Got this off the HK list. It wasn't really on-topic for that list, but it was good to read nonetheless.
I'd like to collect other CCW stories any of you might come across
Der ungleichbare Ulfilas
Concealed-carry law passes first test
Michael Collins and Peggy Kreimer, Post staff reporters
FRANKFORT - A man who pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot a would-be
robber in Covington's Devou Park early Thursday morning showed that
Kentucky's concealed-carry law is doing what it's supposed to do, said the
statute's chief proponent. ''That's what the law was intended to do: Let a
legal citizen protect himself,'' said state Rep. Bob Damron,
D-Nicholasville.
More than 51,000 Kentuckians have obtained permits to carry hidden weapons
in the three years since the state's concealed-carry law took effect. More
permits may be issued after the Devou Park shooting, Kenton County Sheriff
Charles Korzenborn predicted. He expects the public to view it as an example
of the protection that carrying your own gun provides. Already, 160 people
have applied in the county for permits this year.
''People have not only a right but a responsibility to take care of
themselves,'' said Korzenborn, who administers the permits in Kenton County.
''If you rely on the police to do everything, you would need one policeman
for every person.''
Retired Cinergy worker Joe Megerle, 57, of Covington, was walking in Devou
Park when a man approached him, drew a pistol and demanded money. Megerle
pulled out his .25-caliber pistol and shot Jamie Kennedy, 27, of Covington,
in the chest and head. Kennedy is in serious condition at University
Hospital in Cincinnati. Kennedy is charged with attempted robbery, and a
charge of attempted murder might be added to that, Covington Assistant
Police Chief Bill Dorsey said.
A man and a woman who were in the car with him have been questioned but no
charges have been filed against either. No evidence turned up in a police
search of a room at the Days Inn in Fort Wright, Dorsey said. The search was
connected to the shooting, police have said. Police say Kennedy's pistol was
not loaded, but that doesn't affect the seriousness of his actions, Dorsey
said.
Megerle believed his life was in danger, and he acted correctly when he shot
to save his life, Dorsey said. Megerle has a permit to carry a concealed
weapon. ''In that situation, it was the right thing to do,'' Dorsey said.
Megerle's father, also named Joe, was Covington's assistant police chief
when he retired about 1970. Dorsey said the Devou Park confrontation is
believed to be the first time someone with a permit to carry a concealed
weapon used the weapon in Northern Kentucky since the state law was passed
in 1996.
But it wasn't the first such self-defense shooting statewide. Damron, who
pushed the concealed-carry law through the General Assembly, said several
similar instances have been recorded across the state.
In Bowling Green, a woman who had just gotten a concealed-weapon permit and
completed the required firearms-safety course shot a man who broke into her
house. The woman later said she would have been unable to defend herself had
she not taken the gun-safety course, Damron said.
Critics argued that enacting the law could lead to an increase in violence
and vigilantism. But Damron said he wasn't aware of any case in which
charges have been filed against a concealed-carry permit holder. The 51,482
people who have permits to carry concealed weapons have acted responsibly,
Damron said. ''I'd match those people's criminal record against any other
group in the state,'' he said. ''They are showing that you can trust
law-abiding citizens who actually own and keep firearms.''
Dorsey agreed, even though at the time the law was being considered police
had reservations about it, fearing it would prompt a rash of irresponsible
gun use. ''I follow this. I've been waiting for the first one,'' Dorsey
said. ''This is it, and this man did the right thing.''
But state Rep. Jim Callahan, a Wilder Democrat who opposes the
concealed-carry law, said Thursday's shooting illustrates the danger of
giving people greater access to guns. ''My district is a heavily urbanized
area. The last thing we need is more guns in the hands of people who are out
on the streets,'' said Callahan, who voted against the law three years ago.
''I still have concerns.''
Callahan said he understood that people have a right to protect themselves.
But he said he feared that putting more guns on the streets would lead to
more shootings.
Publication date: 08-20-99
------------------
Exodus 22:2 -- Biblical precedent for home defense.
