Editor,
Being the president of the Ohio University Second Amendment Club, I naturally read any story with gun in the headline. And from time to time, someone actually makes a well-rounded and semi-educated argument against our club, guns, or gun legislation. So, when I picked up the Oct. 15 issue of The Post, and saw the headline, Beware of impending gun zealotry
I immediately read the article searching for that well-rounded, semi-educated argument. Not only did Phil Ewing's column fail to make a cogent argument, his column did not make much of a point either. Ewing's incessant rambling only showed he needs some education and enlightenment on the issue of guns and the Second Amendment Club.
One of Ewing's first statements was it was scary to be living in Dick Cheney's America and Bob Taft's Ohio. Now maybe I am not very observant, but the last time I checked Dick Cheney has been missing in action for some time, and Bob Taft was against House Bill 12 unless the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio State Troopers Association supported it. As far as republican governors go, Bob Taft should be anti-gun, and that alone should provide Ewing with a sense of security.
Ewing showed his lack of information in his paragraph about the Second Amendment Club's float in the Homecoming parade and the desire of gun zealots to hunt deer with high-powered sniper rifles. I have to ask you Mr. Ewing, did you even watch the parade? We had only one man, not two, holding an AR-15 and one man holding a muzzleloader. (Note: Civilians are not allowed to own true M-16's because they are fully automatic, they have a bayonet lug and for other various reasons. The AR-15 that was present in our float is a civilian model of the M-16 and is strictly semi-automatic and legal). Both guns were rendered inoperable, because the bolts were removed, and there was no ammunition in either gun or in the truck. We cleared the weapons and the carrying of such weapons in the parade with Ohio University Police Department, the University Program Council, and the Athens County Sheriff. We were assured the weapons were legal and there were no rules, university, city, county, state, or otherwise, prohibiting us from having the weapons in our float. Now for the statement about hunting deer with high-powered sniper rifles since I am an avid hunter and educated on the issue, I know you cannot, in any county in Ohio pursue deer with high-powered rifles. This would also include sniper rifles, in case you wondered.
In Ewing's last paragraph, he states that 1,000 people are murdered and 1.5 million are assaulted at work each year. How many of those incidents involve guns? According to an article on CNN.com, knives more than guns are used in work related deaths and assaults. Once again, as he did throughout his entire column, Ewing failed to make this point or support his opposing position.
People who support the adoption of carry and conceal legislation in Ohio are not looking to have weapons easily accessible in their glove boxes or have semi-automatic weapons in their cars, they simply want the ability to legally protect themselves and their families if and when the time arises.
Jesse Roush,
President of the Ohio University Second Amendment Club
jesse.roush@ohiou.edu
17
Archives
Jesse Roush
