Ohio Democratic Party unsuccessfully tries to get gun records

First, I am amazed that they were even trying to do this in the first place. Second, if they were actually successful in their request can you imagine the witch hunt that would ensue as these goons attack and expose LEGAL permit holders. The liberals just won't stop until every gun owner is wearing a scarlet letter on their lapel. They are grasping at straws out of desperation and you should be weary of desperate politicians. Just look at how they want to ram rod Wall Street Reform up our rear ends before July 4. Desperate indeed. WHY?

The Ohio Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully this week to get information on all people licensed to carry concealed weapons in the Buckeye State.

The state party sent letters to Ohio's 88 sheriffs requesting the names and addresses of permit holders and the dates the licenses were issued. Ohio has about 211,000 permit holders.
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But neither the Democrats nor any other political party can get that information. The records are exempt from the public record laws. The only public access was given to journalists when then-Gov. Bob Taft signed the law in 2004.

Lorain County Sheriff Phil Stammitti, a Democrat, denied the request Friday.

"I must also advise you that the information you are requesting is NOT a public record and CANNOT be released," Stammitti wrote in a letter to the party.

The Democrats intended to target people who support the Second Amendment -- the constitutional right to bear arms -- with campaign information, said party spokesman, Seth Bringman.

The party learned the information was not public and then sent a second letter apologizing to the 88 sheriffs.

"We asked them to rescind our request," Bringman said.

Derek DeBrosse, an attorney for Ohioans for Concealed Carry, a gun-rights group, said the law is clear and political parties are not privy to the information.

"We applaud them for rescinding the request," he said.

The group also objects to journalists having access to the information, DeBrosse said.

The Democrat's request came a week after the National Rifle Association endorsed Gov. Ted Strickland over Republican challenger John Kasich.

Since becoming governor, Strickland in 2008 signed bills making the "castle doctrine" law in Ohio. It presumes that people acted in self-defense when using force against someone who illegally entered their home or car. He also that year signed a bill championed by gun supporters that lessened restrictions on concealed carry license holders.

And Strickland has said that he supports Senate Bill 239, a bill making its way through the Ohio legislature that would allow concealed carry license holders to tote their firearms in alcohol-serving establishments such as family restaurants and bars -- a measure opposed by police groups. That Ohio bill is one of the top priorities in the country for the NRA.

The Democratic Party's request had nothing to do with the NRA endorsement, Bringman said.

blog.cleveland.com...

[edit on 28-6-2010 by jibeho]

Wow, just another one of those civil rights I guess we have to trade off for our own good. (Sarcasm)

Hate to jump to Godwin's Law allready but this is like being in Germany when the Nazi's were in control. Even if it was public record the fact remains that they wanted to harrass people into giving up their guns. Complete violation of the Second Amendment. The reason why we have the unalienable right to keep and bear arms is for this very reason...when the government is taking things too far. When you give up your ability to defend yourself you give up your ability to fight back.

Power is conformity to the people that used to be free.

You think this is bad? The Memphis Commerical Appeal newspaper actually has a searchable database on their website of concealed carry permit holders within the entire state of Tennessee.

It is well established where I stand on attempts at needless gun control (ie: 2nd Amendment Infringement) legislation. But there are two key things to point out that this article raised.

The "castle" law. This should not have been a needed piece of legislation in Ohio as the State Constitution of Ohio is very clear on the issue and goes a step further than even the 2nd Amendment.

§ 04 Bearing arms; standing armies; military powers (1851)
The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.

And carrying concealed into an establishment that sells liquor. Guns and alcohol are not a good mix. This is known, but not always practiced but responsible gun owners. This proposed change does not open the bars to gun toting. Part of the law that allowed concealed carry in Ohio was that all business, except those where it was expressly forbidden to carry, were allowed to make the decision to allow guns on the property by displaying or not displaying a sign.

The same, however, was not an option of business owners in light of Ohio's Indoor Public Smoking Ban that was so ambiguous that even open air outdoor stadiums would not designate a smoking area. Prior to Ohio's law, it was always up to a business owner to establish by signage if a business was non-smoking. There have been forays into having the law changed in Ohio for business owner to be able to purchase "smoking permits" for their business because a few organizations supported the bill in the belief that they would be exempt from the change and found that they were mistaken.

And state politicians still wonder why Ohio has the unofficial derogatory nickname of The Communist State.

reply to post by Ahabstar


It is not the State's business to decide if people can carry weapons into bars and restaurants.

That is between the bar owners and their patrons.

The State has no right to dictate where a gun owner can carry his weapon on private property.

reply to post by jibeho


Wow! I live in Ohio, and I didn't know about that....thanks for posting. I'll bet they wanted the information for a good purpose, more like they (Democrats) wanted to target gun owners and permitted CCW holders. If the Illuminati/TBPB wanted all of our guns, they should have taken them a long time ago. See? They are stupid. They let us keep our guns until we are about ready to form a rebellion, they try to keep secrets, but they give us all a cell phone with video capability, they wanted to control the media outlets, but released the world wide web. Yes, TPTB are stupid. We will have no problem arresting them all.