July 7, 2004
Fairborn Daily Herald

GREENE COUNTY — The Ohio General Assembly passed revised House Bill 12 on Jan. 7 to allow licensed Ohioans the right to carry a concealed weapon.

The next day, Jan. 8, Gov. Bob Taft signed the bill, and on April 8, the concealed carry bill became law. Ohioans began standing in line to apply for their license to legally conceal and carry their firearm.

Almost three months later, many of the details are still being ironed out, but most gun holders feel the law is going well and has benefited those law-abiding citizens who want to carry their firearm.

"I didn't change who I was when I got my license to carry my gun," Greene County Dailies Outdoors Writer Larry Moore said. "Xenia and Greene County appear to be very good about the law."

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

July 7, 2004
Ohio Public Radio

Fewer people than anticipated are taking advantage of Ohio's new law that allows residents to carry concealed handguns under certain conditions. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles has details.

Click here to hear the story via RealAudio streaming.

Commentary:
Sheriffs in two of Ohio's most populous counties - Cuyahoga and Franklin - along with certain others, have slowed the process down. But they can't stop it. Despite these few Sheriffs' poor performance (some of which have taken lawsuits to attempt to correct), OFCC estimates that when the number of issued licenses in the first 90 days is made public, the number will exceed 25,000. Thousands more applications are still being processed, and thousands more future applicants are now in training.

Just as was done for the Associated Press earlier this week, this OPR reporter was told some of the many positive things happening as a result of this law. Here once again, is the good news about Ohio's CHL law that wasn't deemed newsworthy:

You heard it here first...

July 7, 2004
Toledo Blade

Ohio and Michigan residents with concealed carry licenses can take their weapons across the border after a reciprocating
agreement between the states took effect yesterday, said Mark Gribben, spokesman with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

“For an Ohioan, they are able to carry a concealed weapon in Michigan, subject to the laws Michigan has. For Michigan, citizens can carry into Ohio within Ohio’s laws,” Mr. Gribben said.

He said licensees should know where their weapons are and are not permitted in the reciprocating state because the locations vary.

The Ohio concealed carry law allows the attorney general’s office to negotiate reciprocity agreements with other states that have similar laws. The agreement takes effect when there are signatures by the Ohio attorney general and a representative of the agency that handles the concealed carry law in the other state.

Mr. Gribben said Ohio garnered reciprocating agreements with Florida and Washington on June 30. Similar agreements are pending with other states, he said.

UPDATE! 7/7/04 - North Carolina and Kentucky have now been added! Click here to access the Attorney General's reciprocity website.

Related Story:
Ohio CHL Reciprocity Update

You heard it here first, over a month ago...

July 7, 2004
Cincinnati Post (click for complete story)

With nearly three months elapsed since the state's new concealed-carry law took effect, a Mount Lookout architect has shown that it's still possible to fight city hall, or in this case the statehouse.

William J. Miller Sr., 74, said he's glad the Ohio Auditor's Office has clarified the new law in a statement that says sheriff's departments cannot demand Social Security numbers from permit applicants.

"Although voluntary, disclosing a Social Security number (however) greatly facilitates the background checks that must be conducted before a license can be issued," the statement from Auditor Jim Petro's office said.

Calling the development "a beginning," Miller said he would still like to see Petro oppose the practice. "I think it ought to be removed. Saying that it's voluntary gives the implication that it's legal, but it's not legal."

Although others voiced concerns, Miller wrote to Petro and state Rep. Bill Seitz after the law went into effect April 8. When he got no satisfaction, he wrote U.S. Attorney Greg Lockhart, saying a 1974 federal privacy law was being violated. Improperly using Social Security numbers is a felony under a section of the law.

The privacy law allows the government to use Social Security numbers to collect taxes and administer driver's licenses and public assistance programs.

A spokesman for the group Ohioans for Concealed Carry, which went on record against the use of Social Security numbers in applications when the House was drafting concealed carry legislation, said Wednesday the organization is pleased with Petro's clarification.

"OFCC's position on the issue of Social Security numbers was that federal law should be followed," said spokesman Chad Baus. "It is a violation of federal law to mandate that applicants provide their Social Security number on a concealed handgun license application."

The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office had accepted 881 applications through June 30. It had issued 775 permits and rejected 20 applications. Eighty-six applications were being processed. In Clermont County, 1,431 applications had been received; 1,343 permits had been issued and seven applications had been rejected.

Related Story:
Ohio Attorney General: Social Security Number on CHL application ''voluntary''

In a July 7, 2004 Chillicothe Gazette story, Gannett News reporter Lisa Roberson tries her best to find a connection between a young woman who illegally carried a firearm into a restaurant and Ohio's new concealed handgun license law.

Reporter Lisa Roberson's story starts as follows:

An 18-year-old woman is facing a third-degree felony charge after she allegedly carried a loaded 9mm handgun into a local restaurant Sunday night.

The gun was discovered in the purse of Kerri A. Hall, of 243 Park St., when bouncers at Buffalo Wild Wings on North Bridge Street stopped her to check her purse. The handgun was confiscated, and the police were called.

At first, Hall claimed the gun was only in her purse because she found it on the south side of town and wanted to sell it, a police report said. After several minutes, Hall changed her story and told officers she was registered to carry a concealed weapon."

So far, so good. But Roberson wasn't done. Obviously, the teen was not being truthful, as the law requires a minimum age of 21 to obtain a Concealed Handgun Licnese. This didn't stop Roberson from finding a way
to tie this simple illegal possession story to Ohio's new concealed handgun license law, she continued:

Under Ohio's new concealed-carry weapons law, carrying a firearm into an establishment that holds a liquor license and sells alcohol is a third-degree felony. The law does not allow any residents, including those who have the new concealed-carry permits, to enter a liquor establishment.

Hall was arrested and taken to the Ross County Jail.

In addition, Hall is not registered in Ross County to carry a concealed weapon, according to Ross County Sheriff's deputy Sheila Weathersbee. However, Weathersbee said Hall may be registered in a bordering county.

Ross Co. Sheriff's deputy Sheila Weathersbee told OFCC today that she was unaware of the accused's age when the Chillicothe Gazette reporter came in to inquire about whether Hall had a license to carry. Weathersbee said had she known, she would have informed the reporter that persons under age 21 cannot obtain an Ohio CHL.

Calls from both OFCC and Deputy Weathersbee to Lisa Roberson have gone unanswered.