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The
Columbus Dispatch...
Editorial:
Half-cocked
Bill allowing most anyone to carry
handguns almost anywhere is frightening
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Can
anyone seriously doubt any longer
that the true agenda of the National Rifle Association and its willing
servants
in the General Assembly is not the defense of a reasonable, regulated
right to
own and use firearms, but the unfettered proliferation of guns
everywhere in
public life?
Why
gun-lobby supporters are so keen
to see more weapons in more places is mysterious. But the lobby’s power
in Ohio
was unmistakable last Wednesday.
The
House and Senate passed a bill
allowing holders of concealed-carry permits to take their weapons into
bars and
other places that sell alcohol. It passed easily, despite the fact that
law-enforcement agencies, prosecutors and restaurant owners-- people
who know
something about the unhealthy mix of guns and alcohol -- adamantly
opposed it.
Lawmakers
voting “yes” did so at the
service of a powerful and deep-pocketed special interest, not in the
public
interest.
Besides
needlessly enhancing the
potential for barroom conflicts to turn lethal, the bill also robs
law-enforcement officers of security by eliminating the requirement
that a gun
carried in a vehicle be either holstered, in a locked case or, if
unlocked, in
plain sight. Officers approaching stopped vehicles will be less certain
the
driver can’t pull a loaded weapon from a convenient hiding place.
The bill is an outrage, but
it’s not
enough for the gun lobby.
A
bill introduced by Republican Rep.
John Adams of Sidney would eliminate the pesky detail of a permit for
carrying
concealed weapons. Anyone who “qualifies for a permit” could carry a
gun. For
good measure, the bill would expand the right to carry to colleges,
churches,
child-care centers and government buildings. It’s a wonder it leaves
out
nursing homes and nunneries.
Thus
crumbles the gun lobby’s
contention that no one need fear the expansion of gun privileges,
because the
requirements of the permit system ensure that everyone toting a gun has
a
certain amount of training and the civic wherewithal to comply with the
requirements. Not anymore; in Adams’ world, people who don’t have
criminal
records or diagnoses of mental illness should be able to carry
concealed
weapons, with no public declaration that they intend to do so.
Ohio
is not a lawless frontier. People
shopping for groceries or having lunch at a restaurant do not face a
credible
risk of an attack necessitating an armed response. Anyone who feels
that sort
of danger at church or the day-care center should choose a new church
or
day-care center, and call the police while they’re at it.
The
main effect of encouraging more
people to arm themselves is to increase the chances of accidental
shootings and
tragedies involving family members, friends and lovers whose quarrels
turn
deadly because somebody has a gun.
The
guns-in-bars bill is a bad idea
that deserves a quick veto.
Adams’
bill would be a bad joke, if
only he were kidding.
Read
it at the Columbus Dispatch
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