Ohio Senate Passes Bill allowing CCW in places serving alcohol

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

COLUMBUS (AP) — Firearms owners with the proper permit would be allowed to bring concealed guns into establishments or events where alcohol is served, under a bill the Ohio Senate has passed.

The measure was approved by a 23-10 vote on Thursday, despite objections from groups representing Ohio sheriffs and police chiefs. The legislation bars the concealed carriers from drinking any alcohol, but the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police says policing that will be difficult.

The bill's supporters in the Republican-led Senate say change is needed in the current law because prohibiting concealed weapons in bars and restaurants turns those places into "victim zones" where citizens can't protect themselves.

The legislation now heads to the Ohio House, controlled by Democrats.

Fuck yeah! Olive Garden, here I come! :)
Now I don't have to worry abut unnecessarily handling my firearm and leaving it in the car when I go to most restaurants.
Now, when I ask for extra cheese @ Chipotle... they'll know I MEAN IT!! :eyes:

I'm pretty confident the house will pass it.
Gov Strickland is fairly pro-gun too so he should sign it if it gets to him.

[Phlem]

1. YeeHaww!!!!!

yet I can't smoke a plant without risking personal ruin. Let's Shoot It UP!!!!!

-p

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

2. In ohio, you can't smoke ANYTHING in ANY restaraunt...

Let alone legally enjoy a little dubbiage in your own home.

Honestly, I don't mind the smoking ban... it is really nice not to have to go around smelling people's cancer sticks everywhere.
Sports bars, bowling alleys, and pool halls are especially nice nowadays. However, on principle I kind of oppose the ban.
I think people should be free to smoke if adequate precautions are taken to prevent second-hand.

[madinmaryland]

9. Maybe legalized pot would put a chill on the trigger happy folks.

[marylanddem]

3. Glad I escaped from Ohio

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

7. MD allows concealed carry with a permit, no?

I do believe in MD, if you have a valid permit, you may carry your firearm into an establishment that serves alcohol.
I'm not an expert on MD firearm laws, but I recall hearing that somewhere. Am I wrong?

As your name suggests, are you from MD?

[OhioBlue]

4. I hope the House defeats it.

guns in bars is just too freakin' insane for me.

I'm not talking about Olive Garden and Chipotle. Have you ever been to a local yocal bar? You know the ones were they actually do still smoke? The ones with a beat up pool table, juke box playing Hank Williams and Pink Floyd, regulars at the end of the bar... somewhere around mid night Billy Bob gets pissed b/c he thinks Jim Bob took the quarters he had up on the pool table... chests flair out... fingers in faces... punch gets thrown.. bar fight. Billy Bob wakes up the next day with a hangover and a black eye - gets banned for a week... rinse.. repeat...

sorry - I've been to the local yocals and these aren't the Martini bars the State Senators might go to. I think this proposal is beyond stupid.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

6. People with guns would not be allowed to drink.

No, there is nothing to make sure someone with a hidden gun isn't drinking (it's hidden...)
One would have to break the law to do so. Ask yourself, "What keeps from illegally carrying and drinking currently?"
This law will do NOTHING to aid getting drunk with a gun. It was illegal before and will remain illegal afterward.
As before, all private establishments would have the right to bar firearms from the premises.

Not everyone goes to bars to get drunk and this law's primary target is simply allowing people to carry in dine-in restaurants.
What this law does do is get rid of requiring people with a CCW to draw and handle their weapon then leave it in a car.
IMO, not having to handle a firearm and keeping it in personal possession is much more safe than leaving it unattended.

FWIW, I would support a 51%-type law as well. I would actually prefer it, in fact.

[Euromutt]

15. Yeah, insofar as there is a problem, it's with the liquor laws

Just to compare, when it comes to establishments that derive revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, the Washington state Liquor Control Board makes the distinction between establishments for which such sales are the primary source or revenue, and those for which such sales are not the primary source of revenue. The former include "taverns," nightclubs and the like, and by law they are off-limits to persons under 21; in any such establishment, it is also illegal to carry a firearm. It's legal to carry in establishments not declared off-limits to under-21s by the LCB, such as restaurants.

So it strikes me that this constant "guns in bars" palaver happens because in the states in question, there is no distinction between establishments that primarily serve alcoholic beverages (i.e. bars) and those that serve alcohol in addition to their primary source of revenue. Strikes me that the need is for such states to make the distinction "this is a watering hole (so no guns), and that is a restaurant where you can have a drink with your meal (guns optional)." As 0.1 says, a 51%-type law.

[GreenStormCloud]

21. Those bars already have patrons packing guns in them.

Do you think the crowd that frequents those places even bothers to get permits to carry concealed?

