“What does the bill actually say?”
“Can you shoot me a copy of the bill?”
“Excellent, but do I still have to notify an officer I’m exercising my Rights each time I see one?”
These are a sample of the questions we’ve received in the last 24 hours after we announced that Constitutional Carry was finished drafting and ready for co-sponsors!
That’s why I thought I’d take a moment to explain what Constitutional Carry is, what the bill does and give you a preview copy of the text so you can read through it.
As you know, Constitutional Carry is the simple idea that if you’re legally able to own a firearm, you’re legally able to carry one for self-defense. Period.
But let’s take a look at some of the particulars of the bill.
>>> First, it would change Section 2923.111 of the Ohio Revised
No government permission, no taxes and fees, and no name being entered in a government database just to exercise your Second Amendment Rights.
>>> Second, Constitutional Carry would make the current permit
Family vacations, out-of-state employment, travel to see family – depending on the state you’re visiting, your CCW might still be necessary.
>>> Third, Constitutional Carry would remove the “duty to notify”
Free speech, freedom to assemble and freedom to worship are rights you’re free to exercise without notifying law-enforcement, and the Second Amendment should be no different.
In fact, we’ve been in touch with myriad of law enforcement who tell us that’s the way it should be – because the bad guys won’t tell them anyway!
But it’s important to remember there’s things that Constitutional Carry doesn’t do.
It doesn’t allow criminals to carry a firearm if they’ve been adjudicated otherwise by the courts.
Just because a permit is no longer needed to legally carry a firearm, it doesn’t allow, empower or enable a criminal to carry one!
And carrying a firearm during the commission of a crime is still a punishable offense, just as it is now.
But it’s also important to keep in mind that Constitutional Carry does NOT address the problem we have in Ohio where cities are creating their own anti-gun ordinances.
We’re adamantly opposed to “gun-free zones” and agree it’s a serious issue – but one that we’ll address in other legislation designed to put fangs into Ohio’s preemption statute (9.68).
So those are the major highlights of the bill, but we’d like you to take a look at it yourself.
To read the text, please click the image below!
Passing Constitutional Carry in Ohio isn’t going to be easy. We would’ve already had it if it was.
That’s why I’m asking you right now, TODAY, to call your state representative’s office.
Tell them you want them to co-sponsor Representatives Ron Hood and Tom Brinkman’s Constitutional Carry bill (L_132_0035-1) right away!
It’s easy for politicians to campaign as “pro Second Amendment.”
But it’s something else entirely for them to take action and follow through on those campaign promises.
That’s why I’m asking you to contact their office today and tell them to co-sponsor the bill!
If you don’t know who your representative is, please click here to find out.
Of course, the very idea of Ohio becoming a Constitutional Carry state makes gun-grabbers seethe with rage!
We’re under constant bombardment with quotes like “if you need a license to drive a car, you need to license the Second Amendment!”
Here’s another: “gun owners should be forced to pass a police qualification course before they’re allowed to take a firearm out in public!”
Or my favorite: “if you folks get your way and pass Constitutional Carry there’ll be gun-violence and blood in the streets, and their blood will be on you!”
But as you and I both know, their bloviating just doesn’t pass muster!
After all, Constitutional Carry is current law in TWELVE states!
And those states enjoy some of the lowest crime rates per capita in the country.
In fact, the state of Vermont, which has NEVER regulated the carrying of firearms for self-defense, usually has THE lowest crime rates in the country!
It’s on the move in the legislatures of Utah, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Texas!
And that’s AFTER it passed Missouri, Idaho, Mississippi and our neighboring state of West Virginia just last year, and New Hampshire just this month!
It isn’t even a strict “Republican vs Democrat” issue, either.
In Maine it passed with a Democrat-controlled House. In Missouri and West Virginia, it passed with a Democrat-controlled governor’s mansion!
Heck, under the former Obama administration alone, the number of Constitutional Carry states increased from two to eleven!
The reason why is because Constitutional Carry is plain old common sense.
The fact of the matter is that criminals don’t ask permission to carry a firearm.
Constitutional Carry levels the playing field between the criminal and the law-abiding citizen.
It restores the ability for law-abiding citizens to provide for their own defense in the seconds that matter the most!
And it’s important to remember, too, that in states where Constitutional Carry is already law, there has been zero increase in violent crime, zero increase in vigilante justice, and zero increase in accidental shootings.
Zero.
Peaceful, law-abiding citizens remain peaceful, law-abiding citizens regardless of mandates in state law.
And that’s why national self-defense expert and world-renown firearms trainer Massad Ayoob said this about Constitutional Carry way back in 2011:
That’s why I hope you’ll contact your state representative TODAY and tell them to co-sponsor Representative Hood and Brinkman’s Constitutional Carry bill.
As I said before, this isn’t going to be easy. Mobilizing gun owners from across the state via mail, email, social media and ads isn’t cheap, either.
For Freedom,
Chris Dorr
Executive Director
Ohio Gun Owners
P.S. Representatives Ron Hood and Tom Brinkman have introduced the Ohio Gun Owners Constitutional Carry Act of 2017, and it’s ready for co-sponsors!
That’s why I hope you’ll read the email above and take action!
Please contact your state representative TODAY and tell them to co-sonsor Constitutional Carry right away.
To find out who your representative is, click here.
Restoring our Right to carry a firearm for self-defense won’t be easy – if it was it would’ve already been done.
But please, make your calls right away. That’s most important.
And when you’re done, forward this email on to your pro-gun buddies and ask them to do the same!
