Summit Co. considers ban on guns in employees' personal vehicles

The Akron Beacon Journal reported late last week that Summit County officials are attempting to prohibit the county's 3900 non-law enforcement workers from having a firearm or handgun with them anytime they are working or doing county business, even if they are traveling in a personal vehicle.

The chief of staff for County Executive Russ Pry admits that no incident prompted the legislation, but claims it's necessary "for liability purposes."

The gun ban is receiving opposition from at least one member of the County Council who is herself about to be an Ohio concealed handgun license (CHL) -holder, as well as from the county employees' union.

From the story:

County Councilwoman Gloria Rodgers, who is obtaining a concealed-carry permit, called the legislation unnecessary.

She said she has no problem barring firearms from county buildings, where signs are posted prohibiting weapons. But workers should be permitted to carry a legal firearm outside the office when they could face dangerous situations, she said.

The county should not bar any worker from having a firearm in a personal vehicle, she added.

"People have a right to protect themselves," Rodgers said.

The county has about 3,900 employees. Dodson said he doesn't know how many legally are permitted to carry a firearm.

Tom Morneweck, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1229, said the union has no issue with firearms being prohibited in county buildings and county vehicles, but questioned how the county can dictate that the weapons can't be in personal vehicles.

"For the county to get involved in your own personal vehicle, I think they are overstepping their bounds on that," he said.

The newspaper notes that Councilwoman Rodgers disputes Dodson's contention that the prohibition is necessary for liability reasons. The county has liability insurance and it can't prevent accidents, whether they involve a handgun or not, she said.

Councilman John Schmidt, who said he supports an individual's right to have a gun, said the legislation is a "CYA issue."

"If something happens, we're covered," he told the newspaper.

Au contraire! 'If something happens,' as Schmidt fears, an enterprising attorney could just as easily argue that by denying the employees' right to bear arms for self-defense, the county is incurring extra liability, having assumed the right to protect the employees in the absence of their ability to protect themselves.

The Summit County council has no business banning the Constitutional right to bear arms in employees' personal vehicle, and this proposal should be rejected immediately.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.

Click here to listen to Summit County Councilwoman Gloria Rodgers' Sunday, April 12 appearance on Firearms Forum, with host Jim Irvine, Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman.

UPDATE: A follow-up story from the Associated Press indicates that while the council is still considering a measure to bar employees other than law enforcement officers from carrying a gun while working, an official now says that language on vehicles will be removed. A vote in the county council could come later today.

UPDATE #2: The Beacon Journal is now reporting that the Summit County council has scrapped the legislation.

County Executive Russ Pry pulled the measure from Monday's County Council agenda after it was panned as unnecessary and an erosion of workers' rights to protect themselves.

"The issues raised about whether there is a need or not should be examined further," Pry said, adding the proposal is probably dead.

The county administration had recommended that employees be barred from having a legal firearm or handgun anytime they are working. Law-enforcement workers such as deputies would have been exempt.

The legislation wasn't prompted by any incident, but was needed for liability purposes, the administration said. Since the proposal became public, the majority of the reaction has been negative, county leaders said.