Anti-gun forces in Ohio are whining and whimpering today. On December 29th the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against gun bans and other stupidity at the local level, such as waiting periods, so-called “assault” rifle bans and registration for handguns.
Cleveland had tried to pass a city ordinance banning “assault” rifles and demanded the registration of all handguns.
The Ohio SCC ruled that it is important to have uniform laws that are state-wide, not a hodge-podge of varying rules in every city or town.
Anti-gunners are upset because the state laws are more permissive than the local-level laws.
They’re also upset because it’s the second time they’ve lost this battle.
Cleveland argued that they should have the right to pass whatever laws they wanted, but the Ohio Supreme Court disagreed.
From the article in the Columbus Dispatch:
“The General Assembly indicated that its intent in enacting (the statewide law) was ‘to provide uniform laws throughout the state’ for firearm ownership and possession,” Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton wrote for the majority. “We reaffirm the holding that (the law in question) is part of a statewide comprehensive legislative enactment.”
In 2006, the Ohio House voted 71-21 to override a veto by then-Gov. Bob Taft of the statewide regulations.
Firearms groups cheered the statewide law, saying gun owners shouldn’t be penalized by a patchwork of laws from city to city. The same groups hailed yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling.
“My right to self-defense, just like my right to attend church or write an op-ed in the local newspaper or be protected from illegal search and seizure, is the same in Delaware County as it is in Columbus or Cleveland,” said Ken Hanson, legislative chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association.
Congratulations to the good folks at the Buckeye Firearms Association and everyone else that fought for common-sense gun laws in Ohio. This is a great victory for them, and for everyone’s Constitutional Rights!
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