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OFCC Asks AG to Intervene PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel White   
Tuesday, 08 July 2008

Those who have been following the Bryan Ledford story know that Ohioans For Concealed Carry has been working to educate both the public and law enforcement on the legality of openly carrying a firearm in Ohio.

That story was just the latest example of such an incident, and stories have continued to come forward regarding similar situations, both past and present.

In a follow up story, we noted that the Willowick police department confirmed that there is a widespread problem in the law enforcement community in Ohio regarding this issue. While "ignorance of the law is no excuse" seems to be frequently toted whenever a private citizen makes a mistake, it seems to hardly hold to be true in the other direction.

In light of the fact that these incidents continue to occur on a regular basis, and the very real threat of expensive legal battles to prove the innocence of a law-abiding citizen simply exercising his or her rights under the Ohio Constitution, OFCC is calling on the Ohio Attorney General, as the head of the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, to put a stop to these continued occurrences. To that end, today OFCC sent the following letter to Ohio Attorney General Nancy Rogers.

July 8, 2008

The Honorable Nancy Rogers
Ohio Attorney General
State Office Tower
30 E. Broad Street, 17th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3428


Dear Madame Attorney General,

According to Article I, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution, "The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security," law-abiding citizens are guaranteed the right to carry a firearm in the State of Ohio. Yet citizens who choose to carry a firearm openly in this state are regularly harassed by law enforcement agencies, who erroneously believe this to be an illegal act.

Such an incident recently occurred to a member of Ohioans For Concealed Carry on June 17th, 2008. Our member was simply walking down the street in Willowick when he was detained and harassed by several Willowick police officers. The Willowick police department later admitted their error, and they confirmed our suspicions that lack of knowledge regarding the legality of open carry runs rampant throughout the law enforcement community at all levels.

Because your office is charged with the training of law enforcement officers in the State through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission, we are asking you on behalf of all members of Ohioans For Concealed Carry, and all law-abiding gun owners in the State of Ohio, to issue a training memorandum to every law enforcement agency in the State clarifying that:

  • There is no statute, in the State of Ohio, which prohibits the carrying of unconcealed firearms, on your person, except in locations specifically denoted by State or Federal law, or in a motor vehicle without a concealed handgun license.
  • A person openly carrying a firearm, and not otherwise committing any crime, cannot be required to produce identification, nor is such an act in and of itself probable cause for a Terry stop.
  • A person who has been issued a Concealed Handgun License, but is not carrying a firearm concealed, is not required by law to notify a law enforcement officer that he/she has a concealed handgun license.
  • Law Enforcement Officers must exercise their judgment and only make an arrest in cases where probable cause existed to believe that the person carrying the firearm is violating the law. Openly carrying a firearm does not mean that the person is automatically guilty of Disorderly Conduct (R.C. 2917.11) or Inducing Panic (R.C. 2817.31).

It is our hope that with proper education regarding this most important matter that harassment of law abiding citizens who have committed no crime will greatly decrease. We are looking forward to working with you in resolving this issue.

Sincerely,

Jeff Garvas, President
Bryan Torok, Vice-President
Daniel White, Director-at-Large
Ohioans For Concealed Carry

This letter will be followed by letters promised to be sent by the Willowick Chief of Police and their Law Director. It is our hope that AG Rogers will work with us to put a stop to the harassment. As we said before, it has always been our intent to educate instead of vilify, and we acknowledge that the vast majority of law enforcement are on our side. We are primarily interested in ensuring that the legality of open carry is known to all law enforcement officers to protect those who choose to carry in that fashion.

Ohio citizens committing no crime and simply taking responsibility for their own safety should not be subjected to the kind of treatment we are routinely seeing, regardless of whether they choose to exercise their Constitutionally protected gun rights by carrying concealed or openly.