CLEVELAND, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohioans For Concealed Carry, the
state's largest grassroots organization dedicated to concealed carry
reform, called on the Ohio Senate today to pass HB274, as passed by the
Ohio House, unless the Judiciary Committee goes to extreme lengths to fix
unacceptable significant changes they've adopted in the substitute
legislation.
"We are extremely concerned with the very poor decisions and language in
the new legislation and to what extremes these last minute knee-jerk deals
have created," said Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans For Concealed Carry.
"In their effort to appease the police union this legislation has become
practically useless, and the Governor and his state patrol are asking for
even more restrictions, many of which don't exist in other states that have
successfully implemented concealed carry reform nationwide."
The Ohio State Patrol is demanding licensed citizens be barred from
transporting their firearm in a motor vehicle "while it is moving", or
basically forcing citizens to repeatedly fidget with their firearm every
time they enter or leave a vehicle. Such mangling is not only impractical
without violating the "brandishing a weapon" laws; it is a serious safety
concern to mandate the frequent process of unloading as you enter and
reloading as you exit a vehicle.
"We have reviewed the changes, and not only can we not support them, we
are opposed to the concept of destroying vital aspects of the bill that were
the result of combined efforts in the House." said Garvas.
The FOP bill triples the mandatory education requirements to an extreme
that would not only make this the second strictest education proposal
nationwide, it would prevent lower income families from being able to
afford the training required.
Ironically, the FOP has simultaneously extended the period of time an
officer can apply for a license after retiring and still be exempted from
every aspect the union has imposed upon the general public, including the
mandatory education aspects and the application and renewal fees.
"The Senate Judiciary Committee needs to compare the value of these
extensive changes with the fact that they have alienated themselves from
the veto-proof majority that helped write this legislation in the first
place," said Greg Kopp, secretary of Ohioans For Concealed Carry. "This
committee can make a significant effort to relax some of the Draconian
efforts that have made it into this substitute legislation, otherwise they
should pass HB274, as it left the Ohio House, and come back next year to
fix these issues in a forum of public debate."
Ohioans For Concealed Carry has delivered a lengthy list of concerns to
the committee and the leadership of both houses. Members of the news media
interested in obtaining a copy of that multi-page document should contact
us at the number below. Our public relations team is available in most Ohio
major cities for on-camera interviews.
SOURCE Ohioans For Concealed Carry
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Related links:
http://www.ohioccw.org
CONTACT:
Jeff Garvas of Ohioans For Concealed Carry,
+1-216-496-3928, or +1-216-552-4368 voicemail, or jeff@ofcc.net
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