Op-Ed: Cities should have right to ban guns from parks
August 19, 2004
Port Clinton News Herald
Clyde has been temporarily barred from prohibiting concealed weapons in city parks.
And there is the very real possibility that the injunction could be come permanent.
But something's seriously wrong here, and it appears to be up to the state legislature to correct the situation.
Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.
In response to a motion by the Second Amendment advocacy group Ohioans for Concealed Carry Inc., Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Harry Sargeant last week granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting Clyde from enforcing its ban on legally concealed weapons in city parks.
The court action has been anticipated because Clyde officials have resisted demands from the advocacy group, which believes the Clyde law is unconstitutional.
The Ohio concealed carry law, which went into effect this year, lists places, including public buildings, where concealed weapons may be banned. The law does not, however, list public parks as being among those places where bans are permitted.
Clyde officials have said they believe they can ban guns from their parks because Clyde is a charter government city.
However, in urging Clyde to rescind the ordinance, Ohioans for Concealed Carry pointed out that the state law says, "No municipal corporation may adopt or continue in existence and ordinance ... that attempts to restrict the places where a person possessing a valid license to carry a concealed handgun may carry a handgun concealed."
That's too bad.
Let's get this straight:
The list can go on and on.
We think Reps. Jeff Wagner and Chris Redfern and State Sens. Larry Mumper and Randy Gardner should step up to the plate for Clyde and other Ohio cities that want to keep their parks gun-free.
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Commentary:
On June 4, 2004, Gannett-owned newspaper Fremont News Messenger editorialized praising that "Clyde, as a charter government can exercise its home rule power. The city can pass laws that are more restrictive than the general laws of the state but cannot ease restrictions set forth by state law."
Fast forward ten weeks, and another Gannett-owned newspaper is complaining because the city CAN'T pass more restrictive laws...
When constituents call Wagner, Redfern, Mumper and Gardner, they will likely be told this very important fact: Section 9 of House Bill 12 was not inserted by accident.
It existed in every version of House Bill 12, and despite the fact that gun-ban extremist Toby Hoover railed against it in a 2003 letter to a Cincinnati newspaper, the General Assembly kept it in the final version, which Governor Taft signed.
Even aside from Section 9, and as OFCC General Counsel pointed out to the City of Clyde in a warning letter several weeks ago, the Ohio Constitution itself prohibits Clyde's actions:
- "While the preamble to [Clyde's] Ordinance recites Article 18 Sections 7 & 8 of the Ohio Constitution, Section 3 of that same Article is completely ignored. Article 3 is what controls [Clyde's] actions, and not Article 7 & 8. This is a conflicts of law question and not a home rule issue, and [Clyde's] reliance on such is misplaced", advised OFCC's Ken Hanson.
There is NO proof of any kind from across the nation that CHL-holders cause problems in city parks. OFCC believes it is incumbent upon anti-gun mayors and legislators to find evidence that there is reason to reform the law. It is incumbent upon those who would support such a bill to offer proof that concealed handgun license-holders are causing problems in other states' city parks. It is their turn to prove there is a problem which needs fixing, and neither the Fremont News Messenger, the Port Clinton News Herald, or the City of Clyde even tried.
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