[county worker]

5. Bunch of pussies!

When I was growing up in Ohio in the 50's men went into a bar and put their gun on the bar in front of them! They wouldn't think of hiding it somewhere. My dad use to take me to the bar when I was 10. He'd buy a beer for himself and an orange crush for me. Sometimes we traded drinks. The place was called Red Thompson's in Dayton.

[madinmaryland]

8. Hmmm. Guns and lots of alchohol. Now that sounds like a REAL good mixture

to me.

Maybe gun owners should be required to smoke pot to mellow them selves out.

[Euromutt]

14. Learn to read, will you?

How many times does it have to be pointed out that the proposed law prohibits anyone who's carrying from drinking?

Yeah, yeah, "the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police says policing that will be difficult," but guess what? It was already difficult to police whether someone with a concealed handgun--legally possessed or otherwise--was going into a bar. The kind of person who obeys the current law is also the kind of person who will obey the proposed law.

[madinmaryland]

19. Read what???

This is what I saw in the post:

"Firearms owners with the proper permit would be allowed to bring concealed guns into establishments or events where alcohol is served, under a bill the Ohio Senate has passed."

Where does it say in the OP that the proposed law prohibits anyone who's carrying from drinking?

:wtf:

[Euromutt]

20. Look in the second paragraph...

...where it says:

The legislation bars the concealed carriers from drinking any alcohol, but the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police says policing that will be difficult.

Emphasis in bold mine.

First Tennessee, then Arizona, now Ohio, and every single time some smart aleck busts out the with "booze and guns, what could go wrong?" shtick, missing the explicit mention every single time that the legislation prohibits anyone carrying from consuming alcohol.

[provis99]

10. what idiot gun law next? Concealed weapons on nude beaches?

[spin]

18. Good one. LOL. First laugh today. (n/t)

[proteus_lives]

11. They were already there.

[ManiacJoe]

12. Links to the bill and its analysis.

Assuming I have the correct bill...

Bill: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText128/128_SB_239_RS_N.html

Analysis: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/analysis.cfm?ID=128_SB_239&hf=analyses128/s0239-rs-128.htm

[virginia mountainman]

13. I have no idea why some posters in this thread find it unusual?!

That it is legal to carry a gun in a restaurant that serves alcohol..




It is a very common thing.... ONLY A SHRINKING HANDFUL OF STATES RESTRICT IT....

[Euromutt]

16. In fairness, I think the lack of distinction between "restaurant" and "bar" plays a part

For purposes of this post, by "restaurant," I mean a restaurant that (incidentally) serves alcohol. I suspect the majority of states that permitted carry in restaurants made a legal distinction between establishments that derive a minor part of their revenue from alcohol sales, as opposed to establishments that derive most (or all) of their revenue from alcohol sales (e.g. bars, taverns, nightclubs, etc.). From what I gather, Tennessee, Arizona and now Ohio don't make that legal distinction, thus permitting carrying in restaurants also entails permitting carrying in bars (somebody from TN, AZ and/or OH correct me if I'm wrong), and that is what's controversial.

[one-eyed fat man]

17. In Kentucky

It is precisely as you indicate, although they don't call it a 51% rule, that is in effect what it is. No guns in saloons, taverns, bars or whatever you want to call the place if over 50% of the gross receipts come from the sale of booze. It is OK in a restaurant that happens to serve alcohol, as long as you don't drink, or sit in the "bar area" if there is such apart from the dining area.

As far as hoodlums toting guns in the local cut and shoot, there was nothing to stop them before when it was illegal and doubtlessly few of them will change just because it would actually be legal in some places, (if they weren't already prohibited from carrying a gun in the first place)

Some folks have their knickers all in a twist now because they won't know if the guy drinking iced tea the next table is the designated driver or the if he has a CCW.

[YllwFvr]

22. Pa allows guns into both

bars and restaurants and ive carried into both. I dont drink more than one however. It would be the same if I wasnt carrying. I wont drink and drive, and I feel it would impair my ability to responsibly handle the firearm. Which shouldnt be left in the car and unnecessarily handled anyway.
Hopefully it passes.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

23. You can drink while carrying in PA?

Not that I really care. For 99% of people one or two beers doesn't really change anything.

[YllwFvr]

24. Yeah

There are no laws regarding drinking while carrying. Of course if you get stupid and it involves your gun... as a matter of fact even if it doesnt involve your gun, the fact that you had it on you while breaking the law drunk will probably bring the DA and the Judge down on you hard. But like I said if I am going to get drunk I either do it at my own house or a friends. I dont find getting smashed around a but of strangers very appealing.

So flame me if you folks want but yes I carry to the bar and have a lager or two, depending on how long I stay.