State's largest municipalities losing residents to suburbs

Ohio's suburban and rural communities continue to grow at the expense of the state's large urban areas, according to the latest census population estimates.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more of the story, and for the impact these changes will continue to have on gun ownership and self-defense.

Of the state's five largest cities, Cincinnati shrank the most, losing 2.2 percent of its 331,285 residents reported in 2000.

Cleveland has bled residents since 1950, when it was the seventh-largest city in the nation, with a population of 914,808. The latest estimates, released today, show Cleveland with 467,851 residents -- down 9,608, or 2 percent since the 2000 census.

Akron lost 2,725 residents, dropping its population to 214,349 -- a 1.3 percent reduction from two years ago.

Canton also lost 1.3 percent, dropping to 79,772.

Most smaller cities also shrank: Nearly two-thirds of the state's 168 cities of more than 10,000 residents lost population, including Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls in Summit County, Alliance in Stark County, and Kent and Ravenna in Portage County.

While that's the rule, there's a big exception: Columbus. The state capital gained 13,680 residents, or 1.9 percent in the little more than two years since the last census, in April 2000. That's because every time people move out of town, the city just annexes them back in.

In contrast to Ohio's cities, almost all townships in the area saw population increases.

OFCC PAC Commentary:
The most obvious point that can be analyzed when reading this story is that Ohioans are desperate to get out of the city. No doubt crime rates in these municipalities play a part in their desire to flee. The city with the largest population hemorrage is also the city that has seen everything from race riots to record homicides in the past two years.

Also too, most of the cities mentioned in this story couple increasing violent crime rates with the passage of more and more restrictive laws against people who wish to defend themselves.

The result? More and more Ohioans are choosing to move outside city limits, where their right to self-defense is not quite so impossible to exercise. But take note: there is a push to bring big-city gun control to every township in this state. Legislators say the idea has been put "on ice", but only your continued activism will ensure it remains there.

Click here to read the entire story in the Akron Beacon-Journal.