Judge Robert Ruehlman
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court
Hamilton County Courthouse
1000 Main Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202

Your Honor,

I am writing to you today about the current CCW case you are hearing in your courtroom. I know that this is an unusual letter but after reading that you were the judge who also heard the bail hearing for Danny Williams, the suspect who shot up the J.Alexander’s restaurant last week, I felt compelled to write to you and implore you to rule in the CCW case based upon the facts, not the political arguments presented by those who have an interest in disarming the public.

The police cannot be everywhere, and while the first line of defense should be law enforcement agencies, facts dictate that the overwhelming majority of violent crimes are perpetrated outside the immediate vicinity of a police officer. When a criminal element resorts to using a firearm to create an overwhelming advantage over a victim, the sad reality is that by the time the police arrive on the scene to protect, the act has been committed and another loved one is dead or severely injured. Again this past weekend, another random act of violence occurred with the tragic, cold-blooded murder of Richard Hightower in the Sunoco Food Mart at the corner of Struble and Pippin Roads. Would Mr. Hightower still be alive if he or another citizen were empowered with the legal right to ‘level the playing field’ with the perpetrator still at large? Maybe. Will this perpetrator strike again and kill another innocent victim? Maybe. Would Danny Williams have been able to terrorize an entire restaurant of respectable patrons and critically injure his victims? Maybe.

I keep wondering what would happen to my wife if I were Richard Hightower. I keep wondering what fighting chance I might have been given, or the fighting chance that someone might have been able to give if they or I would have been legally empowered with the rights to carry a firearm as a responsible, mature citizen. If it were my wife who had been murdered in cold blood, I would be in the process of filing a wrongful death lawsuit against every politician and law enforcement agency in the State of Ohio. Maybe that is what the citizens will have to start doing in order to be heard.

cont...

I would provide you with all of the statistics regarding CCW legislation, but I am sure you are being inundated with them right now in the courtroom. All I really hope for by drafting this letter is that you take a moment to hear the voice of one young man who is afraid of the violent society he and his wife are trying to survive and raise a family. I implore you to set aside any and all bias that you may have against guns and realize that there as many criminals who illegally gain access to them, there are many more law abiding, upstanding citizens who could be instrumental in curbing the tide of violent acts being waged upon our families. Give us those precious seconds of a fighting chance that may make the difference between returning home to our loved ones or bleeding to death on the cold floor of a gas station.

By not setting bail for Danny Williams, you are trying to send a message to those violent members of society to not commit the same act. Nothing would send a louder, clearer message to violent criminals than by ruling to empower lawful citizens. Nothing would be more pronounced than a respectable judge making the statement to these criminals, 'Use a gun against peaceful members of society and we won't just prosecute you if you are caught, we will let society protect itself in an equal manner that very well could cause the unfortunate circumstance that would eliminate the need for us to prosecute you.'

I am not advocating vigilantism, but rather that I am an advocate of bringing equality to those fateful split seconds when a law enforcement officer is not present.

May God grant you wisdom in making your decision.

Sincerely,

Michael G. Hiles