Concealed carry is legal in all 50 states. While some states it’s only a possibility on paper–I’m looking at you, New Jersey, among others–the possibility still exists. People can get carry permits according to the law.

However, requirements vary widely between states. A permit in Savannah, Georgia is a lot easier to obtain than one in Los Angeles, California, for example.

Further, many states have found that concealed carry is ultimately a good thing and that those who carry are reasonable, responsible people. Some states then decide they want to make it easier for those who want to carry. A bill along those lines is on the table right now in Ohio, and the Columbus Dispatch is less than pleased about it.

An outrageous bill to allow Ohioans to carry concealed weapons with no training or permit makes it official: Gun-rights absolutists have no concern for public safety.

…

If House Bill 174 passes, any pretense of caution will be gone. Anyone who isn’t a convicted felon or otherwise prohibited will be free to hide and carry any legal gun, whether or not he has any idea how it works and what it can do.

Most mind-boggling is a provision that would erase the current requirement for people with guns in their cars to inform a police officer of that fact when stopped. That is the plainest common sense, meant to protect police officers and gun carriers alike.

A spokesman said Gov. Mike DeWine “supports protecting Ohioans’ Second Amendment rights” and is reviewing the bill. We hope, for the safety of all Ohioans, he can see that requiring a permit and eight hours of training before carrying a concealed weapon threatens no one’s rights.

Except that they do.

The Second Amendment reads, “A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the people right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

That’s “keep and bear arms.”

Further, the claim that this somehow makes people less safe is ridiculous. Numerous states already have these provisions or similar in place and have had no issue with lawful carriers.

Let’s take a look at a few of these ideas, shall we?

Notifying a police officer

While many states do require it, others don’t and for good reason. For one thing, the only people who inform the officer are the people who wouldn’t be a threat to officer safety in the first place. Many places don’t require people to tell the police they’re carrying and guess what? The very people who would try to shoot a police officer are the very people who aren’t authorized to carry in the first place.

Funny how that shakes out, isn’t it?

No training requirement

Again, this is a provision that exists in a number of states. Georgia, my home state, is one.

Do you know what we don’t see? We don’t see examples of people with permits using their guns indiscriminately. They don’t do stupid things that they wouldn’t do if only they had training.

Georgia isn’t unique in this. In fact, it’s universal.

People who carry lawfully understand that they’re not being given permission to kill. They’re simply carrying the means to protect their own life. As such, they tend to be very judicious in how they use that firearm. They don’t need state-mandated training to do that.

No permit required

Constitutional carry is the law in plenty of states, and guess what? No one’s getting shot by people who are only carrying a gun because they don’t have to have a permit to do so.

In other words, all of this is little more than a journalistic freak-out session masquerading as a newspaper editorial. It’s not based on anything but the terrified emotions of people who know little about guns and even less about the people who carry them.