Ohio candidate for U.S. Congress takes concealed carry class

The Lima News is reporting that State Representative Mike Gilb, a two-time Buckeye Firearms Association endorsee who recently announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress in the 4th Congressional District, recently took part in a concealed carry training class in Allen County.

From the story:

State Rep. Mike Gilb wanted to get a good look at the training for carrying concealed weapons, especially since he’s hoping to change the rules a little bit.

Gilb, R-Findlay, took part in a training session on Saturday at the Allen County Fairgrounds, joining about 10 others.

“I signed up today, and I’m logging the hours to earn my right to carry a concealed weapon,” Gilb said. “I wanted to get a sense of what the current training is like.”

The newspaper reports that Gilb ended up fielding questions from classmates about the legislative process as he tries to push a bill that will loosen up the restrictions on the concealed-carry law. The original bill passed two years ago.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Again, from the story:

“That was a fairly restrictive bill, kind of a first step,” Gilb said. “Now that we’ve entered this experience, we haven’t become the wild, wild west people thought we’d become, law-abiding citizens should be able to protect themselves.”

He said potential changes included in the proposed House Bill 347 cover where people can carry weapons in vehicles. Today, they must be kept in plain sight or locked away if they’re in a car.

Gilb heard from one man who pointed out that another man in the class is a liquor store owner, but by law can’t carry a weapon in his own store.

“There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be changed,” Tom Evans of Lima said.

“We just need some more bills to clean up the gray area,” added Brent Lawrence, co-owner of Defense Training Academy, which conducts training lessons once a month.

The Lima News reports that Gilb’s class completed the classroom time on Saturday, and will complete the range portion of the class this week.

State Sen. Jim Jordan, another two-time Buckeye Firearms Association endorsee, is competing against Gilb for the Republican party's nomination in the 4th District. Both men announced their candidacies after current Rep. Mike Oxley announced he would not run again.