Steven Mace
01-20-2002, 07:38 PM
Gun bill would hurt us
by Mary McCarty
Dayton Daily News
Sunday, January 20, 2002
THE AMERICANS FOR Gun Safety Foundation released a scathing report last week ranking Ohio second-worst in the nation--second only to Texas, for crying out loud--in selling guns to illegal buyers.
You would think that news would send state officials scurrying to tighten enforcement of gun-control laws.
You would think wrong, of course.
Just ask state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, D-Cleveland, the state's leading gun-control advocate.
Fingerhut lost a friend to gun violence last week. He can't close his eyes without seeing the face of Tony Sutin, the 42-year-old with a young family who had adopted a baby only two weeks earlier. Sutin boasted a high position in the Clinton Justice Department and a partnership in one of the biggest D.C. law firms.
He gave it all up to become dean of the fledgling Appalachian School of Law. "He could have been making tons of money," Fingerhut said. "But this was his commitment. He thought he could make life better in this impoverished community."
Sutin was the first victim in a shooting rampage that killed three and wounded three others. Peter Odighizuwa, a suspended law school student with a history of mental illness, has been charged in the murders.
Even as he mourns for his friend, Fingerhut must listen to another round of arguments about Ohio's concealed-carry bill. Lawmakers continue to hold hearings on House Bill 274, which would allow most civilians to carry concealed handguns with a permit.
"I look at Tony's death and realize this is what is happening every day," Fingerhut said. "Yet Ohio legislators are saying, `Let's weaken our gun laws.'"
Think the tragedy at the Appalachian School of Law is a fluke, something not likely to happen here?
Consider that Odighizuwa was licensed as a substitute teacher in Montgomery County for the 1999-00 school year.
Consider that 744 illegal gun buyers in Ohio obtained a firearm between December of 1998 and June of 2001.
If the bill becomes law, requirements for training and background checks would be "extremely lax," according to state Rep. Ed Jerse, who served on the civil and commercial law subcommittee that reviewed the bill. "You could be certified by an out-of-state instructor, no matter how low the standards."
But that's not the worst of it. Jerse has proposed amendments that would prohibit permit-holders to carry concealed weapons into day care centers, government offices, and train and bus terminals.
He has gotten nowhere.
The Euclid Democrat takes it all very personally. In 1983, his sister, a Wisconsin psychiatrist, was gunned down in her office by a mentally disturbed patient who obtained a firearm from his brother.
"This is for so many politicians a political football, a game where you score your little points," Jerse said. "Maybe they wouldn't be so flip about it if they ever had lost someone close to them because someone was irresponsible with a gun."
While airports tighten security, Ohio lawmakers ponder a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed weapon into train and bus terminals.
While Americans feel more vulnerable than ever, Ohio lawmakers consider a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed weapon into child care centers.
Maybe Jerse isn't the only one who should be taking this personally.
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/epaper/editions/today/metro_7.html
Steve Mace
by Mary McCarty
Dayton Daily News
Sunday, January 20, 2002
THE AMERICANS FOR Gun Safety Foundation released a scathing report last week ranking Ohio second-worst in the nation--second only to Texas, for crying out loud--in selling guns to illegal buyers.
You would think that news would send state officials scurrying to tighten enforcement of gun-control laws.
You would think wrong, of course.
Just ask state Sen. Eric Fingerhut, D-Cleveland, the state's leading gun-control advocate.
Fingerhut lost a friend to gun violence last week. He can't close his eyes without seeing the face of Tony Sutin, the 42-year-old with a young family who had adopted a baby only two weeks earlier. Sutin boasted a high position in the Clinton Justice Department and a partnership in one of the biggest D.C. law firms.
He gave it all up to become dean of the fledgling Appalachian School of Law. "He could have been making tons of money," Fingerhut said. "But this was his commitment. He thought he could make life better in this impoverished community."
Sutin was the first victim in a shooting rampage that killed three and wounded three others. Peter Odighizuwa, a suspended law school student with a history of mental illness, has been charged in the murders.
Even as he mourns for his friend, Fingerhut must listen to another round of arguments about Ohio's concealed-carry bill. Lawmakers continue to hold hearings on House Bill 274, which would allow most civilians to carry concealed handguns with a permit.
"I look at Tony's death and realize this is what is happening every day," Fingerhut said. "Yet Ohio legislators are saying, `Let's weaken our gun laws.'"
Think the tragedy at the Appalachian School of Law is a fluke, something not likely to happen here?
Consider that Odighizuwa was licensed as a substitute teacher in Montgomery County for the 1999-00 school year.
Consider that 744 illegal gun buyers in Ohio obtained a firearm between December of 1998 and June of 2001.
If the bill becomes law, requirements for training and background checks would be "extremely lax," according to state Rep. Ed Jerse, who served on the civil and commercial law subcommittee that reviewed the bill. "You could be certified by an out-of-state instructor, no matter how low the standards."
But that's not the worst of it. Jerse has proposed amendments that would prohibit permit-holders to carry concealed weapons into day care centers, government offices, and train and bus terminals.
He has gotten nowhere.
The Euclid Democrat takes it all very personally. In 1983, his sister, a Wisconsin psychiatrist, was gunned down in her office by a mentally disturbed patient who obtained a firearm from his brother.
"This is for so many politicians a political football, a game where you score your little points," Jerse said. "Maybe they wouldn't be so flip about it if they ever had lost someone close to them because someone was irresponsible with a gun."
While airports tighten security, Ohio lawmakers ponder a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed weapon into train and bus terminals.
While Americans feel more vulnerable than ever, Ohio lawmakers consider a bill that would make it legal to carry a concealed weapon into child care centers.
Maybe Jerse isn't the only one who should be taking this personally.
http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/epaper/editions/today/metro_7.html
Steve Mace