Ohio Supremes to hear case of weapons in parks

The Toledo Blade is reporting that the Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the city of Clyde's ordinance prohibiting the carrying of firearms in public parks.

The Blade's headline, "Clyde wins bid to hear appeal of city gun law", appears meant to convey that Clyde is somehow "winning" something, but the story clearly shows that Ohioans for Concealed Carry (OFCC) Inc. was the group that wanted the case to be heard, had planned the case all along to get the preemption argument up to the Ohio Supreme Court, and determined that this was the best vehicle for getting it there quickly.

From the story:

The Toledo-based 6th District Court of Appeals, in overturning a Sandusky County Common Pleas Court decision, had ruled that the ordinance conflicted with Ohio's concealed-carry laws. Parks are not on the state's list of public and private places where guns are off-limits, and House Bill 347, which passed in December, expressly forbids cities from enforcing gun laws deemed stricter than state and federal law.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry Inc. successfully challenged the ordinance. The group took the unusual stance of supporting an appeal of a case it won.

"We feel absolutely that the Supreme Court should hear the case," said Jeff Garvis, founder of the organization. "This would solve the issue of statewide preemption and would directly impact the city of Cleveland's lawsuit."

The story goes on to note that the Mayor Frank Jackson and the City of Cleveland has challenged the statewide preemption of local gun control laws as a violation of its home-rule authority, but that the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court case could take years to work its way up to the Supreme Court.