When I visited Ohio last month, I spoke with a friend of mine about getting his concealed handgun permit. He told me that he'd probably wait a while before applying for a permit. I was a little taken aback, and asked him to explain his reservations. Quite plainly, he told me that it was a shitty law. He said that the way the law is written, you have to jump through too many hoops and obey too many nuances. And if you step out of line just once, you get hit pretty hard. He said that even a simple violation of one of the many nuances in the law could mean that you lose your firearm's rights forever. At the time, I thought he was a bit paranoid, but now I'm starting to wonder.

Ohio's concealed carry law indeed appears to be suffering from growing pains. In Shelby County, Sheriff Kevin O'Leary released a bunch of confidential information about permit holders to the news media. The media promptly published people's names and home addresses in the local newspaper. In doing so, both committed a felony.

You see, when concealed carry was being debated in the legislature, Ohio Governor Bob Taft demanded some concessions. One such concession was that the names of permit holders not be kept secret. He demanded that the news media be allowed access to the lists of concealed handgun permit holders. The provision effectively put cops in between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, local Sheriffs are met with a huge demand to process concealed handgun applications in a timely manner. On the other hand, they've got big media liberals hammering them for personal information about just who is being granted permits. Although the law clearly states Sheriffs are to provide the "county of residence", the Shelby County Sheriff took that to mean "local address". Now, I don't know about you but if I was filling out a form and it asked for my "county of residence", I'd name the county in which I reside. I certainly wouldn't fill in the blank with my complete home address. In doing so the Sheriff, perhaps unwittingly, committed a fifth degree felony. He claims it was just a misunderstanding, and I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. If a stern warning changes the way he handles future requests for information, I don't see the need to ruin a good policeman's career. Although the county has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the matter, the chances are pretty good that they'll take care of their own and nothing will happen to the Sheriff O'Leary.

But then comes the double standard. Just one county over in Montgomery County, Douglas Lyons mistakenly tried to carry his pistol into a court house. He had a permit, but carrying guns in court is illegal. In fact, under the new concealed carry law, it's a fifth degree felony. He claims it was just a misunderstanding, and I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. If a stern warning changes the way he carries his firearm in the future, I don't see the need to take away a good citizen's firearm's rights.

County police, on the other hand, don't really see it that way. OFCC reports that local "Law enforcement officials say permit owners need to be careful about where they carry concealed weapons. They said gun owners are aware of what the law is and that there will be no warnings, but arrests." Montgomery County officials think that there is no room for tolerance, and they are prepared to throw the book at Lyons. Should we also presume that if their sheriff (and news media) violated Ohio's concealed handgun statute like Shelby County Sheriff O'Leary did, they would be just as zealous in their prosecution? I have my doubts. It sounds an awful lot like another case of 'rules for you but not us'.