'Concealed carry' advocates to be in plain view in Gahanna demonstration

Activists plan to march with guns
Columbus ThisWeek
October 9, 2003

Advocates of an Ohio law to allow concealed weapons will march through Olde Gahanna Sunday afternoon to draw attention to what they say is a flaw in state law.

"Defense Walk" organizers Bob Maroldy and Gerard Valentino said they expect about 100 people to participate in the event. Most will carry handguns, which will be in plain view.

The walk is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. from Veterans Memorial Park on Johnstown Road after a safety briefing. The group will walk along Granville Street to Shull Avenue and then return to the park.

Maroldy, a Gahanna resident, and Valentino, of Pickerington, announced during Monday night's Gahanna City Council meeting their intent to stage the walk.

"Our goal is to have a safe, non-confrontational event," said Maroldy, a former Texas resident who moved to Gahanna in November 2002.

The event is being held in response to the Ohio Supreme Court's recent 5-2 vote to uphold Ohio's ban on concealed weapons. In its decision, the court said it is legal for Ohio residents to carry firearms as long as they are visible.

The walk is also to show support for House Bill 12, which would allow Ohio residents to carry concealed weapons, but is currently stalled in the Ohio Legislature.

It will be similar to a "Defense Walk" held Sept. 28 in Cincinnati at which about 100 people openly carried their firearms in a "very successful, peaceful, mainly non-confrontational" event, Maroldy said.

The intent of the Gahanna event is "to provide a visual display of the choice" between allowing Ohio residents to carry concealed weapons "and open carry with no licensing or training, and we are against that," said Maroldy. He said he was licensed to carry a concealed weapon during the six years he lived in Texas.

Gahanna Police Chief Dennis Murphy said he is comfortable with the walk and hopeful that it will go off without a hitch.

"They are probably one of the most polite groups we've ever worked with," Murphy said. "They want to make their statement, but they don't want to cause any concern in the community."

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"This is not to change the minds of people who are against us. It's to show the legislators, who have the power to make changes, that this is a bad choice to allow people to openly carry weapons," Maroldy said.

Maroldy told council that Gahanna is a good place to hold the event because he's a resident, it's representative of central Ohio and it has a good mix of rural and city residents and settings.

Chief Murphy said he is not entirely sure what to expect during the event. The previous "Defense Walk," he said, drew a number of counter-protesters.

"We have a duty to plan, as we have in previous situations," Murphy said. "We're good at it and we do it all the time. We hope and pray we never have to use it, but if we do, we have contingencies.

"That's part of our homework this week," Murphy continued. "We're coordinating with Cincinnati and learning from their experiences."*

*One of the Cincy experiences Gahanna law enforcement and Walk participants will be preparing for based on several Cincy protestors who tried to grab participants' firearms. As one cameraman put it that day, "the only violent people here are the protestors."

Click here to read the story in Columbus ThisWeek.

Click here for the current schedule of "Defense" Walks, directions and contact information, and also for more details on future Walks.