Minor miracle. The Columbus Dispatch ran an editorial today opposing the idiotic "guns in bars and restaurants" bill recently passed by both Ohio houses. The editorial urges the bill be vetoed. This marks a rare instance when Buster and the Dispatch editors are in agreement. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen again.
I just had to post it to document this most unusual occurrence. Here it is:
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HALF-COCKED
Bill allowing most anyone to carry handguns almost anywhere is frightening
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 03:47 AM
The Columbus Dispatch
Can anyone seriously doubt any longer that the true agenda of the National Rifle Association and its willing servants in the General Assembly is not the defense of a reasonable, regulated right to own and use firearms, but the unfettered proliferation of guns everywhere in public life?
Why gun-lobby supporters are so keen to see more weapons in more places is mysterious. But the lobby's power in Ohio was unmistakable last Wednesday.
The House and Senate passed a bill allowing holders of concealed-carry permits to take their weapons into bars and other places that sell alcohol. It passed easily, despite the fact that law-enforcement agencies, prosecutors and restaurant owners-- people who know something about the unhealthy mix of guns and alcohol -- adamantly opposed it.
Lawmakers voting "yes" did so at the service of a powerful and deep-pocketed special interest, not in the public interest.
Besides needlessly enhancing the potential for barroom conflicts to turn lethal, the bill also robs law-enforcement officers of security by eliminating the requirement that a gun carried in a vehicle be either holstered, in a locked case or, if unlocked, in plain sight. Officers approaching stopped vehicles will be less certain the driver can't pull a loaded weapon from a convenient hiding place.
The bill is an outrage, but it's not enough for the gun lobby.
A bill introduced by Republican Rep. John Adams of Sidney would eliminate the pesky detail of a permit for carrying concealed weapons. Anyone who "qualifies for a permit" could carry a gun. For good measure, the bill would expand the right to carry to colleges, churches, child-care centers and government buildings. It's a wonder it leaves out nursing homes and nunneries.
Thus crumbles the gun lobby's contention that no one need fear the expansion of gun privileges, because the requirements of the permit system ensure that everyone toting a gun has a certain amount of training and the civic wherewithal to comply with the requirements. Not anymore; in Adams' world, people who don't have criminal records or diagnoses of mental illness should be able to carry concealed weapons, with no public declaration that they intend to do so.
Ohio is not a lawless frontier. People shopping for groceries or having lunch at a restaurant do not face a credible risk of an attack necessitating an armed response. Anyone who feels that sort of danger at church or the day-care center should choose a new church or day-care center, and call the police while they're at it.
The main effect of encouraging more people to arm themselves is to increase the chances of accidental shootings and tragedies involving family members, friends and lovers whose quarrels turn deadly because somebody has a gun.
The guns-in-bars bill is a bad idea that deserves a quick veto.
Adams' bill would be a bad joke, if only he were kidding.
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