OHIO OPEN CARRY "DEFENSE" WALKS to be held on Sunday, October 12th and Sunday, October 19th


WHAT: Local organizers in several Ohio cities will be holding "Defense" Walks, at which local activists interested in protesting Senate President White and Governor Bob Taft's obstruction of concealed carry legislative reform will "openly carry" their sidearms on a walk through the neighborhood.

WHY: These "Defense" Walks are intended to offer a "visual display" of the choice Ohioans and legislators have before them as a result of the Supreme Court ruling: open carry, with no training, background checks or "defenseless victim" zones, as is current law; OR a more subtle form of exercising the right to self-defense - concealed carry, as would be made law with passage of House Bill 12. The Ohio Supreme Court recently upheld the practice of "open carry" in Klein v. Leis. If Republican leadership in the Senate continues to obstruct this legislation in the name of Party solidarity, as Ohio Sen. Carnes recently put it, Ohioans are ready and willing to exercise our fundamental right to bear arms for self-defense by carrying our firearms openly.

WHERE & WHEN:

Tony Gordon Memorial "Defense" Walk in MANCHESTER (home of Senate President Doug White) - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2003:

1:00 p.m. Safety meeting, "Defense" Walk to follow immediately thereafter:

Staging area: Eagle Club parking lot on Broadway Ave. in scenic Manchester

For advance instructions & detailed directions to the Manchester "Defense" Walk, or to volunteer to be a Block Captain (safety organizer) , please contact Local Organizer:

RICK JONES - [email protected]


CLEVELAND area Potluck Picnic and "Defense" Walk in Lorain - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2003:

12:00 p.m. Safety meeting, "Defense" Walk to follow immediately thereafter:

Staging area: Lakeview Park in Lorain

For advance instructions & detailed directions to the Cleveland area "Defense" Walk in Lorain, or to volunteer to be a Block Captain (safety organizer), visit the Lorain / Cleveland Area Potluck Picnic and Self-defense Walk website, or contact Local Organizer:

DAN WHITE - [email protected]


TOLEDO area "Defense" Walk in Swanton - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2003:

1:00 p.m. Safety meeting, "Defense" Walk to follow immediately thereafter:

Staging area: 517 S. Main St. (St. Rt. 64N) just off Airport Highway in Swanton.

For advance instructions & detailed directions to the Toledo-area "Defense" Walk in Swanton, or to volunteer to be a Block Captain (safety organizer) , please contact Local Organizer:

BILL DAVIS - [email protected]
(419) 825-1837



**ALSO!!! Organizers have contacted Ohioans For Concealed Carry, and advised that plans are in the works for "Defense" Walks in the Akron and Youngstown areas. Until those plans are finalized, the grassroots organizers have requested that any questions be directed to [email protected] for forwarding.


Ohioans For Concealed Carry is not organizing these events. Rather, we seek to assist in highlighting the local grassroots uprising which has been prompted by the recent Supreme Court ruling, and the Senate's obstruction of House Bill 12. When local organizers contacted us about their intentions, we helped them get in touch with one another, and agreed to promote their events to statewide news media.

Each organizer has assured OFCC that they have been in contact with local law enforcement to make sure there are no local ordinances preventing "open carry". Local law enforcement organizations have been informed of organizers' intentions to hold safe events, and are encouraged to attend.