Posted on 09/04/2002 10:09:46 AM PDT by Deadeye Division
Anti-gun forces tell senators not to duck concealed-weapons issue
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
Lee Leonard
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Bright-yellow rubber ducks, sometimes used as targets in shooting galleries, became gifts for state senators yesterday as anti-gun forces rallied at the Statehouse against post-election passage of a concealed-weapons law.
About two dozen members of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence distributed a toy duck and a single pink rose to each senator's office after briefing the media in the Atrium.
"It sometimes feels like they're not listening to us down here,'' said Toby Hoover of Toledo, executive director of the coalition, which also included members of Ohio's Million Moms organization, another group opposed to concealed weapons. "We're trying to get their attention.''
Hoover and several other speakers predicted that the Ohio Senate, prodded by the National Rifle Association, will wait until after the election and then approve House-passed legislation authorizing Ohioans to carry concealed handguns with a minimum of qualification, training and oversight.
"The strategy of the gun lobby across the country has been to pass these laws during lame-duck sessions,'' said Sen. Eric D. Fingerhut, D-Cleveland, one of the legislature's most outspoken gun foes.
John Hohenwarter, who lobbies Midwestern legislatures for the National Rifle Association, of Fairfax, Va., denied Fingerhut's allegation.
"The NRA doesn't operate and do business by lame-duck sessions. We've been pushing this bill for years now.''
Hohenwarter pointed out that the NRA got the Ohio legislature to pass a controversial bill giving civil immunity to gun manufacturers in June, long before the elections.
The term lame duck refers to an elected official who cannot or will not stand for election again, and thus is not accountable to the voters. In this case, a voting session of the legislature after lawmakers have stood for election Nov. 5 is called a lame-duck session.
Joining the coalition in the Atrium was an individual in a duck costume carrying a sign that read: "Don't be a lame duck, Ohioans don't want hidden guns.''
House Bill 274, requiring county sheriffs to issue "conceal/carry'' permits to anyone 21 or older who has no record of mental hospitalization or felony conviction, has cleared the House and is in the Senate Committee on Civil Justice.
Gun owners receiving the permits would have to undergo minimal training or produce evidence they are military veterans or have hunted for at least three years.
Ohio Senate President Richard H. Finan, R-Cincinnati, has said the committee won't advance the bill until the Ohio Supreme Court rules on the state's appeal of a Hamilton County court decision that found Ohio's ban on concealed weapons unconstitutional.
The high court stayed that April appellate-court ruling; until then, concealed weapons were legal in Hamilton County for three weeks.
Another roadblock to the bill has been Gov. Bob Taft, who said he would veto any gun bill unacceptable to the law-enforcement community.
The State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police oppose the bill.
The Fraternal Order of Police supports the concept of conceal/carry but opposes House Bill 274, while the Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association supports the bill.
Fingerhut challenged the governor to veto the bill under all circumstances, saying his pronouncements on the matter have been "so Clintonesque, it's unbelievable.''
Joe Andrews, a spokesman for Taft, said the governor will oppose any bill that does not have "the support of a majority of law-enforcement organizations.''
Lee Leonard
Are you worried someone will take away your lawnmower?
LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!1
Pink is the universal color of Pinkos.
If you knew about RKBA (Right to Keep and Bear Arms), you would know that MWLWN LABE means Molon Labe, which is ...
You have a search engine, use it.
I hope that these two are not the ones who have taken it upon themselves to decide public school funding levels since they don't like what the legislature passed. Just about every elected official in Ohio who is part of the Republican party almost always turn out to be mini-van driving, soccer mom RINO's. I should know...I was gullible enough to vote for a few of them.
Bwahahahahaha!!!...too many jokes in that one!
FMCDH
As opposed to every anti-self defense coward who was a yellow chicken.
Can someone explain to me why it's legal to BRIBE a lawmaker to veto legislation? Can someone in Ohio have these lawbreakers arrested?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.