'Ohio Concealed Carry', by Dr. Brian Pendleton (PhD)

Brian F. Pendleton, PhD
Department of Sociology
The University of Akron
[email protected]
Prepared for presentation at a debate on "Ohio Concealed Carry" sponsored by The University of Akron Sociology Club.

CONCEALED CARRY refers to allowing civilians who meet certain requirements to carry a concealed weapon, generally, but not limited to, a handgun. Requirements include the licensee to have no felony convictions, no substance abuse problems, no mental illnesses, and passed a training and certification course.

As of January 2003, 32 states are "shall issue right to carry" (RTC) states, and additional 11 are "right to carry limited issues" and only 7 (including Ohio) are completely "non issue."

Myth 1: Law enforcement officers are armed so they can protect us.

Fact 1: While most members of law enforcement certainly protect individuals when they can, they can't be everywhere all the time. The police are not required to protect individual citizens. In Warren v. District of Columbia (444 A.2d 1, 1981), the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled "official police personnel and the government employing them are not generally liable to victims of criminal acts for failure to provide adequate police protection... a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection to any particular citizen... [the police] are provided to benefit the community at large by promoting public peace, safety and good order." In Bowers v. DeVito, "there is not a constitutional right to be protected by the state against being murdered by criminals or madmen."