Toledo Does The Right Thing

Without discussion, the Toledo, Ohio City Council has apologized to the United States Marine Corps. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner refused to say whether he would sign the resolution.

How to explain Lucas County . . .

31 States Support Pro-Gun Heller, 2A View

A map of attorneys general who concur with Heller, and have filed a llective amicus brief with the Supreme Court.

Here is a link to the pro-2A, pro-Heller amicus brief, led by the state of Texas.

Against Heller and supporting DC's ban on handguns? Five states, oh and Puerto Rico, too.

BTW, kudos to Ohio AG Mark Dann for taking a stand.

Man, I do love maps.

Anti-Gun OACP Ordered To Stop Spending Homeland Security Monies

"A state agency has ordered the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police to stop spending homeland-security money while a federal auditor reviews allegations of misspending. A state audit found the chiefs association has misspent tens of thousands of federal dollars on such services as lawn care, window washing and pest control, and has continued to fail to document hundreds of other costs. According to the audit by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency, the chiefs association misspent more than $182,000 in 2005."

Allegations of impropriety from this organization, which opposed reforming concealed carry in Ohio, first surfaced publicly last month. But problems were observed by state auditors in early 2007.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that state officials cited a study of 209 invoices totaling $260,585. Of that total, the state agency determined that $182,627 had paid for "unallowable costs" under federal grant rules, according to agency documents.

Fight Over Toledo Marine Maneuvers Isn't Over

Lucas County, in northwestern Ohio, is somewhat of an island surrounded by sanity. Besides being the home of a one-woman anti-gun advocacy "group," Toledo has an interesting place in history. It was the hub of a "war between the states" back in the early 1800s.

Both Michigan and Ohio claimed the narrow strip of ground running west to east. Ohio officials snuck in in the middle of the night, established and operated a court for a few hours. Citizen militias from both states were headed for a possible showdown. Ohio had even adopted as its flag a "burgee" -- a pennant shaped banner similar to those used to commemorate military campaigns. This prompted Michigan officials to fear Ohio was going to be a somewhat militaristic state in the future.

Eventually, the parties stood down after federal authorities ruled that Ohio had first "governed" that area (due to holding a court on one night). The strip was awarded to Ohio, and "that state up north" was compensated for its loss with what is now the "U.P." -- more commonly known as Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Why the history lesson? Because a new battle over Toledo is being waged between its mayor, Carty Finkbeiner, and a U.S. Marines reservist unit that was supposed to train in the city's downtown. Mr. Finkbeiner isn't backing down from his original orders, but other city officials are sending out apologies.

When Civil Protection Orders Don't Work

The Columbus Dispatch has a piece on a local woman who survived an attack by her estranged husband. She played dead. He killed himself.

She had a civil protection order. He ignored it. The story takes some time talking about how these orders often don't work.

"It sort of cuts both ways," said Phyllis Carlson-Riehm, executive director of the Action Ohio Coalition for Battered Women. A protection order gives credence to a victim's complaints and provides evidence that she's serious about ending the abuse, she said.

"Usually, we encourage people to take that step, but we realize it can cause more violence. … A protective order is a piece of paper, and a bullet can go through it and a knife can slash it."

In a paper published last year, Judy Postmus of Rutgers University evaluated the research on protection orders and the negative assumptions surrounding them, including the belief that they aren't useful. Postmus, a social-work professor and director of the Center for Violence Against Women and Children, concluded that if the abuse is severe and long-lasting, a protection order might be ineffective and cause more problems for the victim.

We've seen that just this week with two horrible incidents here in Ohio. In the first, in Canal Winchester, a woman who had been granted a civil protective order, was shot and killed through the car windshield when he blocked her way on a public road. The second incident, in Portsmouth, did not involved such an order, to my knowledge. A man who had been served with divorce papers walked into his wife's school, fired a gun, then stabbed his teacher wife. She is in critical condition.

Most disturbing in this Dispatch story, is that nowhere is there ANY advice for how people can protect THEMSELVES when they apply for their civil protection order. The story is just about how the orders frequently don't work, but do give the courts and law enforcement a little bit of a tool to use if things take a turn for the worse.

