| The Need for Legal Firearms in Parks |
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| Written by Mike Kinsey | |
| Wednesday, 20 September 2006 | |
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Regular readers of this website are well aware of the possible ramifications of the recent decision by the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals. The effects have rippled outside of the Sixth District. For instance, Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus is planning to enact bans in city parks that would prohibit legally licensed citizens from carrying a handgun for self-defense. On September 12, The Columbus Dispatch printed an editorial entitled, “Cities Win One”. That editorial states: A state appeals-court decision upholding Toledo’s ban on guns and other weapons in city parks is good news for Columbus and other Ohio cities…One point that deserves reiteration is that there was no ambiguity when legislators created and passed Ohio’s Concealed Carry laws, despite the fact that Mayor Coleman and Councilman Mentel “pushed state lawmakers to add public parks to the list of places where holders of conceal-carry permits cannot take firearms.” Legislators discussed the issue and purposely excluded parks from the list of enumerated places that disarm the law-abiding. In response to this claim of what Ohio cities have “won”, I humbly present what the citizens of those cities could lose: their right to self-defense and potentially the lives of their children. Allow me to explain. A 33-year-old man was finally arrested on September 19 after being sought by police. His alleged crime? Sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl. Where was he apprehended? In a city park. The Dayton Daily News is reporting that: A 33-year-old man sought on an accusation that he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl was arrested Monday at a park in Miami Twp., a Kettering Police Department public information officer said…Like all Ohioans licensed to carry a handgun for the defense of their loved ones, I take the safety of my family very seriously. That is why I have passed a rigorous background check, been fingerprinted, and received training in the safe operation and legal ramifications of carrying a handgun by state-approved instructors. I am not a threat while pushing my daughter on her favorite swing set. I am merely trying to protect my daughter from deranged criminals that already ignore laws against sexual assault of children. Why would these monsters heed another gun ban that leaves my family defenseless? |