imported post
I ran across this article in this morning's paper, and I have included the email I sent to the Canton Rep. It is sad to see how few people know about their right to open carry, and how the Sheriff's department makes it seem that if you do not have a CCW, you are not allowed to carry.
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=364990&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
And here is my email:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am contacting you in regards to an article I read this morning, which I have posted below. It is a well written article and very informative, but there is one section that I believe is misleading:
Chief Deputy Rick Perez of the Stark County Sheriff's Department said an individual collector can sell a gun to someone at a gun show without requiring a permit to carry concealed weapons or a background check.
"You can own a gun and even take it to the range without having a (carry-conceal) permit, as long as you don't have it loaded," he said. "As long as the ammunition and the weapon are separated and out of reach, you're not breaking the law."
What Rick Perez said is only partially true. If you are transporting the firearm in a vehicle without a permit, you are required to have it unloaded, but if you go to the range on foot, it is your constitutional right to open carry a loaded firearm to and from the range. I understand the majority of people would drive a vehicle to a range, but I am confident it is important to the Canton Repository to publish the entire truth.
Rick Perez's statement seems to be very misleading, unless there was more to his quote than was published. The important fact that one can own a firearm and carry it without a permit is missing. No where in the Ohio Constitution is open carry prohibited. While it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, it is entirely legal to open carry a loaded firearm, which I do every day. Rather than pay approximately $150.00 for classes and a permit, wait for the Sheriff's department to run background checks to grant me the "privilege" to exercise my Second Amendment rights, and risk having a newspaper like the Sandusky Register illegally printing my personal information, I prefer to open carry a holster handgun. It is a good deterrent to crime, gives me easy access to my firearm if I should need it, and with the summer heat, it is a much cooler way to carry.
Thank you for reading my comments, and I hope the Repository will take these facts into account when articles regarding firearms are published in the future. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
dng
Federal agents not usually visible at local gun shows
Sunday, July 15, 2007
By Lori Monsewicz
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
If federal agents have shown up at any Stark County gun shows, their presence has gone pretty much unnoticed. "I've never had a problem," said Terry Roan, who has organized the Stark County Gun Collectors' shows for the past 17 years.
Roan said agents with the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could be walking around a gun show and no one would know.
"If they're here, they are here to make sure you're doing everything legally," he said. "They could be walking around a show or buying a gun from a dealer and if the dealer doesn't do what he's supposed to, they can arrest you."
Dealers are required by federal law to run background checks on people who want to buy a gun from them. They must carry a federal firearms license. Roan said dealers can use a cell phone to dial a phone number of an agency in Clarksburg, W.Va., to request an instant background check.
The agency, National Instant Criminal Background Check System, was created in 1993 so any dealer with a federal firearms license could request a background check to determine a buyer's eligibility to possess a weapon.
Individuals selling guns, however, aren't required to run background checks.
Chief Deputy Rick Perez of the Stark County Sheriff's Department said an individual collector can sell a gun to someone at a gun show without requiring a permit to carry concealed weapons or a background check.
"You can own a gun and even take it to the range without having a (carry-conceal) permit, as long as you don't have it loaded," he said. "As long as the ammunition and the weapon are separated and out of reach, you're not breaking the law."
In Stark County, the only gun show takes place in Massillon, where Roan's club presents a 128-table gun show on the first weekends in April and October. The next shows are Oct. 6 and 7 at the Knights of Columbus on Cherry Road.
Massillon Police Capt. Joe Herrick said law enforcement departments do not do the background checks for gun shows.
Herrick said dealers are the only ones required to conduct those checks and ensure the person they sell a gun to has met federal ownership requirements.
I ran across this article in this morning's paper, and I have included the email I sent to the Canton Rep. It is sad to see how few people know about their right to open carry, and how the Sheriff's department makes it seem that if you do not have a CCW, you are not allowed to carry.
Here is a link to the story:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=364990&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
And here is my email:
To Whom It May Concern:
I am contacting you in regards to an article I read this morning, which I have posted below. It is a well written article and very informative, but there is one section that I believe is misleading:
Chief Deputy Rick Perez of the Stark County Sheriff's Department said an individual collector can sell a gun to someone at a gun show without requiring a permit to carry concealed weapons or a background check.
"You can own a gun and even take it to the range without having a (carry-conceal) permit, as long as you don't have it loaded," he said. "As long as the ammunition and the weapon are separated and out of reach, you're not breaking the law."
What Rick Perez said is only partially true. If you are transporting the firearm in a vehicle without a permit, you are required to have it unloaded, but if you go to the range on foot, it is your constitutional right to open carry a loaded firearm to and from the range. I understand the majority of people would drive a vehicle to a range, but I am confident it is important to the Canton Repository to publish the entire truth.
Rick Perez's statement seems to be very misleading, unless there was more to his quote than was published. The important fact that one can own a firearm and carry it without a permit is missing. No where in the Ohio Constitution is open carry prohibited. While it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, it is entirely legal to open carry a loaded firearm, which I do every day. Rather than pay approximately $150.00 for classes and a permit, wait for the Sheriff's department to run background checks to grant me the "privilege" to exercise my Second Amendment rights, and risk having a newspaper like the Sandusky Register illegally printing my personal information, I prefer to open carry a holster handgun. It is a good deterrent to crime, gives me easy access to my firearm if I should need it, and with the summer heat, it is a much cooler way to carry.
Thank you for reading my comments, and I hope the Repository will take these facts into account when articles regarding firearms are published in the future. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
dng
Federal agents not usually visible at local gun shows
Sunday, July 15, 2007
By Lori Monsewicz
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
If federal agents have shown up at any Stark County gun shows, their presence has gone pretty much unnoticed. "I've never had a problem," said Terry Roan, who has organized the Stark County Gun Collectors' shows for the past 17 years.
Roan said agents with the U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives could be walking around a gun show and no one would know.
"If they're here, they are here to make sure you're doing everything legally," he said. "They could be walking around a show or buying a gun from a dealer and if the dealer doesn't do what he's supposed to, they can arrest you."
Dealers are required by federal law to run background checks on people who want to buy a gun from them. They must carry a federal firearms license. Roan said dealers can use a cell phone to dial a phone number of an agency in Clarksburg, W.Va., to request an instant background check.
The agency, National Instant Criminal Background Check System, was created in 1993 so any dealer with a federal firearms license could request a background check to determine a buyer's eligibility to possess a weapon.
Individuals selling guns, however, aren't required to run background checks.
Chief Deputy Rick Perez of the Stark County Sheriff's Department said an individual collector can sell a gun to someone at a gun show without requiring a permit to carry concealed weapons or a background check.
"You can own a gun and even take it to the range without having a (carry-conceal) permit, as long as you don't have it loaded," he said. "As long as the ammunition and the weapon are separated and out of reach, you're not breaking the law."
In Stark County, the only gun show takes place in Massillon, where Roan's club presents a 128-table gun show on the first weekends in April and October. The next shows are Oct. 6 and 7 at the Knights of Columbus on Cherry Road.
Massillon Police Capt. Joe Herrick said law enforcement departments do not do the background checks for gun shows.
Herrick said dealers are the only ones required to conduct those checks and ensure the person they sell a gun to has met federal ownership requirements.
