Violent crime rates have shown a decrease, and homicides are down in Columbus, Akron and Cincinnati. However Toledo, Dayton, and Cleveland all show increases in homicides with Cleveland leading the way with an almost 7% increase.

Regular OFCC readers will recall that Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul had to be sued by an OFCC member to force him to obey the law and start issuing CHLs. Sheriff McFaul continues to place the law abiding Cuyahoga County citizens at risk by only accepting CHL applications on a limited basis. While homicides continue to rise in the area, and McFaul must be sued to force him to follow the law, he was recently honored by local government officials by having a street named after him. I can't help but wonder if any of the innocent homicide victims have had a street named after them? Honoring McFaul in this manner must be a real slap in the face to the families of those victims.

In addition to the Sheriff McFaul "McFiasco", Cleveland has reduced their police force by 250 officers. This increasingly leaves Cleveland citizens at risk. With crime and homicides up, and police officers down, the citizen of Cleveland must be prepared for their safety and self-defense. Perhaps no where else in the State of Ohio is the need for citizens to obtain their CHL and carry for self-protection greater than in Cleveland.

Meanwhile the Cleveland Plain Dealer has its plan for dealing with crime --- they continue to make available through their website the names of all the CHL holders in Cuyahoga and surrounding counties.

It seems that only the law abiding CHL holders are the only people in the Cleveland and Cuyahoga County area to understand the value of self-defense and what it takes to reduce crime. A number of factors are working against the area when it comes to government and community leaders taking a stand against crime. Many prefer to take a stand against the law abiding citizens that elected them!

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