Ohio Woman 'Did What She Had to Do to Save Her Life' but Still Faces Charges

On Halloween night, a woman named Deryka Minor suffered a vicious assault at a Cincinnati nightclub. According to Minor's attorney Clyde Bennett, 20-year-old Kameiro Blair-Martin, who worked at the nightclub as a barback and busser, assaulted his client. 

Bennett says Blair-Martin punched Minor in the face at least 15 or 16 times, leaving her close to losing consciousness. As the beating continued, he allegedly reached toward his waistband in a manner that Minor interpreted as an attempt to draw a firearm.

That's when Minor drew her own handgun and fired one shot, striking and killing Blair-Martin.

According to Bennett, Blair-Martin was armed and that a gun was subsequently recovered beside him. Bennett says Minor had never met Blair-Martin and still does not know why he attacked her.

During a court hearing last Wednesday, a Cincinnati police detective agreed that Minor was the victim of an assault and acted to defend herself. Blair-Martin's homicide has been deemed a justifiable use of deadly force, but Minor still faces charges for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm because she's not old enough to lawfully carry one. 

Just like her assailant, Deryka Minor is 20 years old. And under Ohio law, you must be 21 to carry, with or without a valid carry license. Unlawful concealed carry of a loaded firearm, or one with ammunition readily available, is a fourth-degree felony in the Buckeye State. It's also a third-degree felony to unlawfully carry a concealed handgun in an establishment where liquor is served on the premises. Assuming the business hadn't posted signage declaring it a "gun-free zone," a 21-year-old could have lawfully brought a gun into Memories Lounge, but it was against the law for Minor to do so. 

Minor's case is a pretty good example of why the law needs to change. At 20 years of age, she's charged in adult court with illegally carrying a firearm. But there's no way for a 20-year-old in Ohio to legally carry a firearm in self-defense. You have to be 21 to obtain a concealed carry license, and permitless carry is only available to those 21 and older as well. 

The law essentially tells young adults like Minor that they're old enough to be held fully accountable for their actions, but not old enough to exercise their Second Amendment rights in public. And in Minor's case, the consequences of that distinction could be devastating.

What was she supposed to do differently? Leave her gun at home and hope that she wouldn't encounter someone willing to beat her unconscious? Trust that somebody else would intervene before her attacker inflicted even more serious injuries? Hope that police would arrive before it was too late?

We can debate whether Minor should have been carrying a gun into the nightclub in the first place, but there's no need to speculate about what might have happened if she hadn't been armed. According to her attorney, she was already on the verge of losing consciousness when she fired the shot that ended the assault.

Ohio lawmakers have decided that a 20-year-old is old enough to face felony charges for illegally carrying a concealed handgun, but apparently not old enough to make the decision to carry one for personal protection. Minor could face up to 18 months in prison if she's convicted of the fourth-degree felony she's reportedly charged with, even though police and prosecutors agree that she was justified in using deadly force. And that would not only result in time behind bars, but strip her of her right to keep and bear arms altogether. 

The Second Amendment doesn't say that the right to keep and bear arms begins at 21, and several federal courts have rejected restrictions on the gun rights of adults younger than that age. Ohio's prohibition on concealed carry by 18-to-20-year-olds deserves that same scrutiny.

I don't know whether a grand jury will indict Minor on those felony charges, whether prosecutors will ultimately pursue those charges if a grand jury does come back with an indictment, or whether a jury would convict her if they do. I do know that the law left her with an impossible choice: obey the state's restrictions and remain defenseless against an attack like the one she suffered, or carry a gun for protection and risk becoming a felon for doing so.

Deryka Minor survived that attack. Now she has to defend herself in court because she had the means to stop it.

Ohio lawmakers still have the chance to fix this issue, though it won't impact Minor's case. SB 392 would, among other things, lower the age to lawfully carry in the state from 21 to 18. And unlike many states, Ohio's legislature meets year-round, though not continuously. The only dates they're scheduled to be in session before the end of the year are November 10 and 18, and December 2, 9 (if needed), 16, and 17 (if needed). 

Once Democrat Amy Acton is sworn in as governor, there's virtually no chance of legislators being able to lower the age to carry from 21 to 18. Republicans still control both chambers, but they've lost their veto-proof majority in the House, so Acton can reject any pro-Second Amendment bills that get to her desk. 

I don't know if SB 392 will be a priority for Ohio Republicans in their lame duck session. I don't know if they'll pass any legislation, for that matter. But ensuring that young adults have the same Second Amendment rights as adults 21 and older should be a top priority, and Deryka Minor's case should be on the mind of every pro-Second Amendment legislator when they return to Columbus next week. 

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