As Rome Burns . . er, uh . . As Columbus' Crime Rate Jumps

Rome or Columbus . . . the result is about the same. Anti-gun Mayor Michael Coleman (who keeps telling everyone he LOVES his job) keeps fiddling on and on about too many guns, but the crime rate is jumping. Murders are down slightly, but violent crime has spiked significantly, according to federal crime stats. Coleman touts his police "strike forces" on the ground, but only instituted the practice after being embarrassed into doing so by pro-gun groups like Peoples Rights Organization and neighborhood associations. PRO testified more than two years ago in hearings prior to the city re-instituting its disastrous ban on competition rifles (so-called "assault weapons") that the answer was more cops on the street, and far less plea-bargaining away of gun charges. He did not bother to attend any hearings, and only after he had abandoned his quest for the governorship of Ohio did he bother to comment on the issue. He knew that far too many democrat voters outside the big cities disagree completely with his stand on lawfully owned guns.

Anyway, as Rome . . er, uh, Columbus burns, the editorial board at the Columbus Dispatch -- still holed up in their ivory tower -- continue to pontificate about the need for Ohio courts to dump the general law passed overwhelmingly by the Ohio General Assembly (and supported by then gubernatorial candidate and now Gov. Ted Strickland). Ohio Attorney General Mark Dann, who was in the legislature at the time, also voted FOR the general law, which puts responsibility for all firearms related lawmaking in the hands of state legislators. As it has on numerous occasions, the state pierced Ohio's home rule provision, just like it did when it standardized all local building codes to one state code.

Law enforcement is in favor of this general law on firearms, because it will eliminate the patchwork quilt of confusion over what is or is not legal on either side of a municipal or township line. Ohio residents are safer because they no longer need fear what jurisdiction they are in and what the law on firearms is here or there.

The Dispatch and Ohio's other major newspapers need to climb down from the ivory towers. They are out of the mainstream. They are crying out for relevance in a media world that is passing them by. Other cities and states that have seen pre-emption-type laws, have also seen there crime rates lessen. But it wasn't because criminals suddenly decided to obey the laws . . . it was because ordinary citizens now have the means to protect themselves that might have been denied before. And the criminals know it, and are more wary.

To the mayors of Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Clyde and others, as well as the editorial boards at the Columbus Dispatch, Plain Dealer (Cleveland), Dayton Daily News, Cincinnati Post and Cincinnati Enquirer, you need to quit playing games with an important issue. Its not about the guns -- its about criminality.

The Dispatch editorial earlier this week was just what most Central Ohioans have come to expect. But I wonder how many Dispatch staffers, or even Columbus residents, would be shocked to know that members of the dynasty that publishes this paper often carried when it was illegal to do so. This same paper editorialized for years that CCW was a horrible idea, and should not be allowed to become law.

Seems more than just hypocritical, doesn't it?

BTW, the Dispatch says cities need to be able to make their own laws more stringent than that of the state. Well then, let's go back to hundreds of different building codes that confuse consumers and builders, and drive up the cost of construction. Let's go back to every little 'burg being able to set its own speed limits. Speed traps are mostly a thing of the past in the Buckeye State, but the Dispatch's approach would bring 'em back! Read the editorial that really ticked me off, beyond what Mayor Mike has been saying, by going to: http://dispatch.com/live/content/editorials/stories/2007/10/07/CLYDE.ART_ART_10-07-07_G4_2O83NH2.html?sid=101