Proposed bill aims to eliminate concealed carry license requirement

Gun advocates in Ohio over the age of 21 would no longer need to complete training or obtain a license to conceal carry firearms under a bill introduced on April 7.

House Bill 147, proposed by Republican Rep. Ron Hood of Pickaway County, aims to allow Ohioans to carry any concealed firearm not exclusively prohibited by law. The bill, if passed, would no longer allow law enforcement officers to search or detain carriers of legal firearms, and says landlords cannot stop tenants from carrying or possessing a gun on their property. Hood has 19 GOP co-sponsors for the bill, including Speaker Pro Tempore Ron Amstutz of Wooster.

The current law states that eight hours of training must be completed before a Sheriff can issue a concealed carry license. According to an annual report from the Ohio Attorney General’s office, 58,066 licenses were issued in 2014, with 1,412 being suspended, and 373 being revoked.

Dan Clevenger, instructor of Ohio Carry Concealed Weapon (CCW) Training and owner of KC’s Rifle Pistol Club, said passing House Bill 147 is a “bizarre” idea.

“I’m very pro-gun, but the fact that someone would want to pass a bill allowing people to carry without training or certification is just mind blowing,” Clevenger said. “It doesn’t make sense to just let anyone carry a gun. It’s a very bizarre idea.”

Clevenger said he was a police officer for 37 years, and served as a firearms instructor for the department for 20 of those years. He said anyone who is an experienced firearms trainer wouldn’t agree with the bill.

“Someone who wants to concealed carry needs to have the proficiency and the confidence. You could kill someone or hit something you don’t want to hit and get in a lot of trouble without the proper training.” Clevenger said. “I push my students to further their CCW training because you can never have enough training.”

Other bills similar to House Bill 147, including House Bill 48 and House Bill 203, have been proposed over the past ten to 15 years with no luck of legislation. Clevenger said there is room for improvement when it comes to the concealed carry law in Ohio, but overall, the state has done a good job with the law. He said he doesn’t think House Bill 147 has a shot at legislation.

Rick Kaleda, Northeast Ohio representative for the Buckeye Firearms Association, said passing House Bill 147 is a good idea.

“It’s a fantastic idea,” Kaleda said.

[pullquote align=”right”]“People shouldn’t have to go through hoops to protect themselves.”[/pullquote]

Kaleda, who also specializes in firearms training, said there are no true downfalls to the bill.

“Passing the bill would provide law abiding citizens with a means of protecting themselves in a way that’s less costly and less time consuming,” Kaleda said. “I know people who have grown up around firearms and know a lot about them, and in order for them to get a concealed carry license, they have to clear their weekend to go through training and get the license. It’s really unnecessary.”

While Kaleda is a supporter of the bill, he said he doesn’t think it will pass because the bill doesn’t have enough impact in the way it was proposed.

“This is a bill that’s been proposed over and over and over again,” he said. “People don’t learn about bills when they see a 30 second blurb about it on the news, and they don’t take the time to go read about it. Something like this needs 20 to 30 minutes of coverage for people to truly understand it.”