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Facts revealed on old gunfight
(by Dave Lange - August 05, 2010)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Facts revealed on old gunfight
The latest procedure boldly announced by Ohio's largest newspaper to expose political mendacity opened with an examination of an often-quoted remark supposedly made by Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Lee I. Fisher about gun control.
Robert J. Portman, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in this November's election, has been making the accusation that "Lee Fisher once said, 'I never met a gun-control bill I didn't like.'"
After scouring records and reports covering more than three decades, challenging Mr. Portman and his supporters to produce evidence to back up the accusation and reaching out to defenders of the Second Amendment right to bear arms, the fact checkers concluded that it's a lie of the first degree. There apparently is no record whatsoever of Mr. Fisher ever making such a statement.
Well, my memory being as well oiled as the trusty 12-gauge shotgun hanging on my recreation-room wall (or was that the rear window of my Ford pickup truck?), I recalled a symposium held on Jan. 15, 1982, at the National Council of Jewish Women Building in Shaker Heights.
Mr. Fisher, who went on to serve as a state senator, Ohio attorney general and most recently lieutenant governor, then was the state representative for Cleveland's eastern suburbs, including much of the Chagrin Valley. He was the featured speaker at the symposium, which included several other gun-control advocates and was co-sponsored by the Handgun Control Federation of Ohio. The audience of about 80 was primarily of like mind. I was the only reporter in attendance.
When I wrote my account of the event for publication in the Chagrin Valley Times and Solon Times, I led off with what I considered to be an intriguing statement made by Mr. Fisher. But it wasn't about never meeting a gun-control bill he didn't like. What he said was, "I have considered purchasing a handgun, and I still may."
What that meant to me and what I thought was important for our readers to know was that their state representative's mind was not closed on the matter of gun rights vs. gun control.
At that time, Mr. Fisher was sponsoring Ohio House Bill 651, which had five basic provisions: the licensing of persons engaged in the sale of handguns; the issuance of handgun-owner identification cards; handgun registration; a 10-day waiting period prior to physical transfer of handguns; and incarceration of those using handguns in the commission of felonies.
Twenty-eight years later, those objectives have not been enacted into Ohio law. If anything, Ohio's gun laws have become more liberal over that time -- the liberal tradition being more civil rights for ordinary citizens.
I believe the quote that I reported from Mr. Fisher is a more accurate reflection of his approach to gun control than the nonexistent quote perpetuated by his political adversaries.
Nevertheless, I believe it would be more appropriate for the self-proclaimed fact checkers to determine whether there ever has been an actual gun-control bill that Mr. Fisher didn't like. If not, in the context of the many whoppers that will be flying in this political season, I believe Mr. Portman deserved some slack on this trivial pursuit.
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