CCW Bill Takes A Lurch to the Left in Ohio Senate Committee

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

The Ohio Senate Civil Justice Committee has taken the first steps in their effort to further erode your Second Amendment rights and freedoms in the State of Ohio.

On Tuesday, this important committee added a number of additional gun control mandates to H.B. 274, a so-called "concealed carry" bill. In reality, H.B. 274 is a "permission to ask the government to carry" bill and represents a unilateral compromise by including a number of unnecessary and unconstitutional provisions.

Many GOA supporters have already contacted key Senators at the Ohio Statehouse regarding this bill.

Your actions kept two of the worst gun control provisions out of the bill -- so far. Unfortunately, other anti-gun mandates were attached. Now we need to work to have those taken out as well before the full Ohio Senate votes on H.B. 274 -- probably within the next few days.

With the new Senate changes, H.B. 274 would force law-abiding Ohioans to get GOVERNMENT PERMISSION to carry a concealed firearm by forcing gun owners to get and carry government-issued licenses and pay at least a $45 fee every four years.

This action will result in the registration of thousands of Ohio gun owners. As we have seen in other states, licensing can lead to confiscation of firearms.

Moreover, H.B. 274 will force law-abiding Ohioans to be fingerprinted -- just like a convicted sex offender -- and surrender other private data like Social Security numbers to Big Government bureaucrats. This information could be used to profile you, or even make you a suspect in crimes in your town!

If we don't continue to keep the heat on the Ohio Senate to take this gun control out of H.B. 274, they may be emboldened to attach even more gun control mandates to H.B. 274. Some of the things politicians in Columbus want include:

* A mandate that would require you to undergo psychological testing before you can carry a gun.

* A mandate that would require you to undergo 50 hours or more of training (and then be tested) every year before you can carry a gun.

* A mandate that you comply with Bob Taft's "Lock Up Your Safety" Trigger-Lock legislation. This legislation, which was debated by the Ohio House in 2000 (and killed by gun owners like you that same year), would force you to lock up your guns in your own home -- rendering you defenseless to intruders.

If you violate any of the included (or proposed) anti-gun mandates in H.B. 274 that I have mentioned, you would be prosecuted and could be imprisoned AS A FELON!

GOA needs your continued help NOW to ensure that all current gun control in H.B. 274 is removed, and to stop all efforts to add the additional gun control mandates I mentioned earlier.

To get genuine concealed carry passed in Ohio, every law-abiding Ohioan needs to join with GOA and put pressure on the Ohio Senate to remove all gun control provisions from H.B. 274 and refrain from adding any more anti-gun mandates.

Again, thank you for your previous help in putting heat on the Ohio Senate. But now, we must do it again and even harder. Without your continued help, we will fail. The Ohio Senate must be pressured to:

1. Amend H.B. 274 by stripping out ALL gun control provisions, thus making it a Vermont-style bill.

2. Refrain from adding any new gun control to H.B. 274 -- including psychological testing, mandatory annual training and lock up your safety mandates.

The only way we can put the needed added pressure on the Ohio Senate is with your continued and immediate involvement. Here's what I hope you will do:

Write, call, e-mail and fax each member of the Ohio Senate Civil Justice Committee. Be sure to enclose/attach your full name and address on all communications.

Remember, time is very short so calling, e-mailing and faxing are the fastest way to get your message to each member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee.

* Tell each member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee (especially Committee Chairman Jeff Jacobson) to OPPOSE H.B. 274 as long as unconstitutional gun control is part of the bill.

* Then tell each member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee to OPPOSE all attempts to add additional gun control to H.B. 274.

* Lastly, tell each member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee that you want them to actually KILL H.B. 274 unless they strip all gun control from it and substitute H.B. 225 (Vermont-Style Right to Carry) instead.

If each member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee can be convinced to support the GOA position on CCW, it will be easier to pass Constitutional Right to Carry.

Please take the requested action as soon as possible. Your immediate action will help strip all gun control from H.B. 274 and lead to a "cleaner" concealed carry bill.

I want you, as a member of the Senate Civil Justice Committee, to OPPOSE the numerous government restrictions found in H.B. 274. I ask that ALL GUN CONTROL be removed from the bill before it advances.

In addition, I want you to refrain from adding any additional gun control (psychological testing, mandatory annual training, lock up your safety mandates, etc.) to any concealed carry legislation.

