| Rep. Seitz introduces bill banning CHLs to illegal aliens |
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| Written by Jeff Garvas | |
| Wednesday, 13 September 2006 | |
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Ohio Representative Bill Seitz introduced HB654 this week, a bill focusing on immigration compliance. The bill creates an Office of Immigration Compliance in the Attorney General's office and prohibits "the issuance of a concealed carry permit [license] to an illegal alien" among other things prohibited to illegal aliens. Visitors of this website may recall that Ohioans For Concealed Carry alone led the fight to remove language from Ohio House Bill 347 that limited concealed handgun licenses to "United States Citizens" and only those citizens. While the intent in that legislation was more than likely a just cause, the fact is that a legal resident alien can take up to ten years to obtain citizenship legally. This language is much more reasonable: (4) If the sheriff determines that the applicant is legally living in the United States and is a resident of the county in which the applicant seeks the license or of an adjacent county but does not yet meet the residency requirements described in division (D)(1)(a) of this section, the sheriff shall not deny the license because of the residency requirements but shall not issue the license until the applicant meets those residency requirements.This ten-year delay is by no fault of the individual seeking citizenship, but due to the snails pace that our federal government processes the paperwork of becoming a citizen. When it comes to illegal aliens obtaining concealed handgun licenses we agree such activity should be illegal and prohibited. Individuals in this country illegally may want the concealed handgun license for nothing more than another piece of "legal" identification. We commend Representative Seitz for introducing this legislation and targeting the actual problem at hand. |