Ohio Concealed Weapons Law Ruled
             Unconstitutional


                          CINCINNATI - A state
                          appeals court on
                          Wednesday declared
                          Ohio's decades-old ban
             on carrying concealed weapons
             unconstitutional because it violates the
             right to self defense.

             The framers of the Ohio constitution "put the
             citizens' rights up front," said Mark Painter,
             presiding judge of the 1st Ohio District Court
             of Appeals. "We believe they meant what they
             said."

             Ohio's attorney general asked the state
             Supreme Court for an immediate delay of the
             ruling to hear an appeal, said spokesman Joe
             Case.

             Lawyers for Cincinnati, Hamilton County and
             the state had argued that government has the
             right to regulate the manner in which
             weapons are carried.

             The appeals court upheld Hamilton County
             Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman's Jan.
             10 ruling that the state ban was
             unenforceable in the county. The ban includes
             both carrying a concealed weapon and having
             a loaded weapon in a vehicle.

             The court also said the ban is confusing to
             citizens and police, making it likely that
             various agencies would enforce the law
             differently.

             "I feel like a burden's been lifted off my
             shoulders," said Pat Feely, 31, a food delivery
             truck and one of five people who challenged
             the law. "I feel like I don't risk arrest."

             Feely was arrested in 1999 because he kept a
             gun in his waistband while delivering pizzas.

             Ohio allows only law enforcement officials
             and state and federal government officers to
             carry concealed weapons.

             The plaintiffs, who include a private
             investigator, say their jobs take them into
             areas where they need self defense. Their
             attorneys also argued that conflicting
             enforcement by different police agencies
             makes it difficult for people to know how to
             exercise their constitutional right to self
             defense.

             They said Cincinnati police have arrested
             people for carrying concealed weapons, and
             city officers have testified they probably
             would arrest someone who tried to openly
             carry a weapon.

             A State Highway Patrol officer testified that
             the patrol has caught motorists carrying
             loaded guns and let them go.

             Forty-three states allow concealed weapons in
             some form

Now, for the rest of Ohio...

Quoted: Now, for the rest of Ohio...

I'm pretty sure this ruling applies to ALL of Ohio.

It was a State appeals Court.

KICK ASS!
hope this passes, and then they honor michigan's law, then i won't have to stop at the border and put it in a locked case in the trunk when i go to toledo.
pain in the ass. (and i do it every time, like a good citizen)

This ruling only refers to Hamilton County.

Quoted: This ruling only refers to Hamilton County.

Where are you at in Ohio? I'm in Ashtabula.
CAPITALIST

Quoted: This ruling only refers to Hamilton County.

I see.  Doesn't this give anyone else who wants to challenge an arrest pretty good ammo to win thier case as it was argued and won on State Constitutional grounds?