Sheriff's office looking at CHL list inaccuracies

IMPORTANT NOTE: The following parody was adapted from a recently-published Ohio news story about reports of significant errors in the Attorney General's new sex offender database (the original story may be accessed by clicking here). Very few words were changed.

Since some liberal newspaper editors are promising to publish the lists of law-abiding citizens who choose to bear arms for self-defense, could stories like this about CHL-holders be far off?

Summer, 2004

ANYWHERE, OH - Shirlye Monger likes her home on Battery Park, but she doesn't like sharing an address with a concealed handgun license (CHL)-holder. Although the man in question doesn't live in her home, the Gore County newspaper thinks he does.

"I don't want people to associate this man with my home," she said. "There are no men living at my house, especially not someone known as a gun nut."

Monger is not the only resident fired up over the errors.

After that newspaper published the CHL-holder list Monday, Sheriff Over Dunn said his office was bombarded with phone calls from residents who claim the list contained inaccuracies. Wrong addresses were at the top of the complaint list. The newspaper received several phone calls, as well, from residents wishing to clear up the confusion.

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The question mark placed on the reported residency of certain CHL-holders has prompted Dunn to send deputies out for additional home visits.

"The only way to ensure the accuracy of the list is to check each one out to make sure the CHL-holders are living in the county they reported," he said. "If one guy is out here living where he is not supposed to, that is one guy too many."

Under the radar

Dunn said he is astonished the list contains the errors, but his office compiled the list as required by the state based on the information provided by the CHL-holders at the time of registration. As each CHL-holder is registered, full name, birthdate, and county of residence information is compiled and kept on file, Dunn explained. If the CHL-holder decides to move before their renewal date, the sheriff's office will not know unless the CHL-holder comes forward to offer the information.

"Deputies aren't required to go out and check on these guys every day, but that fact makes it possible for some of these guys to slip under our radar," he said.

It's disturbing for Monger, who has lived in her home for a little more than a year. She said she has received several phone calls from friends asking her to explain why this man was listed by the newspaper as living in her home.

"I flipped out when I heard this," she said. "The paper said they thought he lived here because we share the same last name. They are so irresponsible to print this."

Dunn said any CHL-holder who doesn't report an address change would face CHL revokation as punishment.

"I suggest these guys come in on their own and not let us find them," he said.