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Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:29 pm
by Brian D.
Yeah, I know birthday greetings go in Jeff Kirchner's Korner, but the timing of Mr. Retherford's birthday today was hard to overlook. I hope my glib topic title isn't out of line, but his current situation, how it happened, and what all carry licensees in Ohio can glean from it, are the important points here. If my bent towards satire aimed at a politician aren't to your taste, sorry about that. Further, I think Mr. Retherford may need some help, and he should definitely speak up if that's the case.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:32 pm
by pirateguy191
Is that the one that got popped for DUI and having a loaded handgun in the car?

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 1:58 pm
by JediSkipdogg
pirateguy191 wrote:Is that the one that got popped for DUI and having a loaded handgun in the car?
Yup.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:28 pm
by troy bilt
Looks like he made TTAG's Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day list.

I agree with what they say about the gun witch was holstered is not the weapon the media should be focus on in this case. A drunk behind the wheel can do much more damage than a holstered firearm.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2017/0 ... f-the-day/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:52 pm
by Brian D.
To give a personal example, tonight I will imbibe just a bit. Carry gun is unloaded and in a locked case inside my vehicle, separated from the driver/passenger area, already. And by "a bit", I mean two ounces of alcohol over six to eight hours. Your way of doing things may vary, and of course the best option is zero alcohol, when away from home.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 10:12 am
by fyrfytr310
I went to high school with Wes and his brother. And when I say that, I don't mean we happened to be in the same building. No. I meas we rode the same bus, sat in the same row, shared classes and I spent time at their house all they way up to his departure into the Marine Corps.

This was pretty shocking to read this and as much as I want to defend him due to our past relationship, I cannot. A lot of bad things happened here and we, as a greater community, will all pay for this in some way. I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 11:28 am
by Brian D.
Today it was reported that the chair of the Ohio GOP is asking Retherford to resign. The Butler County Sheriff was chatting on 700WLW about the incident/investigation. He said there was a real lack of cooperation from the other event attendees, in general. Bunch of "I don't know the guy, never saw him at the dinner", etc. This from fellow Senators and Representatives. Sheriff Jones said he expected to catch hell from the party bosses (he's Republican too) for being so candid on air.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 8:36 am
by fyrfytr310
Brian D. wrote:Today it was reported that the chair of the Ohio GOP is asking Retherford to resign. The Butler County Sheriff was chatting on 700WLW about the incident/investigation. He said there was a real lack of cooperation from the other event attendees, in general. Bunch of "I don't know the guy, never saw him at the dinner", etc. This from fellow Senators and Representatives. Sheriff Jones said he expected to catch hell from the party bosses (he's Republican too) for being so candid on air.
Choices, consequences etc etc

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:02 pm
by DontTreadOnMe
Brian D. wrote:Today it was reported that the chair of the Ohio GOP is asking Retherford to resign.
The Ohio GOP or Butler County GOP? Apparently the Butler County GOP didn't endorse him in the first place and he won pretty handily (source). House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger was quoted saying
Rosenberger said on Wednesday that he was not going to make any immediate decisions about Retherford's future with the GOP caucus.

"People make mistakes. My prayers and thoughts are with him and his family," Rosenberger said. "I'm going to reserve for a little bit of time of making decisions and watch what happens through the process."
Honestly I'd be surprised if he were forced to resign after this one incident. He wasn't handling the gun, he just failed to unload it before he began drinking. As far as the DUI itself, he was in a parked car. It's not like he was caught driving down the highway at 100 mph.

I'm not defending his mistakes, but lots of people do worse than what he did and don't even actually get the DUI (I recall a recent incident that was allowed to plead down to reckless op).

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 1:12 pm
by Morne
DontTreadOnMe wrote:(I recall a recent incident that was allowed to plead down to reckless op).
If he gets a decent lawyer he'll likely be able to work out a deal that will allow him to escape a felony conviction and thus permit him to continue serving in the statehouse.

Re: Happy birthday to Rep. Wes Retherford!

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 3:11 pm
by Brian D.
DontTreadOnMe wrote:
Brian D. wrote:Today it was reported that the chair of the Ohio GOP is asking Retherford to resign.
The Ohio GOP or Butler County GOP? Apparently the Butler County GOP didn't endorse him in the first place and he won pretty handily (source). House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger was quoted saying
Rosenberger said on Wednesday that he was not going to make any immediate decisions about Retherford's future with the GOP caucus.
Yeah, I related what 700WLW initially stated, when I posted. By a few hours later they had corrected themselves. By then, too late to edit my post.