Ohio Solons should follow Missouri’s lead and pass concealed carry, says CCRKBA

BELLEVUE, WA—State lawmakers in Ohio should take a signal from their counterparts in Missouri, who just voted to override a veto by Gov. Bob Holden, making it possible for residents of the Show Me State to begin legally carrying concealed firearms for their personal protection, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.

Both the Missouri House and Senate this week voted to override Holden’s veto of that state’s long-debated concealed carry law. Missouri now becomes the 45th state in the nation with a license-to-carry statute.

“Ohio legislators have been debating concealed carry for as long, or longer, than Missouri,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb, “and they still don’t have a law on the books. Making Ohio’s case more urgent is the fact that a lawsuit by the Second Amendment Foundation and several Ohio residents has resulted in Ohio’s ban on concealed carry being declared unconstitutional by a state appeals court. It is time for Ohio’s Legislature to act.”

CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron drew a closer parallel between the situations in Missouri and Ohio. He said the opposition to concealed carry effectively treats residents in both states as second-class citizens.

“Ohio Gov. Bob Taft has been opposed to concealed carry, the same as Gov. Holden in Missouri,” Waldron observed. “The Missouri override proves that lawmakers can do what’s right for their constituents, even when a governor tries to prevent it. Ohio residents have just as much right to defend themselves against criminal attack as do the citizens in Missouri, or any of the other 44 states that have license-to-carry laws. Ohio residents are no less trustworthy with their firearms, but that’s not stopping Bob Taft and anti-gun-rights lawmakers from treating them as though they were.”

After this week’s vote in Missouri,” Gottlieb stated, “Ohio lawmakers have no more excuses for not adopting a sensible, comprehensive bill that will guarantee Buckeye State citizens the same self-defense rights that are enjoyed by millions of other Americans. What happened in Missouri is proof positive that a governor can no longer stand in the way of common sense concealed carry legislation.”