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Unfortunately, 'doomsayers' right
(by Dave Lange - June 09, 2011)
COUNTY LINE, BY DAVE LANGE
Unfortunately, 'doomsayers' right
Some very unfunny things have occurred on the way to Ohioans getting the go-ahead to carry concealed weapons into restaurants and nightclubs. The Ohio House of Representatives approved legislation to that effect last month, and itchy gun carriers are waiting for the Senate to follow suit.
After Ohio enacted its right-to-carry law in 2004, the group Ohioans for Concealed Carry circulated an article that concluded: "More guns, less crime." It began this way: "Every time a state enacts right-to-carry, doomsayers predict scenarios like shoot-outs over parking spaces and traffic stops that turn deadly for law enforcement."
In April 2010, Matthew Warmus, 25, of Green, pulled a gun from his car and killed David Williams, 27, of Maple Heights, a parking-lot attendant on East 9th Street in downtown Cleveland. The murder followed a disagreement over a parking space. Both men had Ohio permits to carry concealed weapons. Mr. Warmus was convicted and sent to prison.
In July 2008, Ashford Thompson, 23, of Twinsburg, shot Twinsburg police officer Joshua Miktarian, 33, four times in the head after being stopped for a traffic infraction on Glenwood Drive. Mr. Thompson, who also had an Ohio permit to carry concealed weapons, was convicted in officer Miktarian's murder and sentenced to death.
The "doomsayers" were correct.
I happen to concur with the National Rifle Association that "self defense is a fundamental right." Having been trained by the military in the use of automatic and semiautomatic weapons, I'm prepared to assert that fundamental right, if necessary.
Organizations like the NRA and Ohioans for Concealed Carry love statistics that seem to support their contention that more guns equal less crime. Prior to Ohio's concealed-carry law, for example, they pointed out that homicide rates declined by 3.9 percent in the 11 states that enacted right-to-carry between 1995 and 2001, while homicides were down minutely less by just 3.4 percent in the 18 states that still prohibited concealed weapons.
Recent FBI statistics, however, include much more dramatic figures. From 1990 to 2000, the decade before concealed carry became Ohio law, violent crime rates plummeted in all seven of the state's largest cities, as well as their suburbs. In the cities, the declines ranged from 76 percent in Akron and 45 percent in Cleveland to 14 percent in Youngstown. In the suburbs, violent crime was down 79 percent in Cincinnati, 55 percent in Cleveland and 25 percent in Dayton.
But from 2000 to 2008, as concealed carry became a legal right, violent crime rebounded. In the cities, they rose by 232 percent in Akron, 50 percent in Cincinnati and Toledo and 32 percent in Cleveland. Suburban increases included 177 percent for Youngstown, 37 percent for Cincinnati and 22 percent for Cleveland.
Various factors account for rises and falls in crime statistics. So it would be fallacious to conclude that enactment of the right to carry concealed weapons in Ohio is the reason for the concurrent spike in violent crime.
Quite clearly, though, more guns do not equal less crime. The loved ones of parking attendant David Williams and police officer Joshua Miktarian can vouch for that. No doubt, some innocent patrons in drinking establishments will reach the same deadly conclusion.
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