Councilperson responds to letter to editor re: Section 9 violation

March 27, 2004
New Philadelphia Times Reporter

To the Editor:

Recent headlines in The Times-Reporter have me very alarmed that the cities of New Philadelphia and Dover are trying to pass legislation restricting where Concealed Carry permit holders can carry their weapons. I do not live in either city, but I do often go to parks and other places in their cities.

I spend a lot of money in these two towns, as do many others who are in support of the Concealed Carry Law (House Bill 12). I urge them to do their research on the subject of concealed weapons and not blindly pass an ordinance. Such legislation would be in direct violation of the Ohio Revised Code. I am including a direct passage from House Bill 12 which clarifies my point.

The passage is as follows:

Section 9:

"The General Assembly finds that licenses to carry concealed handguns are a matter of statewide concern and wishes to ensure uniformity throughout the state regarding the qualifications for a person to carry a concealed handgun and the authority granted to a person holding a license of that nature. It is the intent of the General Assembly...to enact laws of a general nature, and, by enacting laws of a general nature, the state occupies and preempts the field of issuing licenses to carry a concealed handgun and the validity of licenses of that nature. No municipal corporation may adopt or continue in existence any ordinance, and no township may adopt or continue in existence any resolution, that is in conflict with those sections, including, but not limited to, any ordinance or resolution that attempts to restrict the places where a person possessing a valid license to carry a concealed handgun and may carry a handgun concealed."

It is clear to me that any ordinance passed by any city council attempting to regulate this would be considered null and void and would be thrown out of court immediately. It would be better to not pass an unlawful ordinance and not require any of us to be subject to an unlawful arrest. The state has clearly reserved the right to restrict where concealed handguns may be carried and has stipulated such in House Bill 12.

There are provisions within the bill which ban concealed weapons from certain public "buildings", but it does not mention parks or open property. Keep in mind, the Ohio General Assembly did not trust local government to regulate this and specifically prohibited you as a municipalities from enacting such laws.

Brent Baumberger,
Uhrichsville

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Click on the "Read More..." link below to view a response from New Philadelphia Ward III councilperson Darrin Lautenschleger.

Letter of Response from New Philadelphia Councilman

Brent:

Thank you very much for your message and your interest in the
concealed carry law.

As you can imagine, with any new law in the Ohio Revised Code that
could have a potential impact on cities and municipalities, it is the
duty of the city to determine what exactly that impact is and how the
city should respond.

As a City Council, we have asked our law director, Michael Johnson,
to review the law and contact anyone who may assist him in
determining what response we should take, if any, to the provisions
of this new code section. Time also is of the essence, so we should
see some information flow back to Council in upcoming meetings.

Thank you again for your interest in this matter and please do not
hesitate to contact the mayor''s office for additional information or
assistance, if necessary.

Sincerely yours,

Darrin Lautenschleger
Ward III

Related Story:
OFCC puts Section 9 violators on notice