Ret. Army Major's CHL denial may go to top court

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that the Ohio 2nd District Court of Appeals on Friday denied Harris' appeal of a Miami County judge's order upholding Sheriff Charles Cox's denial of Harris' permit request last May, and as a result, a New Carlisle man will go to the state Supreme Court to challenge the Miami County sheriff's denial of his application for a concealed weapon license.

From the story:

William R. Harris, who has a top security clearance and has worked at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base for 35 years, has been trying to get a license for most of the first year of Ohio's concealed-carry law. The law that allows issuing of licenses to people 21 and older who pass a background check and complete a 12-hour safety course was effective April 8, 2004.

The challenge appeared to be the first to reach an appeals court in the region. Kim Norris of the Ohio Attorney General's Office said Tuesday she was researching to see if any other cases were on appeal across the state. She had not provided that information by late Friday afternoon.

Harris' lawyer, Jeff Slyman, said Friday that Harris will ask the Ohio Supreme Court to consider an appeal.

"He respectfully disagrees with the court's decision. ... He wants to pursue it because he feels very strongly in the position he's taken," Slyman said.

According to the story, Judge Cox denied the application after a background check showed Harris was the subject of a five-year civil protection order issued in a Greene County court in December 2000. But the order against Harris was dismissed in late 2000 in favor of a consent decree that did not specifically prohibit Harris from possessing a weapon. Despite this, Miami County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Welbaum last summer ruled that Harris remains subject to the Greene County civil protection order.

The DDN reports the appeals court judges said Welbaum did not abuse his discretion in reviewing evidence and deciding the consent agreement signed by Harris legally was a civil protection order.

According to the newspaper, Miami County Prosecutor Gary Nasal was unavailable for comment.