Ohio Bill Seeks To End Training Requirement For Concealed Carry

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The rules for concealed carry exist in every state, but they tend to have some distinct differences. Some only issue the permits to some. Others issue to everyone who lacks a reason not to get one. Some require training, others don’t.

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The training requirement is one of the more controversial elements you see regarding carry permits, too. After all, no one thinks people should never get training, but some think it’s important they get training before getting a permit. Others, such as myself, think that mandating that training doesn’t actually accomplish anything.

As things stand, Ohio requires training for their carry permits. However, a bill seeks to change that.

Both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly are plodding forward on legislation to waive training requirements to carry a concealed weapon.

While current law allows state residents to openly carry a weapon, it only allows those 21-and-up to obtain a concealed carry permit after completing an 8-hour training course and passing a background check.

House Bill 227 and Senate Bill 215, which contain some important differences, would waive these permitting requirements, including the training

The effort, if successful, would continue Ohio’s steady relaxing of its gun laws over the last 20 years, which has included launching the concealed carry program in 2004 that required 12 hours of training; passing “pre-emption” legislation in 2006 which blocks cities from enacting gun laws stricter than those at the state level; and removing the duty to retreat (passing “stand your ground”) in 2020, which removed the requirement for a person to seek retreat before responding to a perceived attack with deadly force.

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It should be noted that many other states have no such requirement, yet they don’t seem to have any issues that can be reasonably attributed to a lack of a training requirement.

That actually makes sense.

You see, when you get your permit, even if you didn’t have to go through any training to get it, you already know that if you screw up and use your firearm in a way that isn’t allowed under the law, you’re probably going to prison. That includes just pulling it because you think you might need it.

So, people make sure they educate themselves. They learn what’s permitted and what isn’t so they don’t run into a problem with the law.

And it works, too.

Historically, people with concealed carry permits are more law-abiding than any other group of people you care to name, including lawmakers, police, and judges. They’re simply not an issue, and this is true throughout the nation, including states with no training requirement.

If a training requirement were essential, that wouldn’t be the case. We’d see many more concealed carry permit holders being arrested and charged for crimes because they lacked the training to know when to pull their guns and when not to. Since we see no such thing, it appears people are smart enough to find the correct information on their own.

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And let’s not forget we’re talking about a matter of rights here. We don’t require training before you get your computer, and words have killed millions (see also: anything written by Karl Marx). Why should guns be any different?

Hopefully, we’ll soon see Ohio join the rest of the nation in showing some common sense and ending useless training requirements.

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