I SUPPORT H.B. 225, introduced by Rep. Tom Brinkman (R-37). Instead of passing current and proposed gun control in H.B. 274, I want you to amend H.B. 225 (Vermont-style Right to Carry) into H.B. 274.

H.B. 225 is the only constitutional Right to Carry bill in Ohio. H.B. 225 is modeled after Vermont's successful carry law, which simply states that law-abiding citizens may carry a firearm for any reason except the commission of a crime.

In Vermont, there are no restrictions on carrying concealed: no state permission slip, no fee for the permit, no fingerprints and no government-imposed waiting period. With such a law, Vermont is consistently rated one of the safest states in the country.

H.B. 225 does not require anti-gun restrictions. H.B. 274 does and that is why it must be amended.

Gun Owners of America will report to me what happens and what you do. I will also remember how you vote on removing and/or adding gun control to H.B. 274.

03 Goodman 614-466-8064 614-644-5466
SD03@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
06 Jacobson 614-466-4538 614-466-7662
SD06@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
08 Blessing 614-466-8068 614-466-7662
SD08@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
10 Austria 614-466-3780 614-644-5466
SD10@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
15 Espy 614-466-5131 614-466-1047
SD15@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
22 Amstutz 614-466-7505 614-387-0787
SD22@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
25 Fingerhutt 614-466-4583 614-466-4120
SD25@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
28 Herington 614-466-7041 614-644-1981
SD28@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
31 Hottinger 614-466-5838 614-644-5735
SD31@mailr.sen.state.oh.us

Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will bounce back as undeliverable.

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Subject: [ccw-alert] HB274 Legislation Update For Wednesday
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2002 18:19:00 -0500
From: ccw-alert-admin@lists.ofcc.net
Reply-To: Reply-To: info@ofcc.net
To: ccw-alert@lists.ofcc.net

The Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee (Civil Justice)
continued to hold a hearing for testimony well into the night. Here are
some of the developments:

The legislation is simply not done being modified.

Currently, quite a few controversial amendments have been put into the
bill. This has resulted in Governor Bob Taft suggesting on Ohio Public
Radio that the word "veto" is no longer being thrown around. Instead, he
will have to "decided whether or not to sign it", which means he could just
let it become law without his signature.

Unfortunately, this comes after the legislation has been gutted and quite a
few massive changes to the legislation have taken place. Many changes
that show why the Ohio FOP waited so long to sneak them into the legislation.

OFCC is not currently posting a detailed analysis on our website due to the
fact that the bill remains in a state of flux and there have simply been
too many subtle changes to the bill. Eventually, the Legislative Services
Commission will release a document showing the differences between HB274
and the Substitute HB274.

The Ohio House is scheduled to recess on Friday, but we've been informed by
sources in the Senate that Speaker Householder has indicated that the House
may consider extending their session until NEXT TUESDAY, giving them the
opportunity to vote on this legislation. However, it is clearly obvious
that the Ohio House and many members are simply not happy with various
aspects of this substitute legislation, as they should be.

It is imperative that you continue to contact your Senators and the
committee hearing this legislation at the numbers being made available on
the front page of our website: http://www.OhioCCW.org

It is also important that you keep the pressure on Governor Bob Taft, and
make sure his office hears from you on a regular basis. Unless they know
that you want concealed carry reform passed right the first time, they're
simply going to continue to cater to the law enforcement contingent, who is
currently trying to make it illegal to carry concealed "if your car is
moving". Ironically, the NRA is actually opposed to this concession and
may help us fight it! :)

These Senators need to hear from as many people as possible that the
changes made to the Substitute bill have gone too far. When calling, tell
the Senators that you want them to pass HB274 as it left the Ohio House,
and therefor we can avoid forcing the Ohio House to return and the
legislation to be passed with extremely poor language.

Due to the fact that is impractical for OFCC to mass-mail the alert list,
we suggest that everyone following this issue on a regular basis visit our
website at http://www.OhioCCW.org to read the various news stories that we
update all day. If you'd like a copy of HB274 (in PDF format) as it
recently stands in the committee, we have two versions on our website
available.

We would like to thank the literally thousands of people who have visited
and used our website in the last 72 hours to be an active participant in
this process. We have received so much email that it has become almost
impossible to reply to those of you who have written us with details
questions. Please understand if the legislation happens to pass both
houses, OFCC will have extensive information on our website as quickly as
possible.

