Coalition of Gun Rights Groups
Applauds Passage of House Bill 12;
Concealed Carry Legislation Moves
to Ohio Senate
To: State Desk
Contact: Maria Heil of the Second
Amendment Sisters, 877-798-2828
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED];
or
Jeff Garvas of Ohioans for Concealed Carry,
330-908-2881, ext. 112
E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Second Amendment Sisters: http://www.2asisters.org
Ohioans for Concealed Carry: http://www.ohioccw.org/
LAKEWAY, Texas, March 13 /U.S. Newswire/
-- The Second Amendment
Sisters (SAS) and the Ohioans For Concealed Carry
(OFCC) announced
today that they are pleased with action taken yesterday in
the Ohio
House of Representatives.
House Bill 12 was passed by the Ohio
House by 69-28 and will
head to the Ohio Senate. Ohio is one of only seven
states that do
not have a legal mechanism for law-abiding adults to carry a
firearm for self-defense. Every state surrounding Ohio passed
concealed
carry laws with fewer restrictions on license holders
than what the Ohio
House passed.
The Buckeye State Sheriffs Association
and many local Fraternal
Order of Police lodges support the legislation.
However, Governor
Bob Taft has vowed to veto any bill that does not have the
support
of some law enforcement labor unions. The Ohio State Highway Patrol
opposes the legislation because it would allow license holders to
keep
loaded weapons in cars, falsely claiming it compromises the
safety of their
officers, according to the OFCC website.
"Members of the House debated this issue
long enough. Years of
detailed testimony have proven 43 states have
implemented reform
without incident, and lawmakers realized this," said Jeff
Garvas,
president of OFCC.
"This is definitely a step in the right
direction," stated Juli
Bednarzyk, President of Second Amendment Sisters.
"Self-defense is
a Basic Human Right(tm), and it's time that Ohio joins the
ranks of
states that recognize that citizens are their own 'first line' of
self-defense."
The Second Amendment Sisters, Inc. (SAS)
is a grassroots
organization founded in late 1999. SAS is made up entirely
of
volunteers dedicated to preserving the Basic Human Right to
Self-Defense, as recognized by the Second Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.
Fast Fact-After passing their concealed
carry law, Florida's
homicide rate fell from 36 percent above the national
average to 4
percent below the national average and remains below the
national
average to this day. (Cramer, C. and Kopel, D. 'Shall issue: the
new wave of concealed handgun permit laws. Golden CO: Independence
Institute Issue Paper. Oct. 17, 1994.)
