http://www.cincypost.com/news/gun052400.html <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Ruling could affect law
By Kimball Perry, Post staff reporter
A Hamilton County judge's impassioned ruling in a concealed weapon case could spur changes in state law.
In finding Patrick Feely not guilty Monday of carrying a concealed weapon, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Crush called Ohio's current law - which doesn't have a process under which gun owners can register their guns and receive a permit to carry them - ''most unfortunate.''
''It's treating decent citizens like criminals,'' Crush said. ''I think 41 states have licensing laws or permit carrying concealed weapons, and everywhere carrying concealed weapons is allowed, crime seems to go down.''
''I see either the Legislature correcting the situation or a judge somewhere will declare the law unconstitutional and then the Legislature will have to correct it,'' said Feely's attorney, Timothy A. Smith.
A bill that would allow law-abiding Ohioans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons was filed in the state Legislature in February 1999, but has been stuck in committee despite widespread legislative support.
Feely, 29, faced 1 1/2 years in prison after he was arrested last year by Fairfax police during a traffic stop for carrying a concealed weapon. Feely told police his job required him to carry large amounts of cash and he needed the gun for protection.
At the time, Feely supplied food to canteen trucks at construction sites and usually dealt in cash. He carried as much as $3,000 on him at a time, said Smith.
''He's just a working stiff. He works hard, and he doesn't want to get killed doing it,'' Smith said.
''I don't think there is a question he had a right to carry a gun under the circumstances, concealed as he did,'' Crush said.
Regardless of Feely's intent, under Ohio law, police had to arrest Feely for carrying a concealed weapon because the state doesn't have a permitting process.
The only way to be ''allowed'' to carry the weapon, Crush ruled, was for Feely to be found not guilty - which is what Crush did Monday.
But even that doesn't promise Feely won't be arrested again the next time he has the gun on him.
''In other words,'' Crush said, ''an honest person in a difficult or dangerous job must subject himself to trial like a criminal to find out whether he could have carried a gun and then it doesn't carry forward even into the future.''
Smith, who believes the Ohio law is unconstitutional, said Feely was making a stand on the issue and refused a plea bargain that would have allowed him to escape jail. Smith believes the case could be the start of the repeal of Ohio law on the issue.
Feely is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, which lobbies legislators on behalf of gun owners.
Neither Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen nor Feely could be reached for comment.
Crush's comments came just as fellow Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel today will con sider a preliminary injunction today to stop the city of Cincinnati from appealing a dismissal of its suit against gun manufacturers.
In 1999, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman threw out the suit, which seeks to recover the costs of fighting and dealing with violent crime.
Ruehlman said those who fire guns - and not the guns - are responsible for killings.
The city's suit accused gun manufacturers of negligence, saying their products had been designed without sufficient safety features.
Publication date: 05-24-00[/quote]Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD
By Kimball Perry, Post staff reporter
A Hamilton County judge's impassioned ruling in a concealed weapon case could spur changes in state law.
In finding Patrick Feely not guilty Monday of carrying a concealed weapon, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Crush called Ohio's current law - which doesn't have a process under which gun owners can register their guns and receive a permit to carry them - ''most unfortunate.''
''It's treating decent citizens like criminals,'' Crush said. ''I think 41 states have licensing laws or permit carrying concealed weapons, and everywhere carrying concealed weapons is allowed, crime seems to go down.''
''I see either the Legislature correcting the situation or a judge somewhere will declare the law unconstitutional and then the Legislature will have to correct it,'' said Feely's attorney, Timothy A. Smith.
A bill that would allow law-abiding Ohioans to obtain permits to carry concealed weapons was filed in the state Legislature in February 1999, but has been stuck in committee despite widespread legislative support.
Feely, 29, faced 1 1/2 years in prison after he was arrested last year by Fairfax police during a traffic stop for carrying a concealed weapon. Feely told police his job required him to carry large amounts of cash and he needed the gun for protection.
At the time, Feely supplied food to canteen trucks at construction sites and usually dealt in cash. He carried as much as $3,000 on him at a time, said Smith.
''He's just a working stiff. He works hard, and he doesn't want to get killed doing it,'' Smith said.
''I don't think there is a question he had a right to carry a gun under the circumstances, concealed as he did,'' Crush said.
Regardless of Feely's intent, under Ohio law, police had to arrest Feely for carrying a concealed weapon because the state doesn't have a permitting process.
The only way to be ''allowed'' to carry the weapon, Crush ruled, was for Feely to be found not guilty - which is what Crush did Monday.
But even that doesn't promise Feely won't be arrested again the next time he has the gun on him.
''In other words,'' Crush said, ''an honest person in a difficult or dangerous job must subject himself to trial like a criminal to find out whether he could have carried a gun and then it doesn't carry forward even into the future.''
Smith, who believes the Ohio law is unconstitutional, said Feely was making a stand on the issue and refused a plea bargain that would have allowed him to escape jail. Smith believes the case could be the start of the repeal of Ohio law on the issue.
Feely is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, which lobbies legislators on behalf of gun owners.
Neither Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen nor Feely could be reached for comment.
Crush's comments came just as fellow Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel today will con sider a preliminary injunction today to stop the city of Cincinnati from appealing a dismissal of its suit against gun manufacturers.
In 1999, Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Ruehlman threw out the suit, which seeks to recover the costs of fighting and dealing with violent crime.
Ruehlman said those who fire guns - and not the guns - are responsible for killings.
The city's suit accused gun manufacturers of negligence, saying their products had been designed without sufficient safety features.
Publication date: 05-24-00[/quote]Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD