The Idiot Chronicles, Volume 1: "Restaurant Carry & Bartenders"

by Ken Hanson, Esq.

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

While there is no definitive source for this quote (conflicting sources have it going all the way back to Napoleon), it clearly encompasses two things that are happening in the media coverage of the two Restaurant Carry bills pending in the Ohio General Assembly.

The malice is coming from the interest groups opposing the law. These groups are spreading deliberate misinformation as wide and as far as possible. The stupidity is coming from those who listen to them.

A good example of this is the media coverage of bartenders/bar owners under the impression they are responsible for verifying a patron is unarmed prior to serving the patron.

Huh?

Given the number of media outlets (article, editorial, editorial, editorial, article, article, etc.) covering this exact same topic, this "angle" is obviously a plant from some source opposed to the bill.

In three years of testimony (dating back to last session in the House and Senate committees) there has NEVER been a single bit of testimony or evidence offered suggesting that bartenders or bar owners are involved in enforcement of the proposed law. Yet clearly the idea that the property owner is somehow responsible, or liable, for enforcing the law has clearly been established via the talking points circulated by those opposed to the bill.

A recent Columbus Dispatch article offers up a perfectly representative specimen of the ignorance that results from this malice:

"How do you find out if a person is carrying?" said Verlin Bonner, a bartender at Plank's Bier Garten, 888 S. High St.

Sami Adkins, longtime owner of Stop 40, 4350 E. Main St. in Whitehall, said, "What are we supposed to do, frisk them?"

Or consider this from Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Patty Weislo, 31-year owner of the Red Onion at 522 Pearl Road, both said that while the law would prohibit drinking while carrying a weapon, there is really no way for club owners to know for sure who is or is not.

"This puts an undue burden on (liquor) permit holders and our employees," Weislo said.

When I have been interviewed by reporters covering these articles (you will note most of these have provided little to no ink for rebuttal) and the reporter asks me "How will this law be enforced?" I reply, "The exact same way it is enforced now and has been for decades. Who/what gave you the idea that enforcement is somehow different now?"

I have yet to have a reporter answer that question. Somehow the fact that it is currently illegal for ALL non-law enforcement to have firearms in bars, and that law is somehow currently enforced, is beyond the comprehension of those interviewing and those being interviewed.

So Verlin, Sami and Patti, how are you enforcing the law currently? Verlin, since it is now 100% illegal, I assume you fret over every single drink you serve to a customer, since it might be going to someone who is armed? Sami & Patti, are you frisking 100% of your customers currently?

If any reader of this article is a customer of Plank's Bier Garten, Stop 40 or the Red Onion, ask them. I am really interested in their answers.

Coming next in Volumes II and III – our elected Representatives and their idiotic floor speeches.

Ken Hanson is a gun rights attorney in Ohio. He serves as the Legislative Chair for Buckeye Firearms Association, and is the attorney of record for Buckeye Firearms Foundation, which filed friend-of-the-court briefs in the Heller and McDonald Supreme Court cases. The National Rifle Association's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) has awarded him with its 2008 Defender of Justice Award and 2009 Jay M. Littlefield Volunteer of the Year Award. He is the author of The Ohio Guide to Firearm Laws, a certified firearms instructor and holds a Type 01 Federal Firearms License.

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