda.

It also underscores the need for diligence in dealing with the establishment media at the state level because smaller examples of bias often go unnoticed and unchallenged.

Ohio's year-old concealed carry law requires that the state's 88 sheriffs release the name, age and county of residence of all license-holders in a given county. It is a fifth-degree felony, however, to release more specific information, such as the licensee's street address.

Yet, this is exactly what Shelby County Sheriff Kevin O'Leary did on June 8, 2004, in response to a public records request by Sidney Daily News Editor Jeff Billiel. Billiel then printed the list in its entirety as a "public service" so county residents would know who among them chooses to carry a gun.

One named individual, a small-business owner, has been confronted several times since his name appeared in the paper and says he has suffered harassment. Another victim, who has received death threats in the past, now has had his home address published in the paper.

Clearly, this newspaper editor's definition of a "public service" includes endangering law-abiding citizens to push his own biased agenda.

When Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC), a state-level grassroots organization, first drew attention the illegal release of addresses, Sheriff O'Leary claimed that he had made an innocent mistake caused by a lack of understanding what "county of residence" means.

However, a subsequent search of the Ohio Revised Code revealed there isn't a single statute where "county of residence" means "home address," despite both phrases being used repeatedly.

Additionally, one of the qualifications for being a candidate for sheriff is that one's "county of residence" must be the same as the office he or she is seeking.

Somehow, O'Leary's confusion extends to 85 law-abiding citizens but not his own application for office. One wonders if O'Leary accepts such weak excuses from criminals when they commit a felony and endanger 85 people.

Under pressure from county citizens on June 17, Republican prosecutor Gary Nasal (Miami County) was appointed special prosecutor by Shelby County Court of Common Pleas Judge John D. Schmitt to investigate allegations that Sheriff O'Leary violated the law.

Despite the fact that there is 100 percent proof the violation occurred, the "investigation" has been stalled for over six months.

All of the direct and anecdotal evidence is incredibly damning against the sheriff's "I didn't understand" explanations, yet OFCC has not been able to locate even one victim who has so much as been contacted by Gary Nasal during the course of his "investigation." In fact, Nasal didn't even meet with O'Leary and Billiel until last month.

The Ohio media actively campaigned for the very same media access loophole abused by O'Leary and Billiel by claiming government works best when exposed to the scrutiny of a dedicated press.

What they really meant is if a license-holder committed a fifth-degree felony endangering 85 innocent victims, it would make the front page of every newspaper in the state. On the other hand, if a crime is committed by someone who shares the same anti-gun agenda, they will simply look the other way.

Their duplicitous actions create an ironic twist, considering the media's self-proclaimed status as the protectors of the common man from the abuses of Big Brother.

Private citizens everywhere now need to scrutinize the reporter with the same distrusting eye formerly reserved for the government -- which isn't easy, considering the establishment media has a bully pulpit and often uses it.

Dan Rather's actions at CBS during the presidential campaign proved the media is willing to pursue their own agenda at the cost of accuracy on the biggest political stage.

But small local battles, like the one being fought on behalf of 85 citizens in Shelby County, Ohio, might be more important because they do not garner the same level of exposure and therefore are more likely to go unchallenged.

Only the diligence of the same grassroots movement responsible for re-electing George Bush can force the state level establishment media to remain objective.

That might be the very reason they resent us.

(Chad D. Baus is the Northwest Ohio Coordinator for Ohioans for Concealed Carry and Vice Chairman of the OFCC PAC. Gerard Valentino is Central Region Coordinator of Ohioans for Concealed Carry.)

Investigation of Shelby Co. Sheriff and Sidney Daily News ongoing

Adding Insult to Injury: Sidney Daily News publishes more CHL-holders' names

BSSA tells O'Leary ''county of residence'' means ''county of residence

Special Prosecutor Appointed to Investigate Release of Protected Records

Sidney Daily News and Shelby Co. Sheriff maintain they committed no crimes

Shelby Co. Sheriff releases CHL-holders' protected, private information to media