When much of the nation is still grappling with the tragedies in AZ and with possible legislation underway limiting large capacity magazines, what does the Republican controlled Senate leadership of Ohio offer its citizenry?
From the Dayton Daily News
The Ohio Senate Wednesday voted 25-7 for legislation to permit concealed carry permit holders to take guns into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol as long as they’re not drinking themselves.
Under Gov Kasich's (R) few short months in office he has attempted to bust up the unions, delayed and possibly eliminating the jobs of thousands by contesting the 4 new casinos that were to be built in OH(complete with $400/hour out of state consultants) and now... you can bring a weapon into your favorite watering hole.
Their wording of the bill indicates some assumption that the very act of licensing individuals bestows upon the licensee some pie-in-the-sky high level of idyllic behavior.
If it were that simple, if the very act of licensing an individual did in fact make people highly responsible, then one could assume there would never be a drunk driver. Sadly, we do not live in that Utopian society. But the Republicans in the OH Senate seem to think otherwise.
So, patrons can show up drunk with a concealed firearm, bar owners simply cannot serve them.
This is wrong on so many levels and I don't have time to spend my day writing about this, but at its most basic level one cannot recognize a carrier of a concealed weapon because it is CONCEALED.
The bottom line is that this is 100% self-policing policy. The only person knowing he is carrying a weapon is the carrier of that weapon.
Would full disclosure be a trait a reasonable person would expect from an unstable, gun-carrying, intoxicated patron?
If "some dude at the bar last night told me (fill in the blank)?" How much validity do most people put into that conversation? My guess is that unless one is really gullible or enjoys disappointment, most people put limited stock into such conversations.
So, I welcome you all to have a drink in Ohio. You will feel safer and healthier knowing that at the very least the gun toting, insane drunken fool next to you won't light up and have a cigarette in this smoke-free haven!