HB12 PASSES Committee, heads to Floor for vote

The Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee held opponent and interested
party testimony today in room 116.

Ohioans For Concealed Carry's membership chairman Jim Murray has been in Columbus since the hearings began at 9:00 a.m.

House Bill 12 (with amendments discussed by clicking "Read More...") PASSED out of the committee late Wednesday afternoon and will move to the House Floor for a vote, scheduled for Tuesday, March 11.

We are told that the opponent and interested party testimony took nearly
five hours. A lunch break took place and the committee reconvened after an
hour. The quick stats:

All Republicans in the room voted yes.
5 Democrats voted no.
3 Representatives were missing for the vote.

There were 48 anti-gun amendments offered for consideration. After 10 anti-gun amendments were offered and tabled, they gave up and adjourned the meeting.

As of 5:10pm Wednesday afternoon the following amendments passed the
committee and became part of HB12:

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Amendments that were sought by Ohioans For Concealed Carry and adopted by the committee
(the following is unofficial - the official language will be made available as soon as possible):

1. Notification of a police officer during a traffic stop.
This language was vaguely written and could be interpreted to require someone to notify a police officer any time they came upon one. The example: You're driving
past an officer at an accident or directing traffic and you have to role down your window and scream "Hey, I have a handgun!". The amendment makes
it necessary to notify an officer if you have a license to carry a firearm and are carrying one, but ONLY if you are stopped in a motor vehicle.

2. Peaceable Journey.
The Safe School Zones Act that was passed at the Federal Level, struck down, and then re-adopted in an appropriations bill provided for "peaceable journey" in a school zone by anyone licensed to carry a firearm. Ohioans For Concealed Carry has asked for this language for a very long time. OFCC's PAC Chairman Jim Irvine even asked again in proponent testimony on Tuesday.

The Committee has adopted our request to reference United States Code Title 18, Section 922 in it's effort to allow a license holder to travel through a school zone without violating the Safe Schools Act or the
prohibition of carrying a firearm onto school board property.

What this means: You can drive through a parking lot to pick up a child at a school or a school function. What this does NOT mean: You can not enter a school building with a concealed firearm.

3. Licensure Fund
The Sheriff of every county is required to create a fund for the money collected and disbursed in the process of performing the duties required by this legislation. That fund was previously called "The Handgun Licensure Fund". In response to a technical request from OFCC, this was renamed to something more appropriate.

Other Amendments which have passed:

1. Immunity for employers has been added if they do allow CCW, or do not.

This is probably the result of recent complaints from the anti-gun extremists who were emailing business owners "if you don't do something" then you're not protected by the immunity enacted in the bill. Although we have not read the amendment, this language probably exempts every private property employer from lawsuits regardless of if they do or do not allow employees to carry firearms on their property. Further review of the
amendment is necessary, but it did pass.

2. Carrying in a Class D establishment (anywhere that sells alcohol) has been prohibited in this bill since it was drafted. There was an affirmative defense to this charge and it has apparently been removed.

Penalties Changed:

a) penality for CCW w. disability raised from F5 to F3
b) penalty for sheriffs giving out info, and not destroying records, both
reduced (details remain unknown)
c) trespass reduced from M1 to M4.

Other Technical amendments:

NRA Certified Instructors will get a kick out of this one. The committee, with the backing of the NRA's Ohio lobbyist, adopted an amendment that would take this phase: "Knowledge, Skills and Attitude" and change it to the following:

"Knowledge, Skills and Aptitude"