Ohio recently joined the ranks of states that allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns. Ohio's CCW backers achieved a significant victory against powerful opponents. Unfortunately, one of the opponents was the state's Republican governor, Bob Taft. When it came time to vote on the final version of the concealed carry bill, Taft made it clear that he would not sign the bill unless it contained a provision that would make public the names and other information from CCW permit holders. Taft got what he wanted, and the bill became law.

Not long after passage of the bill, major news media outlets in Ohio began publishing the names of all CCW permit holders. It did not matter that this information might expose permit holders to violence, gun theft or other crimes. Even disabled and elderly permit holders had their personal information printed.

While we cannot be certain, it's quite possible that the CCW-permit-holder list contains information about battered women who have fled their abusive partners. Some of these women may have legal custody of their children and be trying to conceal their identities and locations from their tormentors. But if an abuser finds his wife or girlfriend's name and town of residence obligingly printed by an Ohio newspaper, his search becomes easier and the danger to the woman becomes greater.

The Ohio media appear not to be interested in publishing the names and locations of registered sex offenders or domestic abusers. While this information is available on the Internet, many Ohioans would probably consider it a public service if their morning newspapers told them about pedophiles and wife beaters who live nearby. But for some odd reason, the Ohio media seemed especially motivated to let Ohioans know that their law-abiding friends and neighbors might have CCW permits.

Organizations such as the Violence Policy Center and their lapdogs in the media who so loudly clamor for women's rights are inadvertently complicit in the perpetuation of the dangerous myth that women are and should be essentially helpless against the depredations of their intimate partners. The disciples of antigun orthodoxy argue that women should not purchase guns for self-defense. Instead, women who are threatened by violent male partners are urged to call police and seek protective orders from local courts. Thus women in danger are advised to seek the uncertain protection of others rather than take their defense into their own hands.

Government crime statistics routinely undermine the female-vulnerability philosophy espoused by the doctrinaire gun opponents. The Centers for Disease Control says that 1.5 million women per year are physically or sexually assaulted by intimate partners. Intimate partners are responsible for 60 percent of all female homicides. But note also that in 90 percent of all violent assaults against women, the assailant was not carrying a gun. In fact, only about 10 percent of rapists carry guns. Thus, a well-armed, well-trained woman stands a very good chance of defeating a violent attacker.

The Justice Department says that there are about 2.5 million defensive uses of firearms each year. Of these, 192,000 involve women defending themselves against current or former intimate partners. Police blotters across the county are full of cases in which female victims use handguns to turn the tables on their assailants: