Posted on 02/06/2008 12:53:37 PM PST by neverdem
Ohio is not doing enough to protect its citizens against gun violence, according to an annual scorecard released Thursday by backers of the Brady gun-control law.
Ohio's 13 points out of a possible 100 ranked it 20th of 50 states in statistics compiled by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence ( http://www.bradycampaign.org/).
Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence said Ohio has not passed key laws on mandatory background checks on all gun purchases and bulk purchases of handguns.
Gun-rights supporters consider the low score a distinction, not a shame, said Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans for Concealed Carry.
"I like to look at the Brady scorecard to see how well we're doing," Garvas said. "They're going after the rights of law-abiding people."
He said the city of Cleveland complained loudly about state pre-emption of local gun laws. However, he said it just completed a three-day sweep that netted dozens of drug dealers and illegal weapons.
A spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association said her organization, which opposes many gun-control laws, would not comment on specifics in the Brady report.
"It is a politically motivated study, and it's not based on facts," NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons said.
The Brady campaign scored states in five areas. Ohio received 5 points for curbing firearm trafficking, no points for strengthening background checks, 2 points for child safety, no points for banning military-style assault weapons and 6 points for concealed-carry restrictions.
Ohio ranked just below Alabama and above Maine. California had the highest ranking, with 79 points; Kentucky and Oklahoma came in last with 2 points apiece.
In the past, the Brady campaign used letter grades. Ohio got D-plus or C-minus for several years in a row.
Dispatch Washington Bureau Chief Jonathan Riskind contributed to this story.
Blame the Ohio GOP, its their country club, blue blood attitude that put a Democrat in the governors mansion here.
According to other rankings, Ohio is slightly safer than the average state.
...now what does that say about Brady's rankings?
wheeee idaho scored 6 points making it tied for 37th out of 50. apparently we earned 6 points somehow for ‘keeping guns out of public places’ read; victim disarmament school zones, court houses, and airports. probably lost 4 or the possible 10 because we are open carry and shall issue ccw.
Florida scored an 8.
Why does anyone care about a “study” which rates states best who suppress constitutional rights the most?
Sarah Brady is a murderer. A criminal. She has the blood of perhaps thousands on her vile hands.
Because that way we know who is pushing gun control. It’s important to know the enemy, so when you have to go stop him... etc
We really need to work on getting our numbers lower! I need to see an -F before I’ll feel comfortable!
Come on Ohio we have to do better........we can get below Florida if we work hard.
I was saddened to see that my home state of Virginia scored 18 points.
I’ll just try to work harder during next year’s legislative session.
I’m shooting for <5.
A Democrat that is considerably more pro-gun than Taft was.
The Ohio GOP is a disaster, and their corruption and incompetence prevented a conservative Governor from being elected, because all Strickland had to do was run against Taft, which wasn't hard with his single digit approval ratings.
“Why does anyone care about a “study” which rates states best who suppress constitutional rights the most?”
Me. I use it as a reverse litmus test. Anything in the top 45 is now off my list of potential places to live :-)
Ken Blackwell, an excellent candidate, lost badly following the Taft debacle. I’m sure Taft had a lot to do with it, but it seemed that for his experience, education, and communication ability he should have done much better.
The major culprit were the host of republican candidates and their wars for the nomination. They were all — including Blackwell — flat broke after they fought each other so hard.
I’m sure there’s a lesson in there somewhere.
The Brady rating of D hasn't changed since before Ohio passed statewide pre-emption of local anti-gun laws . . . I would think pre-emption would be enough to get us an F, but maybe not . . . indeed we must work harder.
Well, actually, the NRA ILA did indeed comment on this Brady Center study on February 1st. I wonder if Ms. Parsons was simply unaware of this (perhaps her statement was made prior to February 1st?), or if the reporter, Mr. Johnson, made a misstatement?
In point of fact, I posted the text of the NRA ILA statement on Free Republic at:
Brady Rankings: More Gun Laws, More Violent Crime
It wouldn't surprise me if it is the former case; the NRA has been hiring some pretty poor representatives in my opinion in the last few years, who have made a few comments to reporters that have not served the organization well. This could well be yet another case of an NRA representative fumbling the ball, or it could be another case where the reporter did not correctly report what the representative said.
I am still sad after Ken Blackwell lost.
The man had a 300 page plan for Ohio and Strickland said he would tell us his plan after the election.
Hey, Ted, where’s the plan?
This is the only plan he’s had, and it sucks!
Strickland plans to close local psychiatric hospital
By Laura A. Bischoff
Staff Writer
Thursday, January 31, 2008
COLUMBUS — Ohio will close psychiatric hospitals in Dayton and Cambridge by July 1 as part of a plan to cut $733 million from the state’s two-year budget, Gov. Ted Strickland announced today.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/01/31/ddn013108statebudgetweb.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.