Dispatch: Backers in House set to resurrect divisive concealed carry gun issue

The Columbus Dispatch has published a lengthy and informative article about the expected progress of Ohio House Bill 12 in Sunday's edition. You need an account to access the Dispatch Website, but we've archived the story in the "Read More" section of this story block.

At the end of the article, Representative Ed. Jerse has finally said something we can agree with:

Rep. Edward S. Jerse, D-Euclid, an outspoken opponent of conceal-carry, said if the sponsors tighten the bill too much to get the support of the Highway Patrol and the governor, they could lose the votes of gun-rights groups.

"How strong the governor stands may determine whether the bill passes,'' he said.

Backers in House set to resurrect divisive concealed carry gun issue

The first hearing on the new Offering, House Bill 12, is set for Tuesday in the Criminal Justice Committee.

Sunday, February 16, 2003
Lee Leonard
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The smoke has yet to clear in the legislature from the budget battle, but the shooting already is starting -- figuratively speaking, of course -- on another controversial issue: whether Ohioans should get the right to carry concealed handguns.

Gun-rights advocates came within a whisker of sending a conceal-carry bill to Gov. Bob Taft late last year, but ran out of time. House Speaker Larry Householder refused to bring his troops back to deal with a Senate-passed bill.

Legislation that dies at the end of a two-year session must start afresh in the new session. Householder, a Perry County Republican, has predicted that a conceal-carry bill would clear the House in March, but how fast it will go in the Senate is questionable. The first hearing on the new Offering, House Bill 12, is set for Tuesday in the House Criminal Justice Committee.

The prognosis is further clouded by legal issues. Both the Hamilton County and Seneca County common pleas courts have declared unconstitutional the Ohio law that prohibits carrying concealed weapons. The Ohio Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 15 on the appeal from the Hamilton County decision.

Rep. Jim Aslanides, R-Coshocton, chief sponsor of the legislation, says it will be imperative to enact conceal-carry regulations if the high court rejects the appeal. Otherwise, concealed handguns would be unregulated.

The equation that stymied gun owners last year has not changed. Taft has said he will veto any bill that does not have the support of a majority of the state's large law-enforcement groups. His spokesman, Orest Holubec, said Friday that the bill must require a significant amount of training, include criminal background checks and be supported by "rank-and-file law enforcement.''

The Buckeye State Sheriffs Association supports conceal-carry, but the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police opposes it. The Fraternal Order of Police opposed the bill last year, but withdrew its opposition after the Senate added a number of restrictions.

The key seems to be the Ohio Highway Patrol, which continued to oppose the bill in December even after senators ensured that any loaded handgun in a motor vehicle be zipped, latched or locked in a container or a glove compartment.

"We do not want a loaded firearm readily accessible to the driver of a car,'' said patrol Capt. John Born.

Gun-rights advocates say a firearm is useless in a pinch if it's locked up.

Born's response: "If there's a dangerous situation and you're in your car, you can drive off.''

Aslanides is back with basically the same bill that cleared the House overwhelmingly, along with some amendments that move it toward the Senate version.

"We think we can pass this bill quickly,'' Aslanides said. "Then it will be up to the Senate.''

The bill would require county sheriffs to issue conceal-carry permits to qualified individuals 21 or older who complete a certified course in firearms handling and safety. Fugitives from justice would not be eligible, nor would convicted felons or anyone subject to a domestic-violence protective order or anyone with a history of mental illness.

Concealed weapons could not be carried in airport terminals, school safety zones, places of worship, courthouses, secured areas of prisons or jails, or bars. Aslanides has expanded the ban to open-air arenas if alcohol is served.

Responding to the FOP, Aslanides requires 12 hours of training, including time on a shooting range, and both written and gun-handling tests to qualify for a permit.

"We want to work with the Fraternal Order of Police,'' he said.

Michael Taylor, secretary of the Ohio FOP, said his 24,000-member organization opposes House Bill 12, which lacks some of the restrictions in the Senate bill last year.

"Unless they address the concerns that we have, we won't support any type of conceal-carry legislation,'' he said.

Taylor said local police officers have different concerns than Highway Patrol troopers.

"Their job is traffic stops,'' he said. "The majority of our work is responding to robberies and investigating crimes. Traffic is not a primary function.''

John Hohenwarter, a regional lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, was in Columbus last week to press for quick passage of House Bill 12.

"I think you'll see very little time wasted on it,'' he said. "I think this bill will have the elements the governor needs to sign it.''

Doug Joseph of the Ohio Gun Rights Coalition said his group plans to push harder in the Senate for a less-restrictive bill. Gun owners were divided last year over whether to support Aslanides' bill or a more liberal Vermont-style bill with no training requirements and few restrictions.

Jeff Garvas of Ohioans for Concealed Carry said the proposed training requirements would be the second-most excessive in the country.

"Pennsylvania has literally no training requirement, and there's no problem,'' he said.

Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, said a recent study conducted by professors at Stanford and Yale universities shows that "carrying concealed weapons in public does not reduce crime, and in fact threatens public safety.''

The Toledo resident said the House "is intent on passing something that the Senate doesn't want, the governor doesn't want and the public doesn't want. We're going to continue to oppose it.''

Rep. Edward S. Jerse, D-Euclid, an outspoken opponent of conceal-carry, said if the sponsors tighten the bill too much to get the support of the Highway Patrol and the governor, they could lose the votes of gun-rights groups.

"How strong the governor stands may determine whether the bill passes,'' he said.