Guns banned in Elyria parks, but there's no penalty

September 8, 2004
Lorain Morning Journal

ELYRIA -- City Council voted to ban concealed handguns in the city's parks, despite objections raised by a councilman and although the ordinance doesn't call for any penalties.

Council voted 10-1 to ban concealed weapons in all city buildings and city-owned parks, amending a previous ordinance that banned concealed handguns on all city-owned land, including streets and sidewalks.

Councilman Paul Blevins, R-4, argued that a section of the state's concealed carry law explicitly prohibits local governments from expanding or restricting the law's scope, while Law Director Terry Shilling said that the state law violates the Ohio Constitution and the notion of ''home rule.''

Because the ordinance doesn't call for any penalties, police Chief Michael Medders said police won't be enforcing it.

''We're not going to enforce something with no penalties,'' Medders said. ''We're not even going to say 'Stop.' I can't figure it out.''

Mayor Bill Grace said the ordinance signals the city's opposition to guns in its parks, even if there's no way to enforce it.

''It sends a message as to what we value,'' Grace said. ''A lot of this comes down to the state legislature, which has a long history of acting irresponsibly. We've got issues of the funding of education, and they waste their time with these matters.''

Dan White, a local organizer for Ohioans For Concealed Carry, said he couldn't say whether OFCC will challenge Elyria's ban. But he said the law is laughable.

''Basically, you have a situation where it's like, "Stop, or I'll say stop again,'' he said.

Click on the "Read More..." link below to read the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram's coverage of the story. The paper conveniently left out any mention of the fact that the ban in parks is unenforceable.

September 8, 2004
Elyria Chronicle Telegram

ELYRIA - You can carry a concealed gun on Elyria's streets and sidewalks, but
don't bring it to a park.

Elyria City Council, with the exception of one councilman, approved an amendment
to the city's concealed carry policy Tuesday night that specifies no concealed
weapons inside Elyria parks.

The previous ordinance was too broad in that it prohibited concealed weapons
on all Elyria-owned property, Law Director Pete Shilling said. That could have
been interpreted to mean no concealed weapons on places like sidewalks. Based on
state law, concealed weapons are already prohibited in all city buildings.

Paul Blevins, R-4th Ward, was the only Council member to vote against the
revision, stating it violated state law.

"(Ohio law) does not state prohibition of concealed guns in city parks,"
Blevins said.

Among the state's prohibitions are school zones, courthouses and liquor
establishments, but it says nothing about state parks.

"It's not a gun issue, it's a legislative argument," he said. The City of Elyria
doesn't have the power to change the state law, Blevins argued.

Anyone is welcome to challenge the amended ordinance, said Councilman Jack Baird R-at large, who said he voted in favor of the revision because it was an
improvement on the previous legislation.

"It's the lesser of the two situations," he said.

Dan White, representative from Ohioans for Concealed Carry agreed. It is an
improvement, but not good enough.

During the meeting, Councilman Larry Tanner, D-at large, said the point of the
ordinance is to keep the parks safe - especially because they are filled with
children.

White said Tanner misses the point of concealed carry. "We are no threat to
anyone except those who mean to do us harm," he said.

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SPITE: Two Ohio newspapers violate privacy of county CHL-holders