Newsflash?: There have not been problems with concealed carry in Ohio
In a April 2003 Columbus Dispatch op-ed, Dr. John R. Lott, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said as follows:
"A year after the right-to-carry law is enacted, Ohioans will wonder what all the fuss was about. Claims that Ohioans' safety is endangered will lose credibility once people see that criminals, not law-abiding citizens, have the most to fear from Ohioans' increased ability to defend themselves."
With the one year anniversary of OhioCCW approaching, Lott's predictions have certainly come true, and even the anti-gun media is being forced to admit it.
Despite years and years of being told to look at the successes in other states, Ohio newspapers have begun to write "the first year of concealed carry" stories expressing surprise at the lack of problems here.
A headline in Tuesday’s Akron Beacon Journal reports "Ohio legislation now year old, and much-feared road rage, other problems absent, sheriffs say".
From the story:
Ohioans have been carrying concealed weapons -- legally -- for nearly a year now, and so far, area law enforcement officials say they have not encountered the problems many feared.
Last April, when Ohio became the 46th state to permit law-abiding citizens to carry guns, some in law enforcement worried that routine traffic stops and road rage incidents would turn violent.
That hasn't happened.
''Knock on wood, so far it has been uneventful,'' said Portage County Sheriff Duane Kaley.
Donna Vickers, a Medina County sheriff's secretary who is in charge of issuing the licenses, told the newspaper ''There's no one I've seen apply who I have a concern that they will not abide by the law. People seem to want to see the law carried through as it's meant to be.''
Later in the story, the Beacon Journal discusses the issue of application process.
The application process has been time-consuming at times for both citizens and sheriff's offices, but officials say that's been the only downside.
''People have been good and patient about waiting for licenses and for their records to be checked,'' said Portage County's Kaley. ''We think the process has gone very smooth.''
Those wanting to get concealed gun licenses have to fill out an application, take firearms training, undergo a criminal background check and pay a registration fee.
Sheriff's offices can take as long as 45 days to issue permits. Some say the waits are getting shorter.
''Our turnaround time actually has gotten better,'' said Christine Croce, general counsel for the Summit County Sheriff's Office. ''It's taking no more than two weeks.''
When it comes to the issue of traffic stops, many will recall that Ohio State Highway Patrol bureaucrats opposed legalizing ANY carrying of loaded firearms in motor vehicles, claiming it posed a threat to law-enforcement officers. One of the worst provisions in current law, which requires CHL-holders to carry firearms in "plain sight" when traveling in a motor vehicle, was born out of these claims.
Again, from the Beacon Journal:
On the enforcement end, none of the sheriff's offices reported any traffic stop problems or clashes in general between deputies and citizens with concealed-carry licenses.
Wayne County Sheriff's Capt. Doug Hunter said deputies with his department follow the same precautions they always have when making a traffic stop.
"We operate the same way we did prior to the application of the CCW (carrying a concealed weapon) law,'' Hunter said. "So far, on every occasion, the CCW permit holders have been in compliance with the law and there have not been any negative encounters.''
The issue of the ridiculous "plain sight" language was also addressed in this article.
Firearms trainer Amanda Suffecool said the rules on carrying a gun in the car can sometimes lead to more gun handling than necessary.
She said citizens often are having to remove their guns from their person and then transfer the weapons to a locked glove compartment or gun case once inside the car.
"With gun safety, the more you handle, the more there's a chance of an accidental discharge,'' said Suffecool, vice president of Targething, a Portage County firearms training company that offers gun safety classes.
"In Ohio, you handle the gun many more times than you would in other states close to us with carry concealed laws. That is one of the problems with Ohio's law as far as I see it,'' she said.
Concealed license holder Bob Campbell, 65, a stroke victim who walks with a cane, told the Beacon Journal he feels safer with his gun. "I can't run, and I can't fight. If I get in trouble, it's real handy to have a gun along with you.''
In April 2004, Toby Hoover & other Ohio gun grabbers backed away from outrageous claims about what would happen if Ohio passed concealed carry, saying she and the rest of the gun ban lobby "never painted lurid pictures of bloody shootouts in the streets."
Quite a flip-flop from comments she made just the week before, telling Gannett News that "if we have more use of guns, then we're going to have more people who are injured and die."
Hoover debated OFCC's Chad Baus on WTOL Toledo minutes after learning House Bill 12 had been signed into law last January. To see video of Hoover repeating these warnings for Ohioans about concealed carry, click here (Windows Media).
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