The Ohio legislature is exploring whether or not citizens should be able to legally carry concealed handguns.
The proposed legislation, which passed in the House in March and is currently being debated in the Senate, would give county sheriffs authority to issue licenses to carry concealed handguns.
If the bill passes, licenses would only be given to people 21 or older, who have been state or county residents for at least 45 days and have no criminal background, said Rep. Jim Aslanides, R-Coshocton, one of the bill's sponsors.
The legislation states citizens applying to carry concealed guns must submit an application to the sheriff, pay a license fee, present a color picture taken within the past 30 days and complete a firearms safety and training course. Local sheriffs would have to run background checks through the FBI's databases before issuing permits.
Aslanides said the legislation would increase the penalty for a person carrying a gun without a permit. Currently the penalty can be a maximum six to 12 month jail sentence and a maximum fine of $2,500. Pending the passage of the bill, it would carry a one to five year jail sentence with a maximum fine of $10,000.
Despite the mandatory background checks, opponents said they think the bill would make guns available to the wrong people.
"If this bill passes, it will make a lot more guns available to people, especially those who are angry and under stress. More violence, more accidents and more deaths would result," said Toby Hoover, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence executive director.
Athens County Sheriff Vern Castle said people would use handguns to protect themselves, not to perpetuate more violence.
"This bill would not make guns more accessible to the wrong people because the wrong people already have access to guns and use them in wrong ways," Castle said.
Catherine Donnelly from Interact Cleveland Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence said the training requirement is inadequate for learning how to use a potential deadly weapon and would help create a culture of paranoia.
"People would be living in fear," she said.
According to the National Rifle Association's Web site (http://www.nra.org), which credits their data to the FBI, 17 states adopted conceal and carry laws from 1991 to 2002. During that time period the nation's violent crime rate has decreased every year since and was at a 23-year low in 2002. States with such laws have lower violent crime rates by an average of 24 percent and lower murder rates by an average of 22 percent.
Every state bordering Ohio already has a conceal and carry law.
Though some law enforcement officials, such as Castle, support the legislation, Hoover said the Fraternal Order of Police, a police advocacy group, does not. In the past Gov. Bob Taft has said he would veto any conceal and carry legislation that did not have the group's support. The order's officials could not be reached for comment by deadline.
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