| Statewide Bicycle Pre-emption Coming Soon |
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| Written by Jeff Garvas | |
| Thursday, 31 August 2006 | |
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Bicycling enthusiasts have something to celebrate when changes to Ohio law will make cycling laws conform more with those that apply to motor vehicles this September. Supporters call it the best solution to a “crazy quilt” of laws that exist across the State of Ohio that nobody can easily comply with while traveling between local jurisdictions. The Plain Dealer calls it a “hodgepodge” from community to community in a story written Wednesday titled “Cyclists: Soon, uniform rules to rule the roadways in Ohio”. Sound familiar? Some localities mandate that bicyclists must ride on the sidewalk, a law clearly aimed at children and not the more seasoned and faster bicyclist who should approach an intersection from the roadway, not the sidewalk. The argument to pass statewide pre-emption for bicyclists is just as sound and almost taken right out of the playbook of gun owners seeking the same reprieve. "The big thing is that it makes for uniformity throughout the state," said Chuck Smith, president of the Ohio Bicycle Federation, which pushed for the revisions. "With the uniformity, you know what to expect. It really only makes sense." One has to wonder if Chuck Smith would agree when it comes to Ohio’s patchwork quilt of gun laws, where driving down the same road for ten minutes can cause what was originally a lawfully transported firearm to become a violation of local law. As we've seen in the Sayers' case some municipalities completely outlaw possession of a firearm and attempt to enforce it! When it comes to telling local governments that all bike laws should be consistent and fairly applied, the Ohio Department of Public Safety, the State Highway Patrol, and Governor Bob Taft supported the sweeping changes. Absent from this discussion are the cries from elected officials insisting that this is a violation of their “Home Rule” powers, a common plea from local governments that want to regulate their own little piece of Ohio with little regard for the complicated mazes they effectively create statewide. So why is Taft apparently balking at the same concept being applied to gun owners who want nothing more than statewide consistency through HB347? Cities such as Columbus and Shaker Heights have enacted “Assault Weapons” bans as if their misdemeanor charges will somehow dissuade the local drug dealer from possessing such a firearm. In reality, to date, no convictions have been made under these feel good laws. Laws passed as nothing more than a reaction to the US Congress allowing the national prohibition on “Assault Weapons” lapse. The new law also gets rid of some bad legislating by government officials who did not understand proper bicycle operation, said Fred Oswald, an Ohio Bicycle Federation board member who lives in Middleburg Heights.The same would be true of HB347 since it would effectively repeal statewide laws that prohibit concealed carry, prohibit possession of a firearm, and otherwise exploit Ohio’s “Home Rule” amendment to the Ohio Constitution to outright ban possession of certain firearms. Cities such as Cleveland, Columbus, Shaker Heights, and Toledo have comprehensive “gun bans” and scoring systems that prove to do nothing but hassle the lawful gun owner, and HB347 would effectively repeal the hodgepodge local ordinances written by knee-jerk city council members who clearly have little knowledge of firearms. Governor Bob Taft should compare the bicycle bill he signed and the legislation being held up in the Ohio Senate and realize the concept is the same, the end result is the same, and the right thing to do is to move this legislation forward as soon as the Ohio General Assembly returns to Columbus. Unfortunately, as it looks today, that won’t happen until after the November elections. |