Multiple pro-gun rights bills scheduled for hearings in House committee

Chairman Ron Maag has announced that the House State Government Committee will be hearing testimony on multiple pro-gun rights bills this week.

On Wednesday, November 16 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 121, the committee will hear:

• Propontent testimony on SB 199 (Active Duty Armed Forces Concealed Carry/ Handgun Transfer), which seeks to modify Ohio law to allow our active duty military to carry firearms while home on leave. Military members have long been people who obtained CHL's (Concealed Handgun Licenses) and carried, but members who are 18-20 years old are prohibited from obtaining a license. Police under the age of 21 are permitted to carry handguns. SB 199 will allow military members who have been trained to do the same thing.
• Proponent testimony on HB 529 (Tactical medical professionals-firearms training), which seeks to provide for firearms training for tactical medical professionals; to permit such a professional who has received that training or comparable training and who is authorized to carry firearms by the law enforcement agency the professional is serving to carry firearms while on duty in the same manner, to the same extent, in the same areas, and subject to the same potential for civil and criminal liability as a law enforcement officer of the agency; and to grant such a professional, while on duty in that capacity, the same right to carry a concealed handgun in this state as a person who was issued a concealed handgun license.

On Thursday, November 17 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 121, the committee will hear:

• Proponent/opponent/interested party testimony on SB 199 (Active Duty Armed Forces Concealed Carry/ Handgun Transfer) before a possible vote.
• Sponsor testimony on HB 452, which seeks to modify Ohio law to generally permit a concealed handgun licensee to carry a concealed handgun in a place of worship.
• Sponsor testimony on HB 518, which seeks to modify Ohio law to permit an elected officeholder of this state or a political subdivision of this state who holds a valid concealed handgun license to carry a concealed handgun in a government facility of this state or a political subdivision of this state.

If you want to see the General Assembly act to improve gun rights in ways that are already enjoyed by the majority of other states, call your Representative and Senator NOW and tell them you expect pro-gun legislation to move in Ohio BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. They asked for your vote on Election Day. Tell them we want their votes too.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.