WESTERHOLD: It's about the secrets, not about the gun owners

No, sorry Mr. Westerhold, but it’s about the guns. You have made your anti-gun stance very clear, time and time again – not least of all by your actions at your previous paper. It is rather that you published this list of gun-owners as a self-serving political statement.

This is a battle the Register never sought, but would have been irresponsible to have ducked.

Granted this is a battle the Register would never have sought. It likely never occurred to you that law-abiding citizens would and could fight back against your improper and ill-conceived actions.

Your irresponsibility came in publishing a list of the law-abiding citizens in order to make a political statement that otherwise has no legitimate journalistic purpose.

Now, the National Rifle Association and the Ohio Concealed Carry group

That would be the Ohioans for Concealed Carry, thank you very much. We manage to get your name straight, perhaps you could manage to get ours right -- though facts have never been your strong suit.

have begun an organized campaign to harass the newspaper’s advertisers

No, sorry, wrong again. We have encouraged folks to let your advertisers know the sort of biased political bile you have been serving up -- and that your advertisers have been supporting. That is not called harassment; it's called the reasonable response of concerned citizens.

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am contacting you today as a concerned consumer. As you may or may not know, The Sandusky Register, of which your business supports with advertising, has committed a grievous and dangerous attack on thousands of citizens in Northwest Ohio. On June 26, Managing Editor Matt Westerhold and The Register decided to publish the personal information of every law-abiding citizen that has received a Concealed Handgun License. These licensed citizens have undergone state-mandated training, passed a rigorous background check, been fingerprinted, and have been studied in the legal responsibilities of carrying a handgun solely for the defense of themselves and their families.

"Sandusky Newspapers Inc. and The Sandusky Register should immediately demand the resignation of managing editor Matt Westerhold for his role in putting the lives, homes, and lawfully-owned firearms of countless citizens in Northwest Ohio at risk of violence or theft."

"When newspaper management chooses to put a juicy headline controversy with no journalistic news worthy content ahead of the safety of the public, the only acceptable answer is to terminate their employment post haste."

"Ohioans For Concealed Carry and its supporters intend to send that message to the owners of the paper by targeting advertisers and encouraging them to pull advertising until this dangerous course of action is reversed and an apology is made to those citizens whose privacy has already been violated by the paper".

"You are out in a park, riding a bicycle trail and all of a sudden you're confronted by a drug addict who would kill you for $5," Geis [a licensed senior] said. "Are you going to sit there and say, 'Boy, I hope the police show up?'...

Seniors make up 40 percent to 50 percent of students at concealed-carry license certification classes at the Phoenix Center in Painesville, said Mike McKenney, who runs the 12-hour courses. Some are recent victims of violent crime, he said.

"An 87-year-old woman with a gun is equal to anybody," McKenney said...

Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans for Concealed Carry, said seniors should consider carrying a gun because criminals can interpret their physical weakness as an opportunity. John R. Lott, author of the book "More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun-Control Laws," said guns are a safer method of self-defense for seniors because they may run slower or have less strength...

ISRA Press Release:

ISRA Asks Senator Kotowski to Explain State Police Infringements on First Amendment Rights of Illinois Gun Owners:

CHICAGO, June 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA):

The ISRA is expressing great concern over reports that Illinois State Police (ISP) detectives have been visiting the homes of people who phoned or faxed Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-Park Ridge) to express opposition to gun control legislation sponsored by the senator. The ISRA has recently conducted a thorough investigation into one complaint, and is gathering additional information on as many as several dozen other reported incidents of police questioning citizens who have spoken out against gun control legislation.