Indiana CCW license-holder has very bad day in Ohio

EXCLUSIVE: Must credit www.OhioCCW.org

DAYTON----As if having a pick-up truck pull out in front of his motorcycle, receiving severe injuries and being life-flighted wasn't bad enough, an
Indiana resident got an even harsher welcome from the State of Ohio on a recent trip across the border: a CCW-related summons to court.

Having decided the weather was great for a cruise, Bill Owens decided to drive his motorcycle on a short ride across the state border to a Brookville, Ohio motorcycle shop. As Owens was traveling east-bound on Rt. 40 in Montgomery County July 2, a pickup truck pulled into the path of his
motorcycle. He was severly injured. A broken right femur and crushed knee cap will sideline Owens from his truck-driving career for close to a year. But Ohio's ban on concealed carry, (already ruled unconstitutional by three state courts) may make sure his "criminal" record keeps him sidelined for far longer.

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Before he was loaded on the air ambulance, Owens notified the on-scene
officer (Cpl. I. P. Hansen, Clay Twp. P.D.) that he had a concealed handgun,
that it was loaded, and a that he had a license to carry. The officer confiscated the firearm while Owens was on the stretcher. That was the last he heard of it, until he received a summons to appear for an August 5 court
date.

Owens has been charged with violating 2923.16b (improper handling of
firearm). Because the accident left him unable to work, and because his
insurance claim agains the other driver has not been settled, he has been
forced to accept the services of a public defender. At his initial hearing,
he plead not guilty. A pre-trial hearing will be held August 28.

"I have been licensed to carry a
concealed firearm for 7 years," says Owens, "and have done so responsibly and without incident. And when I came to Ohio, I was carrying my gun for self
protection."

Former Buckeye moved to Indiana because of Ohio's CCW ban

William Owens hasn't always been a Hoosier. In 1991, while living in New
Paris, Ohio, Owens' life was once threatened by Guy Billy Lee Scott. Before the police caught up with him, Scott (already a felon, and prohibited by law from
possessing a firearm) shot and killed two of Owens' friends, Rick Stoner and Pete Rebush, and wounded a third. In addition to being convicted of those crimes, he was also convicted of the rape and murder of Lisa Buckley, a crime for which he was a
suspect at the time of the other shootings.

After the threats on his life, Owens made a decision. From that day forward, he began take responsibility for his own protection. And since the State of Ohio viewed his civil right to bear arms for self-defense as
illegal, Owens did what many others have done. He moved a few miles across
the border, to a neighboring state that recognized his rights.

Owens says he rarely chooses to come to Ohio now, because of the ban. When he does, he relies on Ohio's poorly written and even more poorly implemented "affirmative defense" law. On July 2, that law failed him, as it has failed so many before.

"Now not only do I have to worry about whether I'll be able to return to my former profession," Owens observes, "but I have this charge against me. I wasn't expecting a trip to Ohio to ruin my life."