Don't Assume CHL Holders Are Out To Police The Streets

A very well written letter to the editor in the Columbus Dispatch reminding readers that Ohio Concealed Handgun License holders are not supposed to be out preventing crimes. Though the gun control crowd that shows up at Ohio General Assembly hearings would have you believe that every firearm owner wants to be "judge, jury and executioner" (BTW, those were the exact words of one such anti self-defense advocate who testified at a recent hearing).

"The Sunday article 'Gun-permit renewals near' contained a statement that must be addressed. Dispatch Staff Reporter Randy Ludlow rightly quoted Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office that there had been no incidents involving concealed-carry license holders during the first four years under the law. But then Ludlow added, 'On the other hand, neither does Martin recall any incidents locally in which a concealed-carry permit holder prevented a crime or captured a criminal.' Concealed-carry license holders -- they are not permits, by the way -- are not law-enforcement officers, nor are we vigilantes. Per the handbook published by the Ohio attorney general, 'The law specifically discourages citizens from taking matters into their own hands and acting as law-enforcement agents. This is true even if the person thinks he is performing a good deed by protecting someone or helping law enforcement.' We are law-abiding, responsible Ohioans who rely on ourselves in order to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We are nothing more than that, and any reference otherwise is unfair."

To Mr. Bott in Westerville, a very nice job.

Not going out and looking for trouble is important. In fact, when I help teach such classes with PRO-Training here in Columbus, we talk extensively about how a CHL holder's job is not to be an auxiliary of the police department. As we like to say, everyone's job is to get home safely at the end of each day. You wear your halo at all times. You carry to protect yourself and your loved ones. You make the decision to take the extensive training and testing, and submit yourself to a criminal background check, so you can exercise that basic human right to self defense outside of your home -- not to play cops and robbers.

And guess what? Contrary to the fear-mongering from the antis, that is exactly the way the vast, VAST majority of CHL holders across this nation conduct themselves.