Sheriffs break up illegal Toledo-area CCW course certificate scheme

By Chad D. Baus

Toledo Fox affiliate WUPW reported recently that the Lucas County and Wood County Sheriff's Offices worked with an informant to arrest two men who they say were helping people get Ohio concealed handgun licenses (CHLs) illegally.

From the article:

In order to receive a CCW, you're required to complete 12 hours of hand gun instruction and training. Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn told FOX Toledo Jason Hernandez of Perrysburg, and Michael Davenport of Northwood were selling completion certificates to people who never did any training.

Hernandez and Davenport allegedly sold over 130 National Rifle Association certificates to people in Wood and Lucas counties. Approximately 110 false certificates were filed in Lucas County and 22 in Wood.

Detectives believe some of the certificates were sold for as much as $300 a piece.

According to the story, Hernandez and Davenport are facing felony charges for this criminal activity that detectives say has been going on since 2004. What's more, those who purchased the certificates are not in the clear.

Detective Sergeant Scott Cook with the Wood County Sheriff's Office says all those individuals are also facing a felony charge. Many have already been contacted but there are others who still need to turn themselves in.

"If you have been involved in this and I have not contacted you we are not going to come to your house to arrest you," said Det. Sgt. Cook. "We ask that you come and turn yourself in or contact your local law enforcement agency. Any cooperation will go a long way."

Sgt. Cook added his department is working with law enforcement agencies in other counties in Ohio and Michigan to possibly crack similar operations.

While any example of dishonesty or criminal activity among the firearms instructor/CHL community is frustrating and damaging, and while I hope that these miscreants, if found guilty, are punished to the full extent of the law, I would like to inject a little perspective into this story.

The end result of this alleged criminal activity is that 130 people may have obtained Ohio concealed handgun licenses without undergoing the state-mandated training. In other words, these 130 people, albeit illegally, joined the ranks of every CCW license-holder in our neighboring states of Pennsylvania and Indiana in obtaining a license without completing any mandatory training.

That's right - Pennsylvania and Indiana do not require ANY training for people to obtain a license to carry. And just as has been the experience in those states, these 130 Ohioans have apparently created no other problems as a result of their having received no formal training.

None of these 130 illegally-obtained CHLs are alleged to have unintentionally injured anyone as a result of their lack of training. None are alleged to have employed the use of deadly force at an inappropriate time as a result of their lack of training.

So again, while I certainly do not condone the alleged actions of these two "instructors," nor of the persons who purchased these certificates, it would seem to me that this serves as further proof that mandatory training is not a prerequisite to proper behavior while carrying a concealed weapon.

It always comes as a surprise to my CHL students when I tell them that I would fully support a move to remove training requirements from Ohio law. Even CHL students are often under the impression that having no training requirements would create problems, at least until they are informed of the law in our neighboring states.

Also, they expect that I would be opposed because such a change would put instructors like me out of business. I don't believe that it would, because there are lots of people who enjoy obtaining additional training, even without the state forcing them to.

But even if it did put me out of business, I would still support such a change in Ohio law. The fact is that Ohioans should not have to face missing work to get time off for, and face missing few meals to pay for, obtaining the state-mandated training necessary to get a license to bear a concealed firearm for their defense and security.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vite Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor who teaches concealed carry classes at Northwest Self Defense LLC.