Ohioans have right to defend themselves
8/1/2001So what does The Blade want with its constant and interminable whining about the citizens of Ohio's proposed right to carry weapons? Could it be that it wants to save the people from the abject terror of living in a state like Vermont, of all places, which has few restrictions on possession and concealed carry by its residents?
The ongoing, oft-repeated blubbering about safety in libraries, day-care centers, schools, and airports is disingenuous at best, when any thinking citizen would find comfort in sensing that responsible people with the ability to defend themselves and others may be in the vicinity in case of problems.
The thought that Ohio would return to a frontier-like society is also laughable to most mature citizens with the possible exceptions of the overly concerned, panty-waisted editorial staff of The Blade, the local Finkbeiner anti-gun cabal, or the hysterical leftists from the “gun control” charades.
Certain facts remain. The unique and historic American right to bear arms inherently incorporates the right to carry arms, as some 43 other state legislatures have confirmed for their citizens. The Blade must believe that we Ohioans are less responsible, less willing, and less capable to defend ourselves, less interested in our constitutional rights than our fellow neighbors, and therefore more dependent on our Big Government Big Brothers.
Our Ohio legislators have the right, if not the outright obligation, to vote for the affirmation of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, regardless of whether The Blade or the misnamed “gun safety” social activists concur.
EDWARD S. POPKOSKI
Cloister Road
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I am often disappointed to open a newspaper and find it advocating the erosion of individual liberties, but that's just what I saw July 24. The Blade is very much against the passage of any bill that would allow Ohio residents to carry a concealed firearm. The Blade seems to see it as an issue of not trusting Ohio residents, but the more important issue is of personal freedom.
Every citizen of the United States has the right to life and to be able to defend him or herself. However, if a person is not allowed to possess the means to exercise that right, the right might as well not exist in the first place. If the state of Ohio suddenly outlawed the printing press, Internet, and TV and radio transmissions, what good is the First Amendment? And who do you think would be leading the charge to repeal such an unjust law?
TY HENRY
Dundee
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With an overwhelming majority of states in this country having already enacted laws allowing their citizens the right to carry their firearms concealed, you would think that those opposed to such a right would have loads of “ammunition” to bolster their viewpoint.
However, their rhetoric is based on hype and emotion, not facts. Why? The facts are not on their side. They cannot point to any of these other states and say “Look what happened there; that is why citizens of Ohio should not have this right.”
Do they believe Ohioans are less trustworthy than the citizens in these other states? Maybe we dumb hicks here in Ohio are too stupid to be trusted with this right? This issue is not about carrying guns. We all currently have that right as long as they are visible. This is about concealment. I think those wanting this right should, for a day or a week, strap on their weapons and carry them in full view of everyone. Do you want to see the weapons or not? That's the question.
TOM BLAKELY
Perrysburg
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Once again, the court system has failed to make an example of those people who abuse animals. The decision to give two men a slap on the hand is an insult for the crime they committed against their neighbor's dog. However, what can we expect until the laws in Ohio are changed to address crimes such as this? How disappointing this decision is to those of us who love and care for our pets and have respect for animal rights. It's probably not realistic to think that these two men have changed their feelings toward animals since this incident.
A word of warning: Watch your pets.
RUTH SZMANIA
Sylvania
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Why is it that so few of us speak out against the loss of farmland? It is sad but also disturbing that some misguided or greedy individuals want roads put through rich farmland in the Waterville area, or care nothing for “green space” and build the perfect housing development only to have it not satisfy the owners, or build shopping areas or industrial parks when they are not needed or are not right for the area. The traffic, noise, smog, and pollutants that follow these show how wrong they can be.
Our quality of life and healthy environment must be preserved. One look at the beauty of the golden shapes of farmland after the recent July combining should be enough to save that kind of beauty for generations to come.
It's a view that no home, factory, or road can ever aspire to or fulfill.
Time spent in old burial grounds or battlefields surely must give us a sense of awe and desire never to replace that with a drugstore, market, or housing development. The blare of traffic or a plant generating electricity with its constant hum does nothing to uplift or quiet the human spirit.
There is a better way to live life than always taking, always upgrading material things, and not conserving water, energy, and our precious land. It is difficult to wage time and energies against those who realize their goals with unlimited money, bribery, or chicanery, but it can be done.
BARBARA BAKER
Metamora
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Yes, isn't Lagrange Street a beautiful place to spend your time and hard-earned dollars? As a neighborhood resident, I can assure you that if the truth were told, there are two viable places to do that, Gasiorowski Memorial and Urbanski Funeral Home. As the saying goes: “Lagrange Festivals get better every year.”
JAY MAJESTY
Chestnut Street
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How foolish of self-respecting Poles and Polish-Americans to overlook the importance of “kielbasa” when considering their heritage. Maybe they had other thoughts in mind, like the contributions to the world by Chopin, Curie, Sienkiewicz, Copernicus, Mickiewicz, Stwoz, Kosciuszko, Pulaski, Paderewski, Walesa, and Wojtyla, to name but a few.
MARY FRANCES MICHALAK
Elm Street
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a great man and certainly deserves to be honored by our city. However, I can't help but feel that the other ethnic groups in Toledo are being ignored. Therefore in honor of our Indian population I propose that we name the new I-280 bridge the Gandhi Peace Bridge. Many Bulgarians came to Toledo to begin a new life, and started businesses along Front Street, so I also propose we rename Front Street Ivan Vasov Street. I'm sorry that my ignorance keeps me from naming other heroes and heroines from other cultures.
Maybe each ethnic group in Toledo could come up with someone they would like to honor and choose a street or structure they would like to have named for that person. Then Toledo could show the rest of the country that we are a proud, culturally diverse city.
LILY CARLISLE
Woodville Road
Can there be life after Finkbeiner?
Whatever will Roberta de Boer do for fun when Mayor Carty Finkbeiner leaves office?
NANCY SMITH
Northwood