Few readers of this website will not be surprised to hear that the Cleveland Plain Dealer has written yet another anti-gun editorial.   Ohio was one of the last states to adopt concealed carry reform, and in the process poison pills were amended into the initial legislation that have put numerous Ohioans at risk due to mandated handling of a firearm to enter and exit a vehicle. 

Motorcyclists have been pulled over due to "man with a gun calls" because of the obligation to wear the gun in plain sight.  To this day, local knee jerk gun laws are passed to put the minds of local city councilmen and women at ease despite impacting nobody but the law abiding.

When the Republican Controlled Senate refused to pass HB347 before the summer recess Ted Strickland saw an opportunity to take a well deserved swipe at Republicans, claiming that he wouldn't stall the legislation -- a tactic many gun owners feel Governor Bob Taft has used against them in their quest to pass concealed carry reforms.  Many perceive the State Highway Patrol's absurd objections, which were never raised in any other state, to be nothing less than Bob Taft's stalling tactics.

Instead of realizing the fact that gun owner interests play a huge role in elections the Plain Dealer's Monday editorial flippantly dismissed gun owners as a "side show" that distracts attention from other issues.

But Strickland's jumping into the discourse on guns was purely political pandering. Guns are a sideshow in the race for governor - a show that distracts attention from the state's dire economic condition and its huge educational shortcomings.

If the Plain Dealer spent more time investigating each candidates pro-gun claims, as well as those of their running mates, they might actually have provided the reader with a little more meaningful information than the opinion of some over paid journalists.  Despite their disdain for gun owners the fact is that people choose their candidates for a multitude of reasons -- and many gun owners are single issue voters that should not be blown off as "just a side show" to one of the biggest elections Ohio will face in the next few years.

If anything good came from this article it was the quote from Senate President Harris claiming the bill will in fact pass this fall:

Senate President Bill Harris said he expects the Senate to approve the gun bill before year's end. That would be no surprise, given the gun lobby's clout in Columbus.

Is it any surprise that the Cleveland Plain Dealer continues to list the personal information of license holders on it's website and updates it regularly?  Those who still subscribe to the Plain Dealer for anything other than the coupons should seriously reconsider.