Hamilton Co. judge speaks out about Ohio's concealed weapons laws

A Hamilton County judge who has a history of dismissing concealed weapons charges, says he may continue dismissing the cases unless the state legislature comes up with a "reasonable" law allowing people to carry a gun for self-protection.

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

Judge Robert Ruehlman told 9News exclusively Thursday that current concealed weapons proposals have too many restrictions which, he feels, could make them too hard for the public to follow.

Apparently, it's not just the National Rifle Association that worries a new concealed gun law in Ohio may have too many restrictions.

At the Hamilton County courthouse, one of the judges who called Ohio's current gun laws unconstitutional says it also has some major problems, problems that may force him to dismiss more gun cases.

"It's an unfair law and you don't know if you're violating it or not. It's such a vague law. The only way to be proven innocent is to be charged, hire a lawyer and be brought into court," Ruehlman said.

What bothers Judge Ruehlman the most is a provision in the gun bill that says the gun has to be locked away, if someone under 18 is in the car.

"The idea of having a gun is to protect your family, so that seems kinda silly and also you have to show the gun, have it in plain sight," said Judge Ruehlman.

Cincinnati attorney Tim Smith has defended over 100 gun cases. He also has problems with that provision about kids.

"If a kid is not in the car, you can have it in a holster on your person, now a 3-year-old gets in the car and is strapped in the backseat and why do you have to take it out of your holster? Just because you have a kid strapped in your backseat?" Smith said.

Judge Ruehlman says he's told state lawmakers about his reservations about the concealed gun bill.

He hopes the Ohio House makes some changes, so that, as he says, law abiding citizens can be encouraged to buy concealed gun permits.

OFCC PAC Commentary:
Bob Taft's "rolling safe storage scheme" (or perhaps more appropriately described as the Taft Car-Jacker Protection provision) is wrong on so many levels - legally, morally, and even safety.

Why hasn't Ohio Senate President Doug White appointed conferees to remove Taft's poison pill schemes and send the bill to Taft?

Click here to read the entire story from WCPO 9News, Cincinnati.