My governor, Bob Taft, managed to earn himself my undervote last November. Like any Rockefeller Republican - you know, the politicians who, like Nixon, do more for public sector growth and price controls than liberals - his gut reaction to looming deficits was to raise taxes, skip over administrative costs while chipping away from education, and flirt with the expansion of lotteries and slots (as if financial epiphany lies in the hands of compulsive gamblers). He didn't, as it turns out, make much noise at all about budget shortfalls until after the gubernatorial election. He lost my confidence before poll time anyway, managing to sound, on the topic of reading, less idealistic than a bleached washcloth manufacturer talking about the future for dishwashing accessory.
Miraculously, Taft got something right - er, halfway right:
Gov. Bob Taft angered anti-gun activists and some of the most ardent gun-rights groups yesterday by agreeing to sign a controversial bill allowing Ohioans to carry hidden handguns.The Senate today is expected to send the bill back to the House, where some of its earlier supporters are bristling over changes made to restrict how guns are carried in a car. The concessions won the neutrality of the Ohio Highway Patrol yesterday, key to Mr. Taft’s change of position.
"The bill, as it is apparently moving out of the Senate, meets all the tests we have put forward with respect to training, background checks, and especially the support or nonopposition of local law-enforcement authorities," said Mr. Taft. "If a bill like that came to my desk, I would sign it."
(Link via Instapundit.)
I don't own a gun. I have never used a gun. A friend let me handle a .357 and it was like holding a small dog with one hand. I was duly impressed.
All the same, I reserve the right to own and possess a gun - particularly in my daily life. Criminals have, from the dawn of time, made use of hidden weaponry. Law-abiding citizens deserve the same privilege.
Besides, if the bill allows for it, my suit and future Fedora would go splendidly with a shoulder holster.