CNSNews.com: Ohio One Step Away From Concealed Carry

UPDATE: This story has also been picked up by national conservative news and information site Townhall.com.

By Susan Jones
CNSNews.com Morning Editor
December 11, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - A pro-gun group is urging Ohio Gov. Bob Taft to sign a bill that would allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons.

The bill isn't perfect, said Ohioans for Concealed Carry, but nevertheless, the group believes it will serve as a deterrent to violent crime.

"Ohio's defenseless citizens deserve a law that will allow them the same right to survive a criminal encounter as citizens in every bordering state, and 44 [states] across the nation now enjoy," said Ohioans for Concealed Carry in a press release.

The group points to a series of recent carjacking incidents in Ohio as one of the justifications for allowing people to carry a concealed weapon for defensive purposes.

"We need to give Ohioans the choice to defend themselves," said Jim Irvine, Ohioans for Concealed Carry spokesman.

People applying for concealed carry permits in Ohio would have to undergo training and background checks.

Ohioans for Concealed Carry has staged various "defense walks" in recent months, including one outside the governor's mansion, to rally support for the concealed carry bill that has finally emerged from the State Legislature.

"Ohio is about to finally join the forty-four states who have proven this is sound public policy," said Jeff Garvas, Ohioans for Concealed Carry president, in a press release.

"Recently, the FBI reported that, for the first time in forty years, Michigan's per capita crime rate fell below Ohio's in the wake of passage of their concealed carry law."

Proponents of concealed carry believe Ohio's crime rate will also drop, once the bill is signed into law.

Click here to read the story from the Cybercast News Service.