Republican lawmakers in Ohio’s House passed a bill allowing concealed carry permit holders carrying their firearms into gun-free zones to leave the premises without facing charges, in the event someone notices they are carrying and asks them to leave.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. John Becker (R-Union Township).
According to Cleveland.com, Becker’s bill does not allow for serial violations of gun-free zones. For instance, if a concealed permit holder is asked to leave an establishment while carrying his gun yet returns to that same establishment armed within 30 days, he “faces 30 days behind bars and a $250 fine.”
The goal is to give concealed permit holders enough leeway that a simple mistake–i.e., accidentally carrying one’s gun into a gun-free zone–does not result in draconian punishments.
The Wall Street Journal reported the bill from a different angle, saying:
Another bill, pending in Ohio, would allow any gun owners with concealed-carry permits to come armed into courthouses and other gun-free zones without facing criminal charges. Under the measure, which was approved by Ohio’s House of Representatives last week, gun owners caught carrying weapons inside court buildings would be subject only to removal from the premises. While many county courthouses have metal detectors at entrances, security can be less tight in courthouses in rural areas.
People who do not carry a gun daily do not realize that for the millions of Americans who do, putting a handgun on one’s hip is part of the same routine as picking up a cell phone or slipping a wallet into one’s back pocket. Because of this, carrying a gun is comfortable, which makes it entering a gun-free zone while armed a simple and understandable oversight.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com
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