Pro-Gun Punditry: Weekly Buckeye State Roundabout

There are more stories pertaining to our gun rights in Ohio then we can possibly draw attention to with individual daily commentary. But they are worthy of comment.

With that in mind, the following is what I hope can become a weekly look at headlines from around the state though a pro-gun rights lens.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for seven days of headlines and pro-gun analysis.

Wednesday in Cleveland: Mail halted for 6 days after carrier held up

"Neither snow nor rain . . ." as the motto goes, can stop delivery of the U.S. mail, but a gun-toting street thug can shut it down fast. Mail delivery in an East Side Cleveland neighborhood was halted for six days earlier this month, following robbery of a mail carrier working a route along East Boulevard. Residents say the midday sidewalk holdup is a sign of how dangerous the neighborhood, once the home of former Mayor Michael White, has become. During White's 12 years in office, police protecting his house were a constant presence. His successor, Mayor Jane Campbell, who lives in another part of town, has cut police jobs. "The police are doing what they can," said East Boulevard resident Joyce Fashola, 72. "But they are outmanned and outgunned. This neighborhood is inundated with crime. Cars stolen. Doors kicked in. The people are scared to death.

Gee, all that municipal gun control is working so well, isn't it? House Bill 347 to the rescue...

Thursday in Athens: Native-American speaker touts 2nd Amendment rights

A Native-American professor from Oklahoma defended the Second Amendment in a speech at Ohio University's Bentley Hall on Tuesday night. "Owning a weapon is a precious freedom," declared David Yeagley, a member of the Comanche Nation. Yeagley's speech, entitled "He Who Takes My Weapon Is My Enemy: An American Indian View of the Second Amendment," was sponsored by the OU Second Amendment Club and Young America's Foundation.

The Ohio University Second Amendment Club deserves recognition as one of the most proactive groups of young people in the Buckeye State today. The full story about this speaker's presentation is worth the read.

Friday in Oxford: Miami University Fined by Feds

Miami University has been slapped with a hefty fine for not doing enough to keep students safe. That's according to the U.S. Department of Education. It said the school must pay $27500 dollars for violating the Federal Campus Security Law. The fine is a result of six cases in which University officials failed to notify sexual assault victims in writing about the outcome of student disciplinary proceedings against their alleged attackers.

Will the Feds started handing out fines that average $4583.34 for every incident where students' Second Amendment rights are violated by the state's ban on concealed carry on college campuses?

Saturday from Columbus: Car crashes, SIDS leading killers of Ohio children

The Ohio Health Department released its annual Child Fatality Review yesterday, in which it analyzed 1,483 deaths in 2003.
The leading causes of death remain vehicle crashes and sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS. Overall, infants younger than 1 accounted for 63 percent of the total. Of the 2003 deaths, 32 were children who killed themselves and 30 died as the result of abuse/neglect. The majority of abuse or neglect deaths occurred among children younger than 5 who were shaken or beaten.

Although the ODH has not yet posted this report on its website, past reports show only 3% of childhood deaths are in any way related (whether accidental, violence, suicide) to firearms. More died from drowning in 2003. Yet to hear the gun ban lobby tell it, there is an urgent need to ban all guns to save the kids.

Sunday from Columbus: Gov. Taft’s popularity in free fall

Not Jimmy Carter during the Iranian hostage crisis. Not Harry S. Truman after firing Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Not even Richard Nixon before resigning during Watergate. The three most-unpopular presidents in the history of American public-opinion polling never had an approval rating as low as Ohioans are giving Gov. Bob Taft in a new Dispatch Poll. A mere 15 percent approve of the way the GOP governor is handling his job. The remaining 85 percent disapprove, including almost half who do so "strongly."

Should state legislators have any fear whatsoever of overriding a veto from this lame duck, no matter what the issue at hand?

Monday in Ottawa: Dem candidate stumps in Putnam County

Ted Strickland is a Democrat. You know that because it says it next to his title. For five terms, he’s served the state’s 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives and all that time there’s been a big “D” behind his name. Still, listening to him Sunday, meeting with Putnam County Democrats at the Glandorf Rod and Gun Club, it’s easy to confuse the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for something else. For one thing, he’s speaking in a gun club and has had a long-running endorsement from the National Rifle Association. He brags about his association with business leaders. And he has a habit of speaking about his faith in ways more typically associated with the Republican right. “I’m a Democrat who has been and continues to be supported by the NRA. I believe strongly in all the amendments to the Constitution, including the second,” Strickland said.

There are a lot of blue-blood, pro-gun, Reagan Democrats in this state who have been forced to Vote Freedom First on the other side of the ticket for years, and are no doubt chomping at the bit to get to Vote Freedom First for a member of their own party in 2006. This is going to be a VERY interesting primary...

Tuesday in Columbus: GOP hopefuls avoiding Taft

Today, Ohio's once-invincible GOP finds itself in a swirl of criminal investigations and ethics violations, and Republicans who want to succeed Taft are either ignoring the unpopular governor or running from him. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell has the fastest feet. "The Cincinnati Enquirer labeled me the anti-Taft," Blackwell said in an interview Monday. "I think at the time, they thought that was an albatross. Little did they know it was a life raft." Does Auditor Betty Montgomery want Taft's endorsement in the 2006 governor's race? "It's not something we've discussed," campaign spokesman Mark Weaver said. "She does want the endorsement of local leaders to show her grassroots support around the state." Attorney General Jim Petro's campaign also didn't directly answer the question.

It's not enough to want to separate themselves now - the wise voter will be smart enough to check and see which candidate is on record having supported more of Taft's failed economic policies, anti-gun poison pill attempts to kill concealed carrry reform, etc. The record is likely to prove harder to hide from than the lame duck governor.