Ohio state fair posting No guns at gates

[Digital_C]

I don't think they can do that can they?? You just can't go into any of the buildings.

[toddhill]

Nope, they can't. However, who's going to make them change the signs?


Here is a link to the dialog I had with the Wood County Sheriff and Prosecutor.

http://ohioccwforums.org/viewtopic.php?t=266

Both the Ohio AG and Wood County have stated that carry is allowed on Fairgrounds property. I was at the Wood County Fair and it was still posted. Even though we have the opinion from the AG, it may take some time to actually get the signs changed.

Don't forget, it is concealed carry.

[jgarvas]

I don't think they can do that can they?? You just can't go into any of the buildings.

According to NBC 4 in Columbus there were three arrests at the State Fair for "CCW" -- this could mean anything from a knife to a firearm:

http://www.nbc4i.com/news/4811346/detail.html

If anyone in the area knows the individuals who were arrested or the facts of the case, OFCC is interested in learning their identities and the facts of the situation.

Please contact me directly if you know, either via a PM, email, or the ContactUS page on OhioCCW.org.

-Jeff

[jasonb911]

Per the information in the WCMH4 website the person allegedly had a .45 Cal handgun that was concealed and the person was arrested.

[Brian_Horton]

It must not have been concealed very well.

[toddhill]

I'm not sure how to take this; if the person had a permit then he or she has a nice court cased based on the AG's opinion and possibly Bruce's case today.

If the person didn't have a permit, uh oh

I wonder if the arrestee was in the altercation that took place. I hope the facts come out soon.

[toddhill]

Anybody have an idea on how the Columbus AWB might affect this?

[Brian_Horton]

No effect yet. I think the Columbus AWB goes into effect sometime later this month.

[OHIOSTEVE]

When is this stuff gonna stop...the law CLEARLY says that we can carry on public property but not IN government buildings..whats so hard to fathom?....In the same article it says cops recommend staying in large groups and sticking to well lighted areas...THAT tells me that there is cause to be armed....

[OHIOSTEVE]

Dear editor.
I have read on the net that the OHIO STATE fairgrounds has been posted with the infamous "NO GUNS" signs. I have also read that there have been three arrests made of people carrying concealed weapons on the fair grounds. I am not sure if the folks arrested had a valid Ohio ccw permit, but if they did the arrests are erroneous and liable to cost the fair a LOT of money. The state law states plainly that a ccw holder is allowed to carry on any public property ( the fair grounds) but may NOT carry IN a government building. The posting of the fair grounds is an illegal act, the posting of the BUILDINGS on the other hand is perfectly legal. I have been to a couple of fairgrounds recently and noticed they too were posted. The state attorney general has issued an opinion stating that ccw with a permit on the fair grounds IS perfectly legal.
I wish that people would learn that legal ccw holders are NOT the problem but we are the only ones who will obey the no gun signs..stores and banks with no gun signs are still being robbed by criminals with guns ( actually I believe they are being robbed at a disproportionate rate) And because of the no gun zones and signs there have been guns stolen from vehicles by criminals...guns that would have been safely on the person of the permit holder had the signs not been posted, BUT ARE NOW IN THE HANDS OF CRIMINALS.
The "blood in the streets" scenario that the anti gunners predicted simply has not happened.And as business owners become more and more educated the no guns signs are coming down. I refuse to do business with a company that denies me the right to defend my life with equal force, and recommend and support those businesses that do.
STEVE LEWIS

[THE BIG HAMMER]

Ohio Steve,
I copied this from a post on packing.org. Maybe the rest of the story that you heard about.

Yesterday I headed to the Ohio State Fair on opening night. The experience was, well, interesting.

The first thing I noticed upon arriving was the large "No concealed weapons" signs. Of course, these signs have no legal weight because the Fairgrounds are state property, and as long as I didn't go into any buildings I was fine (a sacrifice I'm willing to make). It was the first night, so admission was $2. I took this to mean I'd get my fill of fried food with less up-front cost.

What it really meant was that the greater Columbus ghetto was going to spill into the fairgrounds for the night. Now, I don't mean that in an offensive way, but at work I deal with gang-related stuff, and I've started to learn to recognize even subtle gang behavior. Sitting on the "food freeway" at around 10:30 I noticed the number of suspicious persons begin to skyrocket. This put me on alert.

I was there with some close friends and my sister, all of whom think I live a paranoid life merely because I'm aware of my surroundings and prepared to deal with them. They did not share my level of concern with the surroundings, making the obvious choice to leave out of the question as I was not going to leave my sister there alone. Anyway, the situation continued to escalate, with increased gesturing and aggressive behavior until several fairly solid groups of similarly dressed young males formed. I watched as the Ohio State Highway Patrol tried several times to break the group(s) up, but they seemed out of their element and were most certainly far outnumbered.

I finally convinced my friends to at least leave the area and head towards the rides. Arriving there I shot into condition Orange. Where the groups of young males I had left were all juveniles, in the ride area there were young adult males. I instantly noticed several who exhibited clear signs of being armed; conspicuous bulges under their shirts, constant fiddling with the area around and under those bulges, and a constant tendency to turn that favored area away from the police when they walked by.

We boarded the ferris wheel simply to get out of that situation. When we got off everyone was finally convinced it was time to leave. Still in condition orange, we were briskly walking down the midway towards the exit when a group of even more briskly moving young men (perhaps 50-65) began to overtake us. As they were passing, one of the young men put one of his hands on my left shoulder, the other onto my right (drawing) arm and began to push me to the side.

I thrust my arm outward (not to push him, but to ensure he couldn't pin my arm to my gun and prevent my ability to draw if need be) and commanded him to get his, erm-hrm-ing, hands off of me. Thankfully, he complied. The situation could have been much worse.

It turned out that the OSHP was 'herding' these young gentlemen out of the fair, but it was an eye-opener to me. I was in a situation I could not convince one of my family members to leave, and the situation escalated into one where I found myself completely surrounded by precisely the people I wanted to avoid, and by so many of them that I would have been incapable of defending myself effectively.

This morning, when I went in to work, I found that five of the young men who were kicked out of the fair that night were arrested for having been armed. Looking back, I wonder to myself if, unlike the story posted yesterday about carrying in West Virginia, the fact that I was carrying somehow resulted in my staying longer in a situation I knew to be unsafe.

Sometimes I find myself torn between my situational awareness with an obvious preference to avoid being in a dangerous situation; and my principled (perhaps stubborn) stance that I shouldn't be driven away from things I find enjoyable by riff-raff and thugs. Yesterday was a bit of a mix. It was a bad situation, bad enough, I guess, that leaving a family member alone in it was not an option.

[toddhill]

That is very powerfull and usefull!

[OHIOSTEVE]

Thanks for the clarification....I am glad that I added the disclaimer about not knowing if the arrestees were ccw holders...It does drive the point home however that the signs do NOT stop criminals!

[Petrovich]

It's a darn shame a person can't even go to the fair without being afraid of dirtballs.

[Brian D.]

Yes, and even dirtballs can pony up a mere $2 for admission. Likely the reduced fee was a symptom of the problem.