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Ohioans for Concealed Carry (Ohio CCW) are doing something that I love, (whether by design or through happenstance) they are showing the hypocrisy of the MSM and society by attempting to obtain lists of Ohio concealed weapons permit holders - the same lists that folks in the MSM (in other words the Plain Dealer) clamored so loudly about needing access to and started printing in 2004.

Ohio CCW’s Jeff Garvis recently asked the state’s sheriffs for the lists under the auspices that his organization would use the information for statistical study. Ohio state law provides that journalists (but not the general public) have the right to access the names and addresses of concealed carry permit holders. Garvis’ claims he is a journalist because Ohio CCW has a website and publishes a regular newsletter.

Some of the state’s sheriffs have complied with the request while others have refused. Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association Executive Director Bob Cornwell has recommended that sheriffs deny the requests. State Representative James Aslanides (who sponsored the law) said that he believes that the decision about who should be allowed to access the information should lie with the sheriff.

I’m not making the claim here that I’m a journalist, but I think it’s worth asking the question -

What’s the difference between Ohio CCW and the Plain Dealer?

Ohio CCW has a website through which people (and subscribers) gather information. The Plain Dealer has a website through which people (and subscribers) gather information. Ohio CCW has a newsletter which it distributes regularly. The Plain Dealer has a newsletter (if you think it’s more than a newsletter than you obviously haven’t seen their

recent Monday offerings that arrive on my front porch) which it distributes regularly.

I’m not going to argue about the quality or kind of reportage that either Ohio CCW or the Plain Dealer provide, but in a world where laws are meant to be black and white, should our interpretation of what qualifies as journalism only be black and white (for those of you who have difficulty with analogies… like a newspaper)?

I guess I’ll have to leave that one up to Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul (and no offense to the sheriff, but does he even know what the internet is?).