New Ohio Lawsuit To Be Filed
Friday to Allow Carrying of Firearms for Self-Protection
NEWS RELEASE
Second Amendment Foundation · 12500 NE Tenth Place · Bellevue, WA 98005
(425) 454-7012 · FAX (425) 451-3959 · www.saf.org
VISIT THE
SAF OHIO LAWSUIT PAGE HERE! ! !
Contact: Alan Gottlieb (425) 454-7012
Attorney Anthony Greco (614) 799-2940
New Ohio Lawsuit To Be Filed Friday to Allow Carrying of Firearms for
Self-Protection
(August 23, 2001) - The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) will file a new
lawsuit on Friday to overturn the unconstitutional ban on the means of
self-defense outside one's home that bars legal concealed carrying of firearms
by law-abiding adults. The new lawsuit is similar to the Cincinnati lawsuit that
initially won a temporary injunction but has since stalled in the Ohio Supreme
Court on minor procedural issues.
"The current law is unconstitutional. All we need to do is present our case
before a fair and impartial judge to have it tossed out," proclaimed Alan
Gottlieb, SAF Founder. "We hoped our Cincinnati lawsuit could go
forward to resolve this issue by now, but our opponents have kept us in
procedural appeals for over a year."
SAF's new Union County suit exposes the current scheme as a violation of the Ohio
Constitution (Article
1, Section 1 [inalienable rights to defending life, liberty and
property], Article
1, Section 4 [bear arms for defense and security], Article
1, Sections 2 [equal protection] and Article
1, Section 16 [due process]). In addition, as Judge Ruehlman
found in the suit in Cincinnati, the current law treats people as if
guilty until proven innocent!
The Ohio laws in question, R.C.
2923.12, bans all concealed carry of firearms with felony penalties for any
violations while R.C.
2923.16 bans loaded guns in a motor vehicle. It is only after a person
caught violating either of these provisions, and the person is incurring the
costs and stresses of a criminal trial that the current law allows the
possibility of an "affirmative defense" to be made. Such an unjust
system must be replaced with reasonable and prudent legislation, and that is the
reason for the lawsuit.
Columbus Attorney Anthony Greco touts the strength of this new case and
its reliance on Constitutional issues.
"The Ohio legislature, and specifically the current and previous governors
of this state, have wasted too much time on this issue," asserted Greco.
"If they will not allow the citizens to protect themselves without the fear
of felony arrest and the costs of a legal defense, we must ask the courts to
affirm this most basic of human rights as enumerated in the Ohio
Constitution."
Mike Powers, the lead plaintiff in the SAF funded case, stated that,
"As a former undercover narcotics officer and deputy sheriff, I put a
number of violent criminals away that are now back on the streets. It is wrong
to prevent me from protecting myself after serving the citizens of Ohio for two
decades. Yet that is the current law. It is both unfair and
unconstitutional." Another plaintiff is a domestic violence victim whose
ex-husband is about to get out of jail after serving time for holding her at
gunpoint while she held her baby.
If a temporary injunction is issued, this does NOT mean
that criminals, juveniles and other prohibited persons could carry firearms
since many gun laws will remain enforceable. If there are any questions
about this fact, please call either of the numbers above, or visit our website
at http://www.saf.org/Ohio.htm
The Second Amendment Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt
education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the
Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded
in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters
and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the gun
control debate and its consequences. SAF previously has funded successful
firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles, New Haven, CT, and San
Francisco on behalf of American gun owners. Current projects include a damage
action lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers, an amicus brief in support
of the Emerson case holding that the Second Amendment is an individual right and
a lawsuit against the Clinton gun and magazine ban.
-END-
VISIT THE SAF OHIO LAWSUIT PAGE HERE! ! !