Posted on 04/10/2002 6:04:43 PM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK
Judges uphold right to carry hidden guns
Ohio's century-old ban against carrying concealed weapons violates the state and U.S. constitutions, a three-judge panel of the Cincinnati-based Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals ruled today. Their ruling means law-abiding Hamilton Countians can legally carry concealed weapons - at least until today's decision is appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court. ''There is no doubt that the . . . Consti tution grants citizens the right to bear arms,'' Appeals Court Judge Mark Painter said today in upholding a ruling earlier this year by a Hamilton County judge. ''They put the citizens' rights right up there and we believe they meant what they said.'' ''The court can only deal with what we have before us which is an unconstitutional law.'' Today's ruling may not take effect for some time because of appeals. ''We will be immediately asking for a stay and will file (an appeal) as soon as we possibly can,'' said Joe Case, spokesman for the Ohio Attorney Generals' office, said minutes after today's ruling was announced. They are joined in that appeal by Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati, which believe the current law is legal. That was expected by Chuck Klein, the private investigator who was the lead plaintiff in a suit challenging the legality of the law. ''We've still got probably the (Ohio) Supreme Court to go to but we're prepared for that. It's what we asked for all along,'' he said. Klein and others sued, saying the law was opposed to the constitutional right to bear arms. In January, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman agreed and ruled the law unconstitutional. Today's ruling resulted from an appeal of Ruehlman's decision. Ohio's law requires someone to prove they need to carry a concealed weapon for their personal safety or business reasons. Called an ''affirmative defense,'' the person has to be arrested, jailed and then prove in court the weapon is needed. That's exactly what Pat Feely did. Feely drove a catering canteen truck that provided food at construction sites. He carried a gun because he had large amounts of cash on him. When he was arrested, he declined an offer from prosecutors to pay a $100 fine and hand over his gun. Instead, he challenged the law, went to court and won, providing the ammunition Klein and the others needed to file their suit. ''Think about the courage of Pat Feely,'' Bill Gustavson, Klein's attorney, said today. ''He said, 'No, that's not right.' He had the courage to risk everything.'' Gustavson believes the earlier decision by Ruehlman and today's ruling by the appeals court will withstand further challenges. ''This isn't the decision of one judge,'' he said. ''This is a rational review of a statute that has been in effect for 100 years.'' While today's ruling applies specifically to Hamilton County, Gustavson believes it quickly will spread. ''I expect to see this issue pop up all over the state now,'' he said. ''There is no mystery in this. It's clear the law is unconstitutional.''
By Kimball Perry, Post staff reporter
Ahhhh, my heart...
Wouldn't that be just great?
"Every citizen has a right to bear arms in defense of himself and the state."
Yet, when CT passed it's own version of the 93 assault weapons ban, the CT supreme court held that the ban was constitutional, because the state was not banning all arms, only certain arms. We still have a right to bear bolt action, lever action and certain semi automatic arms in defense of ourselves and the state.
A constitution cannot be written clearly and simple enough to not be vulnerable to perversion by a corrupt, communist legislature and judiciary.
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