Monday, April 23, 2012

Proposed Ohio Gun Laws Not Popular with Police

Middletown Journal reports

Five bills currently pending in the Ohio General Assembly would allow permit holders to carry their weapons in state-owned parking garages — such as below the Ohio Statehouse — loosen permit renewal requirements, eliminate required gun safety training and background checks and automatically expand the system for recognizing CCW permits issued by other states. 
 
After reviewing the current bills being proposed in Ohio, law enforcement have said some of the bills are “scary,” pointing to House Bill 256 and House Bill 422 — as particularly troublesome. 

HB 256 would eliminate background checks and gun safety classes required for concealed carry permits, while HB 422 would repeal the requirement that a permit holder who is pulled over in a traffic stop alert law enforcement that he or she has a loaded weapon.

Haven't we been told by the pro-gun folks that your regular cops are on their side of the argument about concealed carry, and it's the Police Chiefs and other top brass who oppose it?

Supposedly, the street cops recognize the clear and obvious benefits of arming the good guys, and the top cops, who are more like politicians don't.

That doesn't seem to be the case in Ohio. I suppose the explanation is that, like so much else in the gun-rights argument, this particular point was non constrained by the truth.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

3 comments:

  1. Where in what you quoted is it stated that rank and file officers oppose these bills? The source tells us, "law enforcement have said. . . ." Doesn't that mean a spokesperson? In other words, someone who is saying what the leadership wants said?

    But in a free society, the police are just one voice among many.

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    1. What do you think that cops generally want fewer gun restrictions?

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  2. Greg Camp already stated what I was thinking.

    As for HB422, that has to pass. Current law says that you must have your license on your person if you are armed; if you are armed and don't have your license with you it is an infraction. And current law requires you to disclose to a law enforcement officer when you are carrying -- whether you have your license on your person or left it at home.

    Does anyone see the problem here? The current law makes it a crime if a concealed carry license holder fails to incriminate themselves in the event that they don't have their license on their person while armed. That violates the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

    That requirement is silly anyway because all law enforcement officers should act as if everyone they pull over for traffic stops are armed.

    As for the opinions of law enforcement officers in general, I take them with a grain of salt for two reasons. First, the more that citizens can take care of themselves, the less law enforcement we need. That means reductions in law enforcement headcount and payroll. Of course many law enforcement officers will oppose that. Second, law enforcement officers deal with troubled citizens and criminals on a daily basis. They are immersed in the worst that society has to offer. That will profoundly color the mindset and opinions of many officers.

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