I'd like to collect other CCW stories any of you might come across
Der ungleichbare Ulfilas
Concealed-carry law passes first test
Michael Collins and Peggy Kreimer, Post staff reporters
FRANKFORT - A man who pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot a would-be
robber in Covington's Devou Park early Thursday morning showed that
Kentucky's concealed-carry law is doing what it's supposed to do, said the
statute's chief proponent. ''That's what the law was intended to do: Let a
legal citizen protect himself,'' said state Rep. Bob Damron,
D-Nicholasville.
More than 51,000 Kentuckians have obtained permits to carry hidden weapons
in the three years since the state's concealed-carry law took effect. More
permits may be issued after the Devou Park shooting, Kenton County Sheriff
Charles Korzenborn predicted. He expects the public to view it as an example
of the protection that carrying your own gun provides. Already, 160 people
have applied in the county for permits this year.
''People have not only a right but a responsibility to take care of
themselves,'' said Korzenborn, who administers the permits in Kenton County.
''If you rely on the police to do everything, you would need one policeman
for every person.''
Retired Cinergy worker Joe Megerle, 57, of Covington, was walking in Devou
Park when a man approached him, drew a pistol and demanded money. Megerle
pulled out his .25-caliber pistol and shot Jamie Kennedy, 27, of Covington,
in the chest and head. Kennedy is in serious condition at University
Hospital in Cincinnati. Kennedy is charged with attempted robbery, and a
charge of attempted murder might be added to that, Covington Assistant
Police Chief Bill Dorsey said.
A man and a woman who were in the car with him have been questioned but no
charges have been filed against either. No evidence turned up in a police
search of a room at the Days Inn in Fort Wright, Dorsey said. The search was
connected to the shooting, police have said. Police say Kennedy's pistol was
not loaded, but that doesn't affect the seriousness of his actions, Dorsey
said.
Megerle believed his life was in danger, and he acted correctly when he shot
to save his life, Dorsey said. Megerle has a permit to carry a concealed
weapon. ''In that situation, it was the right thing to do,'' Dorsey said.
Megerle's father, also named Joe, was Covington's assistant police chief
when he retired about 1970. Dorsey said the Devou Park confrontation is
believed to be the first time someone with a permit to carry a concealed
weapon used the weapon in Northern Kentucky since the state law was passed
in 1996.
But it wasn't the first such self-defense shooting statewide. Damron, who
pushed the concealed-carry law through the General Assembly, said several
similar instances have been recorded across the state.
In Bowling Green, a woman who had just gotten a concealed-weapon permit and
completed the required firearms-safety course shot a man who broke into her
house. The woman later said she would have been unable to defend herself had
she not taken the gun-safety course, Damron said.
Critics argued that enacting the law could lead to an increase in violence
and vigilantism. But Damron said he wasn't aware of any case in which
charges have been filed against a concealed-carry permit holder. The 51,482
people who have permits to carry concealed weapons have acted responsibly,
Damron said. ''I'd match those people's criminal record against any other
group in the state,'' he said. ''They are showing that you can trust
law-abiding citizens who actually own and keep firearms.''
Dorsey agreed, even though at the time the law was being considered police
had reservations about it, fearing it would prompt a rash of irresponsible
gun use. ''I follow this. I've been waiting for the first one,'' Dorsey
said. ''This is it, and this man did the right thing.''
But state Rep. Jim Callahan, a Wilder Democrat who opposes the
concealed-carry law, said Thursday's shooting illustrates the danger of
giving people greater access to guns. ''My district is a heavily urbanized
area. The last thing we need is more guns in the hands of people who are out
on the streets,'' said Callahan, who voted against the law three years ago.
''I still have concerns.''
Callahan said he understood that people have a right to protect themselves.
But he said he feared that putting more guns on the streets would lead to
more shootings.
Publication date: 08-20-99
------------------
Exodus 22:2 -- Biblical precedent for home defense.