The headline at cleveland.com: “State numbers show majority of concealed-carry permit holders comply with gun laws“. Question: is that good enough for gun control advocates? Well of course not. In the same sense that it’s OK to enact a law if ONE PERSON is saved from gun violence, if ONE PERSON who has a concealed carry permit goes off the reservation, it’s proof that private citizens shouldn’t walk around with a pistol in their pocket. Something must be done! “Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said her group wants permit holders to apply for licenses every year and receive anger management courses and advanced training.” C’mon. Are you fucking KIDDING ME? In case you were wondering, a deadly shootout in a Cleveland parking garage sparked the debate . . .
“You don’t shoot people over a parking space,” Hoover said. “What we have seen in Ohio and other places is that when you have easy access to a weapon and stressors occur, whether it be an altercation or a person who feels in danger, they make judgments about where to use the gun, and this sort of thing can happen. This is why we objected to the [concealed carry] law in the first place.”
Because you can’t be trusted with a gun. Or can you?
Statewide, [Ohio] county sheriff’s agencies issued more than 56,691 concealed-carry permits last year. Less than 2 percent of those license holders had their rights revoked for committing a crime.
In absolute terms, that’s a not inconsiderable 133.82 concealed carry permit holders. Is that stat a sign that the system’s working or failing? Yes. It seems the sherrifs are on the good thing side of the fence.
“We’re normally not worried about people who own guns legally and come to us for a permit; it’s the people who have guns illegally,” said Lt. Donald Michalosky, who oversees the department at the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office that deals with carrying concealed weapons . . . “It’s not like a points system when you get a driver’s license,” Michalosky said. “Once we see an arrest, we are diligent about suspending the permit.”
Normally? What about abnormally?
Lt. Michalosky is politically astute enough to leave himself a little wiggle room, should a concealed carry permit holder go and blow it all and do something stupid like a spree killing. Which would be another reason why Ohioans would want to carry a gun. See how that works?
The problem here: neither side of the argument wants to admit that there’s going to be collateral damage no matter which way you play it.
The pro-concealed carry crowd would have you believe that all permit holders are Jimmy Stewart-quality citizens, standing up for what’s right and true and good. The anti-concealed carry folks would have you believe that all permit holders are Travis Bickles, a parking space fight away from a firearms frenzy.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It’s a messy place, but there it is. Sometimes the status should remain quo.
I had to read around a bit, your post comparing Detroit and Chicago through me for a loop. Detroit's much worse than the papers let on, they like fully automatic AK-47's…but Chi-town is no better. At least in Detroit you've got a chance, but you're absolutely right, it's messy either way. Of course, the Constitution says what it says for a reason.
A little background on Toby Hoover. I’ve known her for about 17 years, and have done battle with her in front of cameras, microphones, t.v. cameras, newspaper reporters and the general public on too may occasions to count. I have also defeated her in debate on many (actually, ALL) occassions.
Ms. Hoover admitted to me in a converstion that the reason she is waging her anti-firearms freedom battle is because her first husband was killed by a criminal (long since released on parole) during an armed robbery.
Her organization, an offshoot of an antigun “religious coalition”, is almost totally funded by the Joyce Foundation to the tune of over $750,000 in grants, from which Ms. Hoover graciously pay herself high five figure salaries.
I have debated her, publicly, on several occassions, and will state for the record that just about everything she says regarding firearms, firearms law, firearms rights (or lack thereof, according to her) is emotionally driven falsehoods. Unless she has improved her knowledge of the aforesaid topics, she (by her own admission) knows actually very little about the the topic(s).
As executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence (which by default should mean that myself, and many, many others are the Coalition FOR Gun Violence) Ms. Hoover claims to represent the views of millions of Ohioans. However, her “coalition” has never had more than a few dozen members on its’ roles. She is known to make insidious insinuations, such as she said to me on one occassion, and I quote ” how do we know that you might not flip out one day and go on a rampage?” My response was “how do we know YOU won’t?” Please bear in mind that I am a retired member of the U. S. Armed Forces with Top Secret and Nuclear Surety clearances, small arms expert, former law enforcement officer, certified firearms instructor and longtime CCW licensee in several states.
In my unqualified opinion, Ms. Hoover suffers from a mental disorder wherein she transfers the grief from her loss onto inanimate objects (guns) and those who possess them. She is on record as stating that she would not use a firearm to defend her own child against rape and/or murder.
Why the “mainstream media” adds relevance to anything she says speaks for itself. Under her “leadership”, the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence has been thankfully VERY unsuccessful at getting any of their agenda passed into law. In light of her and her organization’s massive failures, then-president William Jefferson (B.J.) Clinton bestowed upon her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her attempts to destroy the Second Amendment.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bruce A. Beatty
Technical Sergeant, USAF (Retired)
Former Ohioan, Proud Texan
Robert,
I really enjoy your works. How may I contact you directly?
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