13 years late: Dayton RTA considers reversing ban on concealed carry

[UPDATE: This article originally stated that the change in policy has already been approved. FOX45 is now reporting the changes noted below will be voted on at the RTA board meeting June 6.]

13 years after the Ohio Attorney General first declared bans on concealed carry on city busses to be illegal, WRGT (Fox Dayton) is reporting that the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority (or RTA, the city's public bussing system) is considering a proposal to change their policies to allow concealed carry on city busses.

This author has been reporting on Dayton RTA's illegal ban on concealed carry since 2004.

That year, then-State Senator Randy Gardner inquired with the Ohio Attorney General's office on the subject of city busses, then stated as follows:

"The AG's office is under the belief that public busses are not exempted and that local ordinances can't override state law."

Despite this fact, officials at Dayton RTA continued to enforce the ban in violation of state law.

They also continued to enforce the ban even as incident after incident mounted up, exposing the fact that criminals were not at all deterred by the ban:

• ''Near riot'' at ''no-guns'' Dayton RTA hub
• Dayton RTA psgr. shoots self in leg; exposes media access loophole folly
• Dayton bus stop crime highlights ongoing violations by Ohio RTAs
• Man shot at Dayton bus stop
• Bible in front pocket saves bus driver from gunshots, but why does Dayton RTA still ban CCW?

In 2011, the Toledo Area Regional Transportation Agency (TARTA), which had also placed 'no-guns' signs on its busses upon passage of Ohio's concealed carry law years earlier, agreed to modify TARTA's policy, and change TARTA's "passenger code of conduct" to allow lawful concealed carry on its busses.

Officials at Dayton RTA were informed over and over and over that "no-guns" signs posted on city busses are a violation of the intent of the General Assembly, and put innocent people at risk. Sadly, it took 13 years for them to consider doing the right thing, and only after the persistent efforts of Jeffry Smith, an area gun rights advocate.

Several important changes to Dayton RTA policies are being proposed:

• Persons lawfully licensed to carry a concealed weapon (handgun) may possess a properly concealed handgun in the "public" areas of RTA owned/leased property such as transit center platforms. Said persons may also ride RTA busses while possessing a properly concealed handgun.
• Persons may lawfully possess and openly carry a firearm in the "public" areas of RTA owned/leased property such as transit center platforms. "Open carry" remains prohibited on RTA bussess and support vehicles.
• RTA employees who are licensed to carry a concealed weapon (handgun) will be allowed to properly store a weapon in their personal vehicle while parked in designated employee parking areas except for the underground garage in the 600 Longworth Building.

FCC and ROR Update Memo 051617

The WRGT article goes on to say that open carry advocates are asking for the Dayton RTA policy change to be expanded to cover openly-carried firearms.

While "open carry" is legal in Ohio for those who are not otherwise prohibited from being in possession of a firearm, constitutional or unlicensed open carry is not legal in a motor vehicle, as state law currently considers the firearm to be concealed by the very nature of it being inside a vehicle.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and a NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.