Unfortunately, when things take such a turn, its often a deadly turn for the person being stalked or harrassed.

Stabbing, Shooting At "Gun-Free' Portsmouth, OH School

Updated: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, 6:16 pm -- The victim is in critical condition; the husband later killed himself in their home today during a standoff with LEOs. He reportedly fired a gun before violently stabbing his wife as her fifth grade class watched in horror. She had filed for divorce from her husband on Jan. 25. Police also report the husband stabbed and wounded another woman in an alley about five blocks from the school.

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Updated: Thursday, Feb. 7, 2008, 12:12 pm -- The shooter is reportedly holed up inside his house. The victim was flown to a hospital in Huntington, W.Va. Notre Dame School will be closed today and tomorrow.

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Reports coming in this morning of a shooting at an elementary school in Portsmouth, Ohio, which is located on the Ohio River about 85 miles south of Columbus.

A man allegedly came into the school a shot his wife, a teacher or staff member. He is at large. All schools in Portsmouth reported are in lockdown.

Developing . . .

Ohio Wildlife Officials Aim To Thin Deer Herd -- Significantly

New permitting approach by the Ohio Division of Wildlife is aimed at stopping the growth in the Ohio deer herd within the next two years.

Romney Receiving Big Bucks From Ohioans; Millions Spent For 'Super Tuesday'

This is interesting. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were the nation's top presidential fund-raisers last year, each collecting more than $100 million, but they lagged behind republican Mitt Romney in securing campaign dollars from Ohio.

Romney received 1.4 million from Ohio donors in 2007. The Plain Dealer has the story.

In the meantime, CNN has a report on the millions of dollars being "burned" in TV advertising to convince voters to pull the switch, check a box, or push a touchscreen for their favorite candidate on February 5's "Super Tuesday" primaries around the U.S.

Sigh . . . just imagine if that kind of funding were available to teach young people marksmanship, responsibility and leadership.

Hoping Buckeye Chuck Doesn't Lose His Job

With the news that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is slashing jobs in order to help balance the state budget, one wonders whether our own Buckeye Chuck -- Ohio's official weather-predicting groundhog -- will still have a job a year from today.

BTW, Buckeye Chuck saw no shadow this morning and is predicting an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter. Our warm winter hopefully will be ending a little early, according to the furry weathercaster, who was pulled from his cage in Marion, Ohio this morning to give the official forecast. Under cloudy skies, and before a crowd of about 200 people eating spam sandwiches and drinking hot chocolate, the groundhog emerged at 7:42 am. Buckeye Chuck's handlers report he looked around, but did not see his shadow.

We hope you are with us for a forecast next year, Chuck!

Note: The inspiration for this post is from Breda, who notes that "the human longing for the warmth of the sun is ancient and universal."

Brady Campaign Says Ohio Not Doing Enough To Regulate Guns

Updated: Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008, 1:11 pm -- The Columbus Dispatch has a story on the same Brady report. I particularly like the quote from Jeff Garvas of Ohioans for Concealed Carry. He notes that the "scorecard" the Brady campaign puts together is, in reality, a reflection of how well firearms advocates are doing in protecting the rights of all Ohioans.

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What else is new? The same argument each year. The Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control Inc.) says Ohio is among several states not doing enough to combat so-called "gun violence" and "illegal guns."

WBNS10tv in Columbus has the story, as reported by Kevin Landers. You know, 10tv takes its job very seriously and does a good job of showing up at gun protests, but . . . unfortunately the assignment editors, or whoever schedules coverage of news stories and events, apparently juggle such a multitude of stories that reporters from this particular station -- a CBS affiliate -- rarely, if ever, are able to attend proponent testimony on pro-arms related safety legislation. I've never seen a staff so busy. I'm sure the appearance that the station is motivated solely by only one side of one particular issue is merely a coincidence.

As for the Brady's shrill warnings, they are the same arguments trotted out year after year. When I was in journalism school a million years ago, I was taught "if it isn't new, it isn't news." As for the validity of their concerns . . . well, consider the source.

