WRONG: ''Expert'' advises city it can ban firearms in parks

As soon as we became aware of this incident, OFCC contacted both the Salem Parks Director Steve Faber, and SACS CEO/President Tim Dimoff. Mr. Faber indicated that in a subsequent meeting with a representative from the Attorney General's office, the Salem Parks Commission was informed of Section 9, and will not attempt to enact a ban on park property. We have also spoken with Mr. Dimoff, who recognized his error, and made immediate moves to correct it.

3/18/04 - The Lisbon Morning Journal has published an updated story covering the park's reversal. Ban on concealed weapons in park may not pass muster.

March 16, 2004
Salem News
and
Lisbon Morning Journal

SALEM - Any business which wishes to can prohibit customers and employees from carrying concealed handguns on its premises, according to one expert on the subject. That includes the Salem Parks Department, which hopes to keep concealed weapons out of city parks.

Timothy A. Dimoff, of Akron-based SACS Consulting & Investigative Services, discussed the details of the state's new concealed handgun law before a group of business leaders and law enforcement officials at a luncheon sponsored by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

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

The bill, which Gov. Bob Taft signed into law Jan. 8, prohibits carrying a firearm into any school, school property, facilities of higher education, any type of courthouse or government buildings, airports, churches or houses of worship, daycare centers and any building owned by state or local subdivisions.

However, Dimoff said private business owners could also prevent employees and customers from bringing legal weapons into their business by developing a policy clearly stating concealed hanguns, in addition to other weapons, are strictly prohibited.

Additionally, the property owner must post signs stating no one is permitted to enter the premises with any type of weapon, including those licensed under the concealed carry law.

After the presentation, Dimoff said those rules would also apply to the parks department as would apply to any other property owner. He said the department must develop the policy prohibiting even legally permitted weapons in the city parks and must also clearly post signs notifying park visitors of the policy.

"Any entity or any owner, private or public, has the right to not allow it, they just need to make it known," Dimoff said.

At the last meeting of the Salem Parks Commission, Chairman Ken Schrom asked city council to research how the department could keep legally permitted handguns out of the parks, in order to prevent potential problem with their use in those areas.

Schrom attended Monday's luncheon, as did Parks Director Steven Faber. Faber said he was "satisfied" with the answers recieved from Dimoff and others he had asked.

Dimoff said business owners could still carry weapons themselves or designate employees allowed to carry weapons inside the business in certain situations, such as a business owner making who makes bank deposits alone after hours.

Fourty-five other states have had concealed handgun laws on their books before Ohio, which Dimoff said amounted to 45 concealed handgun test cases for Ohio to rely on when developing its own version of the law.

However, he said some lawmakers were hestiant to accept already-proven information. "We would have to go through this whole process to convince them that we weren't going to have shootouts at the OK Coral," he said.

Dimoff said law enforcement agencies in all 45 states came to favor concealed carry laws after they were enacted in their states. While police are successful in preventing crimes about 68 percent of the time, citizens with handgun permits are successful about 83 percent of the time.

Similarly, he said 11 percent of those injured in police shootings were found to be inocent, while only 2 percent of those injured in shootings by citizens carrying permits were found to be innocent.

Dimoff said 40 percent of those felons sampled in prisons said they had decided not to commit a crime because they feared the victim was carrying a firearm.

"The hardcore criminals are basically saying to us, 'Look, if you're carrying a firearm, I'm out of here,'" he said.

The higher the opportunity, the more likely a potential criminal is to commit a crime, and according to Dimoff's figures, 98 percent those legally permitted to carry a gun have said they only had to pull the gun when a crime was being committed to deter the criminal. They did not need to use the weapon.

After working 20 years as a narcotics officer in Akron, Dimoff founded SACS to help corperations stamp out workplace crimes. In addition to public speaking engagements, he has appeared on NBC's Dateline and on CNN.

Columbiana County Sheriff Dave Smith also attended the meeting and said Dimoff's facts were accurate. Smith said he supported the state legislature's decision to pass the concealed carry law, after background checks and safety courses were included in the provision.

Smith stresses the liability and personal responsibility when speaking to groups about the new law. "They have to realize that this is a deadly weapon, and there's a large responsibility on your shoulders," he said.

Commentary:
To attempt to ban CHL-holders from city parks, city officials would be guilty of violating Ohio law, or even the Ohio Constitution, as interpreted by the recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling. Section 9 of the Act (House Bill 12), states as follows:

The General Assembly finds that licenses to carry concealed handguns are a matter of statewide concern and wishes to ensure uniformity throughout the state regarding the qualifications for a person to hold a license to carry a concealed handgun and the authority granted to a person holding a license of that nature. It is the intent of the General Assembly in amending sections 1547.69, 2911.21, 2921.13, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2923.123, 2923.16, 2953.32, and 4749.10 and enacting sections 109.69, 109.731, 311.41, 311.42, and 2923.124 to 2923.1213 of the Revised Code to enact laws of a general nature, and, by enacting those laws of a general nature, the state occupies and preempts the field of issuing licenses to carry a concealed handgun and the validity of licenses of that nature. No municipal corporation may adopt or continue in existence any ordinance, and no township may adopt or continue in existence any resolution, that is in conflict with those sections, including, but not limited to, any ordinance or resolution that attempts to restrict the places where a person possessing a valid license to carry a concealed handgun may carry a handgun concealed. (emphasis added)

Under 2923.126, CHL-holders are prohibited from carrying concealed weapons in state, county, or municipal buildings only. Public property (such as a city park) is not included under HB12, and to extend the ban beyond the building walls is a direct violation of Section 9. Furthermore, openly carrying firearms is still legal in our state. An outright ban of firearms in these locations is not authorized by the new CHL law, and may also be in violation of state law, and the state Constitution.

Ohioans For Concealed Carry has already been in consulations with an attorney on these matters as well as with state officials. We will consider any attempts to preempt state's new CHL law with utmost seriousness.

Related Story:
Public officials' rush to ban CHL-holders could be illegal