The Ohio Constitution

The Ohio Constitution is a great source of information for this issue. Most important is Article 1 (Bill of Rights), Section 4. This portion of the Constitution has been the same since 1851.

1.04 Bearing arms; standing armies; military powers (1851)

The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security; but standing armies, in time of peace, are dangerous to liberty, and shall not be kept up; and the military shall be in strict subordination to the civil power.

Our Interpretations:

First, one must notice the title has three subjects seperated by semi-colons. Second, one must notice the paragraph itself is seperated by an equal amount of semi-colons. Third, one must notice the semi-colons appear to respectively seperate the three issues both in the title and in the content of the paragraph.

"Bearing arms" is the first section. It is clearly stated in the first portion of the section that "the people" (citizens of Ohio) have the right (not privilege) to bear arms for their defense and security. This means citizens in the State of Ohio (the people) are granted this right for DEFENSE and SECURITY. Self defense? Isn't that what CCW is all about?

"Standing armies" is next. The section claims that a standing army is dangerous to liberty during peace. I interpret this to mean an army of the State such as the National Guard. This portion does nothing to disqualify the first section at all.

"military powers" is last. The section claims that the power of the military should be at the mercy of the Civilians. Nothing here disqualifies the first section at all.