Becky Thatcher
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On the article Snapshot: Founder of Taco Tonto's Steps Down
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On the Blog Post Our Pedestrian Imperative
Becky Thatcher
1:18 pm on Wednesday, January 4, 2012
ReplyEven the law gives owners 24 hours after the snow stops falling to clear the sidewalks. The snow stopped sometime between 1 & 2 yesterday. At 4 pm - people are not even home from work yet to shovel. We shovel our sidewalk all the time ( at 6:30 am and then at night if needed). We are not home during the day. I saw a man walking on the street near Wild Goats. Frankly - I wear boots and walk on the sidewalk. The snow is usually never that high on the sidewalk. Pedestrians must also take responsbility for their own choices of footwear and dress for the weather. That being said, if a business or owner fails to adhere to the law, I expect the city to follow thru with enforcing the law. If this were done for other matters, we would not have had the entire chicken ordnance fiasco. Let the chickens be and if they are a nuisance, then enforce the laws. Ditto with cats, dogs, snakes, bunnies, children, etc.
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
1:14 pm on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyJeff: this excerpt from your message led me to conclude that you thought CCW had an effect on what was happening before CCW laws: Sooner or later, reality prevails over your emotional fears of what "might" happen and its backed up by about seven years of Ohio's concealed handgun laws and decades of the rest of the country allowing people to carry into restaurants -- what you're concerned of doesn't happen.
I am not opposed at all to individuals possessing firearms. Please don't presume this. Without getting into a lot of detail, suffice it to say that firearms are not far away from me as I write this at home. Just absolutely do not see why you (or I) need to carry a firearm to a bar. Period. You can call it anything you want - a bar is for drinking and guns/alcohol do not mix - don't you agree with that? I have not yet looked at your link - please tell me: did any self-defense issues arise in a bar? The education needed to carry a handgun is laughable. 2 hrs of training. 10 book hrs of study. Just can't agree with you Jeff. And therein lies the beauty of this country, we don't have to agree with one another and we do not fear retribution because of our disagreement. So, as we part (and I must go), I will vote with my feet and money. Best wishes.
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
12:36 pm on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyThanks Jeff. I've been thinking about this a lot today (as you can tell). I just cannot agree that there is a need for this legislation at all - and if a mistake is made, it has the potential to be more costly to all parties. If the police appear in a fracas and shoot the CCW person in error, if the CCW person shoots another person in a manner that is not self defense (or mis-aims), if a person takes the gun away from the CCW person - all costly mistakes. Do you think we had mayhem before the CCW? Do you truly feel this is necessary? Or do you just want the right? If you just want the right, will you respect the rights of bar owners and restaurant owners who post signs prohibiting CCW and not "call them out" on it? I fail to see this as a positive step. In the 7 yrs of CCW laws, while I have not heard of a CCW person making a mistake, I have also not heard of one instance where a CCW person shot/killed another person in self defense while CCW. Nor have crime rates significantly decreased.
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On the article Kent Patch Readers Respond to 'Guns in Bars' Bill
Becky Thatcher
12:14 pm on Friday, May 27, 2011
I understand your well-stated position and thank you for acknowledging the potential for problems when guns are in bars. While it would be difficult to write the law to exclude drinking establishments, I'd like to think it could be done. Our fearless leaders have narrowly written other exceptions to constitutional rights and they could manage it. While you'd like to carry your weapon, it doesn't sound like it particularly disturbs you not to have it on your person and you live and enjoy your life with this limitation - sounds very reasonable and it's worked so far (worked for many years prior to the CCW expanded laws). Just don't see an overwhelming reason to expand the law further, particularly with the heightened risk involved.
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
11:58 am on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyIf it is unlikely to occur (i.e. a person CCW in a bar at 1 am), why allow it? Why not narrowly craft the definition of restaurant in the law? Perhaps the law can state that the person CCW must be at the establishment for the purpose of dining (or waiting for a table to be available) in order to have a CCW? If the kitchen closes at 9 - (no meals after that) - then no problem. Or better yet, just say no CCW after 9 because who in OH dines after that?? Before the CCW laws, we did not have mayhem. We would not have mayhem without the CCW laws. I believe that your argument is the more emotional one, appealing to fears of others attacking you. What are you afraid of?