Commentary on the piece:
Lt. Buechner has it right -- and frankly, its refreshing to hear an LEO tell the media you can't start telling people what they can and can't sell. That would mean in the used car biz that a Prius is okay, but a Maserati is unacceptable because it can break the law with its speed (but then so could the Prius). Also, there's that other sticking point . . . cars kill.

As for the gun store owner in Lancaster, I have a real bone to pick with him. According to the news story on 10tv, he advocates a semi-auto handgun with a magazine safety for home defense. This means the gun cannot be fired if the magazine drops out but there still is a round in the chamber. Very dangerous advice, and he should know better. In my personal opinion as an NRA certified firearms instructor, this is one of the WORST firearms to keep for self defense in the home. If you are awakened from a deep sleep to the sound of a break-in, or even are awake and alarmed that someone is breaking into your home, you are going to become adrenalized. As you are loading your sidearm, there is a good chance your nervousness may cause you to drop a loaded magazine, perhaps accidentally kicking it under your couch or bed, rendering your self defense tool as nothing than a big, expensive paperweight.

Magazine safetys were designed with law enforcement in mind, to prevent officers's guns from being used against them. While the gun is useless if the magazine drops out, the officer has extensive self defense training to wrestle the bad guy down. The average citizen does not. A bad, BAD recommendation from the Lancaster gun shop ower.

Frankly, if that's what he keeps for home defense, I wish him well and pray for his safety. Because he's not doing himself any favors.

As for the Brady Campaign, I would advise they take another look at Washington DC, home of some of the strictest gun control in the U.S. The never-ending violent crime there eclipses that of most areas of the nation. Which is why DC residents sued to have the three-decade ban on handguns taken off the books -- finally permitting residents to defend themselves with the tool of their choice, and to send a message to criminals that honest citizens are going to improve safety in the District of Columbia.

And until that ban is lifted, as far as places to live -- I know I am FAR safer in the Buckeye State than in our nation's capital. Which is, in fact, a sad commentary. They should both be safe places.

Prez Debates Coming to Buckeye State

Ohio to be the site of two presidential debates, to be hosted by CNN.

Of Interest to My Fellow Ohioans

The Ohio State Journal of Criminal law has launched a blog. Check it out here.

I'll peek in on it from time to time to see whether any Second Amendment related submissions find their way onto the site.

Columbus A 'Burb That's Bustling With Bloggers

Well isn't this interesting. The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the Top 10 Cities in the U.S. for blogging and Ohio's capitol city ranks at Number 8.

Here is the Top 10 list from Nielsen Media Research:

Austin, Texas (15% of adults going on the Web to read or contribute to a blog in the past 30 days)
Portland, Ore. (14%)
San Francisco Bay Area (13%)
Seattle, Wash. (13%)
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Diego, Calif.
Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
Columbus, Ohio
Nashville, Tenn.
Colorado Springs, Colo.

Way cool.

Ohio Police Group That Fought Concealed Carry Being Investigated For Improperly Receiving Homeland Security Grants

The state is questioning whether the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police qualified for $21 million in federal Homeland Security money and whether it was spent properly.

"Over three years, the chiefs association received more than half the money allocated to Ohio through the Local Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Program -- one of five federal programs that hand out Department of Homeland Security money. The money more than tripled the association's annual budget."

It should be noted that OACP fought tooth and nail against concealed carry, sorely needed citizen safety legislation, in the Ohio General Assembly four years ago. More recently, OACP testified in favor of classifying Ohio concealed carry licensee data as public records, and opening them up to the public for review. This would have made it easy to criminals to know who keeps firearms at their homes. This is an interesting opinion, according to the Society of Professional Journalists, considering that OACP "is not usually counted among the state's fiercest advocates of open government."

In the end, access to Ohio Concealed Handgun License licensee records (restricted to journalists only), was tightened despite OACP objections.

The investigation over Homeland Security funds continues to unfold. Stay tuned!

Record Eagle Count

Very cool. During the recently completed mid-winter survey, a record 621 eagles were found to be nesting in Ohio. The previous record, 540, was set in 2006.

Bald eagles were found living in 66 of Ohio's 88 counties.

Very, very cool, considering there was a time when wildlife biologists in the state would keep nest sites secret to keep away the curious, over fear eagles would abandon those nests.