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FLASH: Mayor of Sardinia, Ohio charged with felony concealed carry PDF Print E-mail
Written by Jeff Garvas   
Wednesday, 31 August 2005

According to the News Democrat in Georgetown Ohio, Sardinia Mayor Bill Williams has been charged with felony concealed carry.

From the story:
    Sardinia Mayor Bill L. Williams, 59, appeared in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas on Aug. 24 and was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of carrying a concealed handgun, both fourth degree felonies. Williams also faces charges in Brown County Municipal Court for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.

    The incident that resulted in charges being filed against the mayor of Sardinia took place July 23, when Williams was stopped by Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Jason E. Taylor as he drove his 1995 Chevrolet northbound on U.S. Route 68 near the intersection of West Henry Road, according to the OSHP incident report.

    Williams was stopped by Taylor for failure to use his turn signal while making a left turn and was subsequently arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, according to an initial incident summary received by the OSHP Public Affairs office in Columbus.
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In addition to being caught with two loaded firearms without a concealed handgun license, Williams was supposedly under the influence:
    According to the incident report, Williams underwent a urine test and was found to be under the influence of alcohol operating his vehicle. A search of Williams' vehicle revealed two loaded handguns, according to the incident summary.

    The loaded handguns allegedly found in Williams' vehicle were listed on court records as a Bryco .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol, model 48 and a Raven .25 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, model P-25.
The newspaper further reported that Williams will face felony charges for possession of the two firearms:
    Williams is scheduled to appear in the Brown County Court of Common Pleas, Sept. 7, in relation to the two felony charges for allegedly possessing two concealed, loaded handguns.

    If convicted on the two felony charges, a long-time local solicitor said it is very likely that Williams will not be able to serve out his term as mayor of Sardinia, which doesn't expire until Dec. 1, 2007.
Although this organization has consistently worked for concealed carry reform, we are torn on this course of events. It is refreshing to see that a politician was not treated with special courtesy due to his status as the mayor of a local town. Just like an average citizen, Williams has been charged with a crime he could have escaped had he simply obtained a concealed handgun license in Ohio.

However, Williams and any other Ohioans who is not committing a crime and would not otherwise have been prohibited from owning those firearms, should never be charged with a crime -- let alone a felony, for something that would have been perfectly legal and constitutional had they jumped through some hoops.

Gun owners traded Ohio's complicated and arcane "affirmative defense" law to get a license system implemented that guaranteed the right to carry a firearm -- but Ohio law MUST be modified to recognize that simply being in possession of a firearm that is otherwise legal should not be a crime, period.

With that said, this organization can find no excuse for Williams to have been in possession of a firearm while supposedly under the influence of alcohol (or any drug), let alone while driving a motor vehicle. If the Mayor is not cleared of these charges, Sardinia residents should think twice before re-electing him to any public office due to his lack of common sense.

Ohioans should be outraged that the lives of otherwise law abiding people can be turned upside down simply because a firearm they were transported was loaded versus unloaded. While concealed carry reform was a huge step forward in Ohio, the law is still seriously pitted against the law abiding citizen.