AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


Posts: 1,427

With bipartisan support, the Ohio House on Tuesday voted to ease the penalties for drivers with concealed-carry permits who fail to promptly tell a police officer of the presence of a gun in the vehicle when pulled over.

"Ohio’' current concealed carry notification law is ambiguous, arbitrarily enforced, and carries the most draconian penalties in the nation, which harms otherwise law-abiding citizens," said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Scott Wiggam (R., Wooster).

House Bill 142 now goes to the Senate. It is opposed by the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Chiefs of Police Association. The Buckeye Sheriffs Association has taken a neutral stance.

Gun rights advocates, however, are divided with some angry that lawmakers backed away from the original intent of the bill to do away with a driver’s duty to inform the officer altogether.

Rep. Nino Vitale (R., Urbana) planned to offer an amendment on the floor to revert back to the original bill's language, but House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger (R., Clarksville) called for a vote before he could.

"There is no other law in the state of Ohio that requires us to notify if we're giving a speech, if we’re going to church," Mr. Vitale said after session. "It's a burden on the best citizens of Ohio. Concealed carry holders are the absolutely most law abiding.

http://www.toledoblade.com/City-Desk/2017/10/24/House-passes-concealed-carry-measure.html