Poli Alert Political & Civics
Related Articles
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law last week doing away with the permitting restrictions to carrying concealed firearms in the state.
Senate Bill 215, which will go into effect in about three months, states people 21 or older can carry a concealed gun without a permit if they are legally allowed to own the gun. Restrictions on carrying guns in certain places like courthouses remain in place.
The new law also eliminates the requirement that people inform a police officer if they are carrying a weapon. An officer can still ask, and lying to the officer about carrying a weapon is a misdemeanor.
Permitless or “constitutional” carry laws have been gaining traction around the country.
Last year, six states — Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah — enacted permitless carry measures, according to the Pew Research Center.
Indiana recently passed a similar bill, which awaits the governor’s signature or veto, while at least four others — Georgia, Nebraska, South Carolina, and Wisconsin — are considering it.
In Ohio, Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey was one of more than 80 opponents to testify in December before a state Senate public safety committee against SB 215.
“To allow people to carry concealed with no background check, no documentation of who they are and no training is dangerous,” McGuffey told ABC News. “I am not against the Second Amendment — the right to bear arms. What I’m asking people to do is consider that there must be some failsafe placed into the system.”
In Indiana, the head of the State Police, local sheriffs, and county prosecutors spoke out against the state’s pending legislation.
“What we have done now is we’ve taken away the one tool that police officers had out on the street to be able to act quickly and efficiently for not only their personal safety but for the safety of our communities,” Patrick Flannelly, vice president of the Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police said.
The law that DeWine signed makes Ohio the 23rd state to enact permitless carry, after Alabama’s Republican governor signed similar legislation last week.
