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Ohio News | Article published Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Taft to sign bill allowing concealed weapons
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
COLUMBUS - 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."
The bill would allow Ohioans who are at least 21 years old, complete 12 hours of firearm training, and pass criminal and mental-health background checks to receive four-year permits to carry handguns on themselves or in their cars.
The issue has crossed party lines and has instead divided lawmakers along urban and suburban-rural lines.
The measure is supported by the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association, whose members would process permit applications. The highway patrol and Fraternal Order of Police have adopted positions of neutrality. The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police remains opposed.
Mr. Taft said the bill would never receive support from all law enforcement and that he was satisfied with either the support or neutrality of the major groups. He said he considered the two to be the same thing.
Toby Hoover of the Toledo-based Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence said it is no coincidence the bill is moving now, just as the General Assembly prepares to vote on a two-year budget.
"It’s been planned," she said. "This is very good timing. The governor and senators are under a lot of pressure. I think they think the people aren’t watching. ... I’ll stand with the churches, the police chiefs, prosecutors, and the rest of Ohioans who say no."
To win the neutrality of the highway patrol, and therefore the promise of Mr. Taft’s signature, the Senate Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee yesterday amended the bill to require that a gun carried in a car be kept in a holster in plain sight or securely stored in the glove compartment or a locked gun case.
If the driver or a passenger in the car is under 18, the gun must be locked away.
To win the support of some Democrats, public buildings and child day-care centers were added to the list of places where concealed guns would be prohibited. That list also includes police stations, jails, airport terminals, school safety zones, courthouses, places of worship, or any private property that an owner declares to be off limits to guns.
"I think it’s a responsible bill, one that looks out for the safety of the general public," said Sen. Steve Austria (R., Beavercreek), Civil Justice chairman.
Although the measure would make Ohio the 46th state to allow the carrying of concealed handguns, Gary Joseph of the Ohio Gun Rights Coalition said his organization now opposes it.
"It’s accurate to call this a gun-owners registration bill now," he said. "With the additional prohibitions put in, you basically can’t carry a gun anywhere except your own home or your own property. ... You can’t take it in your car for all practical purposes."
The National Rifle Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry have yet to take formal positions that could influence the reaction in the House.
But Rep. Ron Young (R., Leroy), one of the more conservative House members, suggested a requirement that a gun be kept "in plain sight" could backfire.
"I can imagine a scenario in which someone’s gun is holstered under their jacket and they’re reaching for their gun to put it in plain sight as the police officer is approaching their vehicle," he said. "I could see a police officer reacting in a very adverse way to someone wrestling a gun from a concealed position."
Taft to sign bill allowing concealed weapons
By JIM PROVANCE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
COLUMBUS - 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."
The bill would allow Ohioans who are at least 21 years old, complete 12 hours of firearm training, and pass criminal and mental-health background checks to receive four-year permits to carry handguns on themselves or in their cars.
The issue has crossed party lines and has instead divided lawmakers along urban and suburban-rural lines.
The measure is supported by the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association, whose members would process permit applications. The highway patrol and Fraternal Order of Police have adopted positions of neutrality. The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police remains opposed.
Mr. Taft said the bill would never receive support from all law enforcement and that he was satisfied with either the support or neutrality of the major groups. He said he considered the two to be the same thing.
Toby Hoover of the Toledo-based Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence said it is no coincidence the bill is moving now, just as the General Assembly prepares to vote on a two-year budget.
"It’s been planned," she said. "This is very good timing. The governor and senators are under a lot of pressure. I think they think the people aren’t watching. ... I’ll stand with the churches, the police chiefs, prosecutors, and the rest of Ohioans who say no."
To win the neutrality of the highway patrol, and therefore the promise of Mr. Taft’s signature, the Senate Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee yesterday amended the bill to require that a gun carried in a car be kept in a holster in plain sight or securely stored in the glove compartment or a locked gun case.
If the driver or a passenger in the car is under 18, the gun must be locked away.
To win the support of some Democrats, public buildings and child day-care centers were added to the list of places where concealed guns would be prohibited. That list also includes police stations, jails, airport terminals, school safety zones, courthouses, places of worship, or any private property that an owner declares to be off limits to guns.
"I think it’s a responsible bill, one that looks out for the safety of the general public," said Sen. Steve Austria (R., Beavercreek), Civil Justice chairman.
Although the measure would make Ohio the 46th state to allow the carrying of concealed handguns, Gary Joseph of the Ohio Gun Rights Coalition said his organization now opposes it.
"It’s accurate to call this a gun-owners registration bill now," he said. "With the additional prohibitions put in, you basically can’t carry a gun anywhere except your own home or your own property. ... You can’t take it in your car for all practical purposes."
The National Rifle Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry have yet to take formal positions that could influence the reaction in the House.
But Rep. Ron Young (R., Leroy), one of the more conservative House members, suggested a requirement that a gun be kept "in plain sight" could backfire.
"I can imagine a scenario in which someone’s gun is holstered under their jacket and they’re reaching for their gun to put it in plain sight as the police officer is approaching their vehicle," he said. "I could see a police officer reacting in a very adverse way to someone wrestling a gun from a concealed position."