Remember: Keep checking the website for news and stories as this issue is
going before the committee yet again on Thursday morning.

http://www.OhioCCW.org

_______________________________________________
ccw-alert mailing list
ccw-alert@lists.ofcc.net
http://www.OhioCCW.org/mailman/listinfo/ccw-alert

Subject: [ccw-alert] Legislative Update & CALLS To Action
Date: Fri, 06 Dec 2002 01:58:06 -0500
From: ccw-alert-admin@lists.ofcc.net
Reply-To:Reply-To: info@ofcc.net
To: ccw-alert@lists.ofcc.net

PRESS RELEASE:

Ohioans For Concealed Carry issued a press release early Thursday morning indicating the organization's decision to strongly oppose the substitutelegislation that was adopted by the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee this week.

You can read that press release on our website here:

http://www.OhioCCW.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=873

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE:

The Senate Judiciary Committee (Civil Justice), chaired by Senator Jeff Jacobson, has announced that it will have a sixth hearing, and a possible vote, on an as-yet-to-be- seen, Amended Sub. HB274. (as in, amended again since this week)

The hearing will occur on Tuesday, December 10, 2002 at 9:30 a.m. in the Senate Finance Hearing Room. There will be no testimony heard from the public at this hearing.

Two questions loom large in advance of this hearing:

1) Does it matter? House Speaker Larry Householder says the Senate Committee has had six months, and that they're out of time. He plans on adjourning the House tomorrow. (This is the last we've heard)

2) Will the Amended Sub. HB274 bill be better, or even worse than Sub. HB274? Multiple reports say the Senate is still working to meet a lengthy new list of new demands from Gov. Bob Taft. Those involve locking guns in moving vehicles, safe-storage education and offers of trigger locks whenever Ohioans buy a gun or apply for a permit.

Unless Finan/Jacobson/Taft tide reverses flow, it appears the only hope for HB274 Tuesday is an "as-passed-by-the-House" amendment on the Senate floor, something Ohioans For Concealed Carry has been calling on the Senate to do for weeks.

We are being advised that our grassroots network is creating a significant impact -- The phone calls are working, and one could say that many Senators are realizing where we stand on this issue, with the majority of them
agreeing with us.

THIS IS THE LAST CHANCE:

If the Ohio Senate passes anything other than "HB274 as it left the Ohio House" and the Ohio House refuses to return next week, the legislation would die and the Senate would try to "blame" the House for not returning. This isn't time for blame games or childish politics -- It's time for Ohio's Senators to finish the job, and passing HB274 as it left the Ohio House would eliminate the need for the House to return.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

At this point, it is reasonable to suggest that calling the Senators of the entire committee is a great thing. But more importantly, the chances of the committee enacting the original bill are slim. The only chances we can envision this working in our best interests is if the Ohio Senate amends HB274 on the floor in an effort to bring it back to what the Ohio House passed.

Therefor, please do what ever is necessary to contact -your-actual Senator by telephone and/or facsimile (or both) and make it perfectly clear that:

a) You want the Ohio Senate to pass HB274 as the Ohio House passed it over eight months ago
b) You want your Senator to support EVERY effort to amend the legislation back to the House version on the floor.
c) You want the Senate, as a whole, to hand this legislation directly to the Governor, not back to the House
d) You feel that any changes that need to be made to this legislation to appease the FOP should be discussed NEXT YEAR in an open debate instead of a seven day back-room deal after eight months of inactivity.

Remember, the Ohio Senate is directly responsible for everything that is happening with HB274 today. Due to the fact that they have decided to sit on this legislation for over eight months, they've run out of time. Due to the fact that they have decided to destroy the legislation in an effort to bring the FOP "on board", they have not only upset everyone involved in the process initially, they've invited the Governor to demand even more gun control be added into the legislation.

To identify your Senators, click here as always:

http://www.OhioCCW.org/alet.php - Don't just send the email, make the phone call, and get others to do the same, AGAIN!

Then, call the Governor's office at (614) 466-3555 and tell him you want him to pass HB274 "as it left the Ohio House" eight months ago.

WHAT IF THEY DON'T PASS IT?

If the Ohio General Assembly does not pass HB274 either because the Ohio Senate fails to act or if the Ohio House refuses to return to deal with a modified HB274, or if the Ohio House votes not to accept a Senate version, then House Bill 274 will die as we know it -- the legislation will simply no longer exist as a bill.

