'No More Excuses, Gov. Taft; Sign CCW Bill,' Gun Rights Group Insists

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), an OFCC Civil-Defense Rights Coalition member, has issued the following press release concerning the expectations their members share of Gov. Taft on HB12.

BELLEVUE, Wash., Dec. 11 -- "Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has evidently run out of excuses and the time for stonewalling on public safety is past. It's time for Taft to sign concealed carry legislation for the Buckeye State."

So stated Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) following Tuesday night's passage of a concealed carry bill by the Ohio Legislature. The bill reportedly addresses law enforcement concerns, and certainly has the overwhelming support of lawmakers, who passed the measure in both houses with what may be a veto-proof majority.

"For months," Waldron said, "Gov. Taft has been hiding behind any excuse he could find, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol administration has been giving him some cover with an unreasonable demand that would essentially require unsafe gun handling in a vehicle. His fallback excuse has to do with making the names of licensed citizens public. So, what it boils down to is that, absent any other excuse, Gov. Taft is going to veto a responsible bill because it does not allow the harassment of law- abiding gun owners by anyone who may want to know their identity. That goes beyond absurdity."

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Waldron is appalled by Gov. Taft's attitude. He said it is nonsense to veto legislation that had been worked on so hard, by so many people. The only lingering opposition appears to be from Taft and an anti-self defense organization called Ohioans Against Gun Violence.

"It appears they have managed to please everyone except Bob Taft and an extremist group that should call itself Ohioans Against Public Safety," Waldron observed. "The governor, who won support from gun owners during the campaign by convincing them that he would support concealed carry, has been ducking for cover ever since he took office. His anti-gun, anti-self defense philosophy, long since exposed, the governor should stop blocking this important public safety measure."

"People in 45 other states enjoy some form of concealed carry," Waldron noted. "In nearly three dozen states, citizens benefit from 'shall-issue' laws similar to the one Gov. Taft now has on his desk. If the governor vetoes this bill, he should explain why he thinks law-abiding Ohio residents are so untrustworthy."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.