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On the article Should Marijuana be Legal in Ohio?
Becky Thatcher
11:16 am on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyI'm just tickled that Robin used the phrase "not exactly cricket..."
On a more serious note, I've seen too many young people using weed for escape and it resulted in failure to thrive. I think legalization will worsen the situation. Having suffered through a period of self-medication, I must agree with Ed Kent's conclusion - the less the better. When you are looking foward to that mind-altering substance of choice, you should be sure that you are not simply burying the pain. I am not against medical use of marijuana, but I do not favor legalizing it for other purposes. Drunk or stoned adults are just not that funny to me.
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
10:50 am on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyMy good friend, a criminal defense attorney who truly believes that people do make mistakes and need help with the system, calls this his right to work act. I have lost my cool in the car watching some moron drive 90 mph and weave through traffic and felt my blood pressure zoom. Sadly, as a young adult, I drove while I was not sober - I was not caught but I should not have been driving. Law abiding citizens make mistakes.
The mix of an alcohol drinking crowd around one sober person at 1 am.....just has me asking why? The inconvenience to the CCW carrying person (again, carrying a loaded gun, in public, with every intention of using it if the owner so decides, is frightening in my opinion - and I have handled/shot guns). I understand the immediacy of shooting and the irrevocable nature of the act. I can leave the scene if an armed police officer appears. How do I know that the CCW permit holder has a permit when he/she decides to pull out a weapon? How do I protect myself?
The inconvenience of the CCW permit holder to have to leave the gun outside of the restaurant (no need to leave it in the car - just leave it at home) doesn't outweigh the overall safety of the public in the bar. And, the change does permit CCW in a bar. To say it's only for restaurants is disingenuous. -
On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
10:19 am on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyOK I'm on a roll: here's the list of places CCW (CONCEALED CARRYING OF A LOADED FIREARM) not allowed. Let's face it - you can be robbed walking from any of these places.
- Police stations, sheriff's offices, highway patrol posts,
- Correctional institutions or other detention facilities.
- Airport terminals or commercial airplanes.
- Institutions for the care of mentally ill persons.
- Courthouses
- Universities, unless locked in a car or in the process of being locked in a car
- Places of worship (unless church allows)
- Child day-care centers.
- D-Liquor permit premises in which any person is consuming liquor. Exceptions: does not apply to principal holder of D permit as long as principal holder is not consuming liquor; to an agent or employee of the principal holder who is also a peace officer who is also off duty. Possession allowed in a retail store with D-6 or D-8 if concealed carry license holder is not consuming liquor. C.
- Government facilities at which government employees are regularly present in the performance of their duties that are not used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility for motor vehicles, or rest facility and is not a courthouse or a building or structure in which a courtroom is located.
- School safety zones, unless immediately in process of picking up or dropping off child and you do not exit the vehicle.
- private business with sign prohibiting firearms or makes you aware of a policy prohibiting firearms. -
On the article Letter to the Editor: Guns in Bars: No, Not Really
Becky Thatcher
10:10 am on Friday, May 27, 2011
ReplyThought this might be interesting excerpt on what it takes to get a CCW - not too difficult. From Ohioccw.org:
"The class, which includes a scheduled 10 hours of book study and 2 hours of practice time firing handguns. Gary began the class by asking everyone to open their guns in order to confirm that none were loaded and to put their ammunition at the front of the room away from their guns. After this we received several booklets pertaining to gun safety and concealed carry laws along with a test and a concealed carry application. It should be noted that this class is only the first step to obtaining a concealed carry permit. After successfully completing the course you would then have to file the concealed carry permit with the county Sheriff who would then conduct a rigorous background check and record your fingerprints. "
Becky Thatcher
9:18 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
HI JR: Just saw on another site that we can't use aliases or means of masking our identity in our registration, so I'm deleting my comments here and I plan to update myt profile or delete the account - - sorry about that! I don't think that was there when I first registered a while back.