Technically, the House and Senate have until December 31st to complete this process under the Ohio Constitution. However, both houses have scheduled to adjourn Friday December 6th and we should not be surprised if the Ohio
House refuses to return -- They did their job over eight months ago, they shouldn't have to return.

If this legislation does not become law we still have a bright future before us. While we will obviously miss a great opportunity to pass the House's version of HB274 into law, Ohioans For Concealed Carry is already poised to utilize existing relationships with members of both the House and Senate -- in an effort to work on concealed carry reform as quickly as possible.

More importantly, if the Ohio Legislature simply refuses to pass concealed carry reform, the Ohio Supreme Court would have no opportunity to weaken a favorable ruling by suggesting that "the legislature has acted to remedy" the complaints of the plaintiffs, putting us in a position to put serious pressure on the Ohio Legislature should the court simply declare the law unconstitutional and simultaneously prevent future enforcement of it. (Virtually creating a Vermont state of mind).

Finally, if the Senate does pass HB274 as it left the Ohio House, Governor Bob Taft could very likely veto the legislation instead of letting it become law. If that was to happen, both chambers of the Ohio Legislature would need to return and override his veto. Although it is not impossible, it is unlikely that Senator Finan, who is retiring as President of the Ohio Senate, would return and make his final move the override of the Governor's veto.

Other states with gun-carry laws see few problems

Friday, December 6, 2002

Jeb Phillips
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Michigan's concealed-weapons law took effect about 16 months ago. Enough time has passed that some long-time opponents are willing to call it a success.

Kind of.

"There hasn't been a massacre'' is how Thomas Hendrickson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police, puts it.

This may seem familiar: A law-enforcement agency, at first unhappy with a concealed-weapons bill being pushed through the legislature at the end of a session, now gives it grudging support.

In Ohio, a stricter gun measure -- still going through the grinder as the General Assembly's session winds down -- has won at least the neutrality of the Fraternal Order of Police, which formerly opposed it.

Law-enforcement officials in Michigan -- as well as in Pennsylvania and Indiana, where concealed-weapons laws are much older -- said the system has mostly worked.

"We do run into cases where we have to take a permit away from someone, so we take it away,'' said Deputy John Chaumpi of the Sheriff's Department in Luzerne County, Pa.

"But my feeling is that most of the people who apply for permits are responsible.''

During the first year of Michigan's new law, 53,000 people were issued a permit to carry a concealed weapon (about 27,000 have permits under an old law). Only 55 were revoked for violations such as drunken driving or, in six cases, for brandishing their weapons.

The low numbers surprised most of the opponents, said Dave Turner, a spokesman for the Michigan State Police, which issues permits to carry concealed weapons in that state.

"They thought it would be a lot more,'' Turner said.

But revocations may increase in Michigan, if Indiana and Pennsylvania are examples.

Indiana, which has had some form of a concealed-weapons law since 1935, has issued about 320,000 permits to date, said Bruce Bryant of the Indiana State Police Firearms Division. In 2001, the state revoked 616 permits and suspended 383. Many were revoked after the permit-holder was convicted of domestic abuse or served with a protection order, he said.

Overall, Michigan revoked about 0.07 percent of its permits, while Indiana revoked about 0.20 percent.

Pennsylvania also revoked hundreds last year, but they were a small percentage of all permits.

Ohio would become the 44th state with some provision for people to carry concealed guns. None of those states has reported an increase in crime that can be traced to the gun permits.

"At the same time, I don't know of people stifling crime because they are carrying weapons,'' Hendrickson said.

The numbers haven't quieted all fears of Michigan police, Hendrickson said. They have the same worry that has kept the Ohio State Highway Patrol from supporting the bill here: the prospect of confronting a driver who has a loaded gun on the front seat during a traffic stop.

Just because there hasn't been a massacre yet doesn't mean there won't be one, Hendrickson said.

Michigan put into place many of the same safeguards that Ohio legislators are proposing -- thorough background checks, required training courses and limits on where permit-holders can carry their weapons.

Ohio senators are proposing a database to allow officers to immediately check a stopped motorist for a permit, a feature the Michigan law doesn't have.

And although Michigan sheriffs issue permits, anyone who meets state standards can have one. Hendrickson said sheriffs should have the discretion to deny a permit to someone who appears unstable in person, even if his record checks out.

