The Idiot Chronicles, Volume 3: Random Elected Representative Comments You Might Have Missed

by Ken Hanson, Esq.

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

While there is no definitive source for this quote (conflicting sources have it going all the way back to Napoleon), it clearly encompasses two things that are happening in the media coverage of the two Restaurant Carry bill spending in the Ohio General Assembly. The malice is coming from those opposing the law. These groups are spreading deliberate misinformation as wide and as far as possible. The stupidity is coming from those who listen to them.

The following are actual comments made May 11, 2011 on the floor of the Ohio House of Representatives. These comments were made by elected officials, the same elected officials who decide how to spend your tax dollars, in opposition to H.B. 45.

"So what's to guarantee me that, you know, any one of the members in this chamber who hold a concealed carry wouldn't shoot me in the head?" - Representative Tracy Maxwell Heard (D-26)

(Perhaps you could take a baby step towards safety by not making idiotic comments about the character of your peers.)

"Well, I was thinking that we ought to have every establishment owner, basically, say as someone comes into their establishment, Colonel and Mrs. Bubp, they're carrying today, so everyone in the establishment would know so that we would have a dynamic in that establishment where people would understand who was feeling the need to be carrying so they could protect themselves, and all the other folks would know who would be there." - Ted Celeste (D-24)

(Just like the establishment owner announces other exercises of constitutional rights, such as "Joe Buckeye is praying before he eats his meal" or "Jane Buckeye is discussing a political issue with her friend" or "Bob Smith has decided he is not going to consent to a warrantless search of his vehicle in the parking lot during dinner.")

"This instance I'm gonna ask you to support an amendment that speaks directly to the urban areas that I've spent my political career representing, the east side of Cleveland; the east side of Cleveland where the kinds of bars that Representative McKenney spoke to exist on a day-to-day basis…So to say to people in my area, and my amendment speaks to that, that urban areas are not the same as rural areas, they're not the same as suburban areas; they are different, the pressure's are different, the homeless is different, the whole thing is different…There should be some difference in how we apply it." - Bill Patmon (D-10)

(There is a literal infestation of "punch palaces" in Cleveland, apparently, and the Division of Liquor Control should just establish standing revocation hearings in Cleveland. We are certain that Rep. Patmon also agrees that pesky constitutional rights like the right to an attorney, the right against self-incrimination, the right against warrantless search and seizure, the right to a jury trial etc should also be applied differently in urban areas. What is good for one constitutional right is good for all.)

"The Gun Lobby argues it is irresponsible not to allow concealed, loaded weapons in bars because under the current law, those gathered in a tavern today are defenseless. But by this logic, we should require to carry a firearm wherever we want to protect ourselves, just as we require a -- one to wear seatbelts in automobiles. But that doesn't seem very logical to me. Of course that would be ridiculous, though only slightly more ridiculous than passing a law to allow guns in bars." - W. Carlton Weddington (D-27)

(At least Rep. Weddington understands the logic; people should carry a firearm wherever we want to protect ourselves. We don’t strap on the seat belt only when we feel there might be an auto accident. The problem is people like Rep. Weddington don’t allow us to protect ourselves everywhere, because that would be "ridiculous.")

Note: Two other Representatives talked on the floor about personal tragedies involving guns and alcohol. All of these personal stories demonstrated that when a sober person has a gun when confronted by a violent, intoxicated person, lives are saved. When the law-abiding are disarmed or unarmed, and the criminals are armed, the armed criminal wins every time. Given the personal tragedy nature of the stories, we won’t quote from them here.

Coming next in Volume IV – Your elected official Representative Mark Okey.

Ken Hanson is a gun rights attorney in Ohio. He serves as the Legislative Chair for Buckeye Firearms Association, and is the attorney of record for Buckeye Firearms Foundation, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court cases. The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has awarded him with its 2008 Defender of Justice Award and 2009 Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award. He is the author of The Ohio Guide to Firearm Laws, a certified firearms instructor and holds a Type 01 Federal Firearms License.

Related Articles:
The Idiot Chronicles, Volume 1: "Restaurant Carry & Bartenders"

The Idiot Chronicles, Volume 2 : Your elected Representative Michael Foley

The Idiot Chronicles, Volume 4: Your elected Representative Mark Okey