Posted on 03/21/2002 6:19:46 PM PST by PackerBoy
Court may end ban on concealed weapons
03/21/02
Bill Sloat
Plain Dealer Reporter
Cincinnati
- A state appeals court sent strong signals yesterday that it may soon declare unconstitutional an 80-year-old Ohio law that makes it a crime for law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms.
A ruling from the court, which heard nearly an hour of arguments yesterday in Cincinnati, is expected April 10.
If the Prohibition Era ban is scrapped, the decision would be a major victory for the gun-rights movement and set the stage for a battle in the Ohio Supreme Court.
State lawyers representing Gov. Bob Taft and Attorney General Betty Montgomery say Ohioans do not have a "fundamental right" to carry concealed firearms.
During yesterday's hearing, Judge Rupert P. Doan of the 1st Ohio Court of Appeals said there are times when Ohioans might need to pack concealed handguns for self-defense. The two other judges made similar comments.
Doan questioned how anyone could pull a gun in self-defense during an emergency when state law stops people from carrying one. "The only way you can meet an attack is to say, Time out! I'm going home to get my gun,' " he said.
Bill Gustavson, a lawyer opposing the ban, argued that Ohioans who want to carry a gun for self-defense can be arrested, but those hunting for vermin are protected.
"You can carry a loaded firearm in your car if you're hunting groundhogs," Gustavson said.
"Or coyotes," Doan shot back.
Judge Lee Hildebrandt said the concealed-weapon ban was flawed because it subjects law-abiding people to arrest.
"The problem is, there is no way for a prudent person to go around armed," Hildebrandt said. "What about the fellow who closes his restaurant at 2:30 in the morning and has to put the money in the bank?"
State lawyers argued repeatedly that Ohio's 1851 Constitution doesn't grant citizens any rights to carry concealed weapons. "People can't carry concealed weapons in this state. That's the law," said Assistant Attorney General Darrell M. Pierre Jr. He said the judges should defer to the Ohio General Assembly, which enacted the ban in the 1920s.
"Legislators have the power to enact reasonable gun control laws," Pierre said. "There is no fundamental right to carry a concealed weapon."
Richard Ganulin, a lawyer for the city of Cincinnati, compared the concealed weapons ban to laws limiting access to movies, books and Internet sites containing pornography.
"There is no First Amendment protection for obscenity," Ganulin said. "And there's no Ohio constitutional protection for carrying a concealed weapon."
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Bob Ruehlman issued an injunction Jan. 10 that blocked all law enforcement agencies in the county from enforcing the concealed weapons ban. The appeals court stayed Ruehlman's injunction and agreed to review the case.
If it reinstates the injunction, Hamilton County - with about 10 percent of the state's population - will be the only portion of Ohio where citizens can carry firearms without fearing arrest.
Bob Taft ran for governor promising CCW (what a joke he has turned out to be!).
....Unless you happen to be the governor or his bodyguards...first among "equals".
Technically the anti's are correct. Constitutions do not grant rights; they protect rights that we have simply because we exist as a (more or less) free people. The right to defend one's life is one of these rights; even the UN admits it.
I've lived in a couple of states where concealed weapons are legal and the concern with increased crime is UNFOUNDED! The more I hear of Taft, the less I like the guy and the more he sounds like a RINO. thanks
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