In Pennsylvania, a sheriff has that discretion, but not some other safeguards, such as requiring a training course such as the one in the Ohio proposal, Chaumpi said.

Gun bill still just harmful, narrow politics

A Dayton Daily News Editorial

Dayton-area State Sen. Jeff Jacobson seized an opening Gov. Bob Taft created when the governor said he would not sign a conceal-and-carry gun bill as long as police organizations object. Sen. Jacobson, who has emerged as one of the movers and shakers in the legislature, took it upon himself — in keeping with a committee chairmanship he has — to work out a bill that the police organizations can accept.

Sen. Jacobson's place in the thick of things can be seen as a point of local pride. Every legislature needs people like him — people who, as the saying goes, make things happen.

Moreover, no question about it, his version of the legislation is an improvement over the proposal that passed the House of Representatives. The police organizations want various restrictions — that is, tough rules about who can get permission to carry concealed weapons, and how much training they must have. If a bill is passed, it definitely should have demanding restrictions.

The Senate-added restrictions apparently were enough to tick off some of the bill's original supporters in the House. Those gun supporters have decided not to act until next year.

So Sen. Jacobson's work has apparently done some good.

But there is no need for any bill. The people of Ohio are not demanding the right to carry concealed weapons. Indeed, they express overwhelming disapproval of the whole idea, at least in the abstract. The polls come out better for the advocates of conceal-and-carry if the questions are phrased in a certain way, if some restrictions are specified. But, still, by no means are the people of Ohio the driving force on this issue.

The driving force is the National Rifle Association and its various allies. They are the ones who have made the issue an obsession of the legislature.

That fact represents a malfunctioning of Ohio's political system. The legislature's obsessions ought to arise out of something other than interest-group politics, out of something other than the political strategy of the few, the monied, the zealous.

Conceal-and-carry has been enacted in many states in various forms. It has not resulted in the nightmares opponents predicted. There have been few shootouts in supermarket checkout lines or on the highways.

And, as a matter of fact, crime generally came down during the years these bills were being enacted. But suggesting there was a cause and effect would be dubious. Crime rates change according to all sorts of variables, ranging from the state of the economy to how many people there are in certain age groups to how hot the summer gets.

Now crime is on the way back up. That is not because of conceal-and-carry, but it shows that gun advocates, who argue that carrying weapons deters criminals, have no magic answer.

What's at hand is a gimmick, a false implied promise of increased safety. Also at hand is a political payoff and an increase in the number of guns in a society that already has way too many.

Gov. Taft ought to just say no. If he's going to be committed to constructive, mainstream government, committed to focusing on real problems, he should tell the legislature that if it wants him to go along with its work, it must find work to do that addresses real problems realistically.

[From the Dayton Daily News: 12.07.2002]

Subject: [ccw-alert] AP Says: House Will Not Return Next Week; HB274 "appears" Dead?
Date:Fri, 06 Dec 2002 17:20:58 -0500
From: ccw-alert-admin@lists.ofcc.net
Reply-To: Reply-To: info@ofcc.net
To: ccw-alert@lists.ofcc.net

According to the Associated Press the Ohio House will not return next week.

Check out our website, we're posting news stories about this in the coming minutes: http://www.OhioCCW.org

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A bill to allow Ohioans to carry hidden guns is dead unless the Senate removes certain restrictions, including a requirement for fingerprinting, House Speaker Larry Householder said Friday.

"We had model legislation in Ohio that other states were going to use -- a fantastic bill," said Householder, a Republican from Glenford. "It goes over to the Senate and what we're about to get back is the most cumbersome, restrictive conceal-carry bill in the country. So we think we've got a problem."

-----

As we said in last night's alert, the only way HB274 can survive this kind of result is if the Ohio Senate amends their legislation back to the Ohio House version and passes it as it left the Ohio House over eight months ago.

You can make a final call for concealed carry today, this weekend, and through Tuesday when the Ohio Senate is expected to come back and hold a hearing on HB274. (assuming they don't decide to just give up at this point)

Please, visit our website at http://www.OhioCCW.org and make one last final attempt to salvage the hard work the Ohio House put into HB274. Calling your own Senator is highly encouraged, and tell them that you want to see HB274 passed as it left the Ohio House, and sent directly to the Governor of Ohio.

Telephone numbers are on the main page of our website -- You can't make too many people call.

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