April 19, 2016: Ohio HB 48 Intends to Eliminate Criminal “Safety” Zones

A Brief History

The Ohio legislature is currently considering House Bill 48, a measure meant to eliminate areas that criminals can reasonably expect to find defenseless victims. Previous laws have prohibited the concealed carry of firearms in various government and school environments, which of course just leaves the innocent people there defenseless should a criminal come calling, whether armed with a firearm or any other sort of weapon.

Digging Deeper

Below are the short and long titles of the legislation introduced by Representative Ron Maag of Lebanon, Ohio (District 62).

Short Title: Concealed carry-affirmative defenses-carrying firearm in certain vulnerable areas
Long Title: To amend sections 311.42, 2923.12, 2923.122, and 2923.126 of the Revised Code to modify the prohibition against carrying a concealed handgun onto institutions of higher education, day-care facilities, aircraft, certain government facilities, public areas of airport terminals and police stations, and school safety zones and to allow a sheriff to use concealed handgun license fee revenue to purchase ammunition and firearms

Gun control is a hot topic today, as usual, with national candidates for President hotly debating the relative merits and problems associated with various proposals. All 50 states now have laws permitting concealed carry of firearms, usually requiring some sort of permit and training and often with certain limitations, such as prohibitions against carrying an otherwise legal gun on school grounds.

The part that gun control advocates naively do not get is that time and again it has been proven that places with an armed public are less likely to suffer gun violence than places where carrying concealed is not permitted. This reality seems counter-intuitive to gun-phobic people who mistakenly think the presence of a firearm is in itself a threat. Seriously, do you feel safer in a restaurant when an armed policeman is there? On a dark street in a questionable part of town, the presence of an armed cop is reassuring indeed.

Bad guys do not need guns! Thugs and toughs can easily kill or injure older or weaker people with knives, machetes, clubs or their bare hands. When both sides have guns, a standoff exists. Ever hear of a robbery or mass murder at a gun show? Why not? Thousands of people and more thousands of guns are there, but nobody gets shot!

Laws and signs banning firearms only prevent law abiding people from carrying a gun onto the premises. Criminals ignore such signs and laws, and find defenseless people there! HB 48 aims to eliminate some of that problem. Remember, in Ohio to carry a firearm concealed you must be a peace officer, retired peace officer, or legally licensed with a concealed carry permit. Years of concealed carry permits show that such permit holders just do not commit gun crimes, but often enough prevent other crimes. Having responsible, trained and licensed teachers and professors carrying a concealed pistol would greatly enhance the safety of students.

An inside the waistband (IWB) concealment holster, which clips or mounts to a belt and allows the user to securely holster the weapon inside the pants. Some IWB holsters give the wearer the option of tucking a shirt over the firearm and holster.

Gun control advocates are generally well intended but naive people ignorant of actual statistics and facts, and not knowledgeable about firearms, often repeating invalid “facts” and invented statistics. It is incumbent upon any citizen weighing in on the debate to become conversant with actual information about firearms and to read up on the words of the Founding Fathers which clearly indicate their intention for the public as individuals to be armed. There are two actions that we want to share:

Tweet support of the pro-HB 48 initiative. Be sure to tweet @KentState to ensure the administration sees it.

AND/OR

2. A mass letter drop (template below). You can send signed letters to Andrew Keiper (OSA Chair) at akeiper@kent.edu.

TEMPLATE:

DATE

Dennis Eckart

Chairperson, Board of Trustees

Kent State University

Dear Chairperson Eckart:

As you know, a bill pending in the Ohio General Assembly would permit Boards of Trustees of colleges and universities to opt in to concealed carry of firearms on campus. History and Headlines has taken a position in support of concealed carry at Kent State. As a law-abiding citizen concerned about the safety of our youth, I support their efforts and I urge you to publicly affirm that Kent State will not remain a gun-free zone should this legislation pass. We do not want to advertise to criminals that we are defenseless. It is common sense that people willing to commit murder will not be turned away from doing so just because they see a sign that says guns are not permitted in that location.

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Question for students (and subscribers): What do you think of these “safety” zones? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

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