The Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee held opponent and interested
party testimony today in room 116.

Ohioans For Concealed Carry's membership chairman Jim Murray has been in Columbus since the hearings began at 9:00 a.m.

House Bill 12 (with amendments discussed by clicking "Read More...") PASSED out of the committee late Wednesday afternoon and will move to the House Floor for a vote, scheduled for Tuesday, March 11.

We are told that the opponent and interested party testimony took nearly
five hours. A lunch break took place and the committee reconvened after an
hour. The quick stats:

All Republicans in the room voted yes.
5 Democrats voted no.
3 Representatives were missing for the vote.

There were 48 anti-gun amendments offered for consideration. After 10 anti-gun amendments were offered and tabled, they gave up and adjourned the meeting.

As of 5:10pm Wednesday afternoon the following amendments passed the
committee and became part of HB12:

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The State Highway Patrol remains concerned about traffic stops that could turn deadly if Ohioans are allowed to carry concealed weapons, a patrol official testified Wednesday.

Capt. John Born argued in favor of keeping in place a ban on carrying loaded weapons in cars.

The House Criminal Justice Committee was expected to vote later Wednesday on whether the full House should pass the revived concealed-weapons bill.

The idea has been debated for nearly a decade. Bills never made it out of the Legislature last year because the House and Senate couldn't resolve their differences.

Click here for the full story from the Associated Press.

Click here for coverage from Toledo's WTOL Channel 11.

Click here for coverage from the Canton Repository.

Click here for coverage from the Ohio News Network.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more on the upcoming battle to protect your right to self-defense in your personal vehicle.

A House committee is set to approve a concealed weapons bill just over one month after it was introduced.

The House Criminal Justice Committee vote, expected Wednesday, would send the bill to the full House. Last year, a House committee took nine months to recommend a similar bill for passage.

The House and Senate passed separate versions of the bill last year but could not resolve the differences.

The new bill still is opposed by Governor Taft, who won't support any concealed weapons bill that isn't backed by the State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police.

The patrol doesn't want one provision that would allow motorists to carry loaded guns in their cars. It says that would create too much of a danger for troopers.

Approval by the House Criminal Justice Committee would send the bill to the full House, which could vote on it next week.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for a recap of the Tuesday hearing from Ohioans for Concealed Carry President Jeff Garvas, and for links to more outlets covering these events.