Friday, May 13, 2005

More on Concealed Carry in Ohio

A piece in the Medina County Gazette (Ohio) about concealed carry now that it has been in effect for a year there. The author rightly (in my opinion) points out that it has not caused vigilantism to run rampant, nor has the mere presence of concealed carry obviously deterred any crimes, because, well, you can't really prove a negative. But I just wanted to mention that there is one aspect of the law on Ohio which I find absolutely horrifying:
As the concealed-carry law stands, only members of the news media may see the list of permit holders. The Gazette so far has not published the list, but other newspapers have. Hassinger said he disagrees with the media-only aspect of it. Either the list should be public or it shouldn't be. No in-between.
In-between, hell. There shouldn't be a list, period. In Texas it is possible to find out if a specific individual has a license, but that individual must be specifically named, and all you get is a yes or a no. And frankly, I am uncomfortable even with that. Allowing a complete list is insane. And whose idea was it to give media outlets the sole power in accessing and publicizing this list? Ye gads, it boggles the mind.

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