UPDATE - The December 15 hearing has been canceled. We will provide updates when another hearing is scheduled.

Chairwoman Linda Bolan (D-1) has scheduled HB203 and HB158 for second hearings on Tuesday, December 15 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 122 of the Ohio Statehouse.

HB203 would allow persons with a concealed handgun license to carry their firearms into any restaurant providing they are not, and do not become intoxicated. The bill is sponsored by Representatives Danny Bubp (R-88) and Jarrod Martin (R-70).

Ohio license holders have proven themselves to be responsible in the five plus years of concealed carry in Ohio, and decades more beyond our borders. There is no compelling reason to deny someone the right to carry a firearm based on what the person at the next table might be drinking.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation has notified members that, as demand for ammunition continues to outpace supply, "it is critically important that an amendment authored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) to a seemingly obscure hazardous material bill (HR 4016) be attached to the legislation during consideration on the House floor."

The NSSF notes that the amendment being pushed by Graves will help protect the shipment of materials necessary for the manufacturing of ammunition, and warns that without the Graves Amendment, the rate of production will slip, perhaps precipitously.