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Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:25 am
by tbrew85
Just thought I would share correspondence with the Commissioner of Butler County MetroParks regarding their park rules. I sent the original Email on April 3rd. I got a response from the Administrative assistant, while setting in the court room in Waverly for H&G's trial/untrial. She apologized for the delay in answering and stated a computer problem prevented her from receiving my email until yesterday, but that she had forwarded my email to the "Executive Director of the MetroParks of Butler County, for response."


Subject: Metroparks Rules and Regulations

To the Board of Park Commissioners:
Jonathan R. Granville
Gregory T. Amend
Edward L. Dwyer
Cynamon Trokhan

I was reading the Rules and Regulations posted on the Metroparks website. One rule in particular caught my eye. Specifically, section 5, Firearms and Weapons; 1545.09 5b states that firearms are prohibited unless (among other exemptions) being carried by Concealed Handgun License holders.

The wording of this rule has been a common mistake made by park districts and other government entities in an attempt to comply with Concealed Carry laws. While it is true that Concealed Handgun License holders cannot be prohibited from carrying their firearms in parks, it is also true that people without licenses who lawfully carry their firearms openly also cannot be prohibited. As such, this rule is in violation of ORC 9.68 because the way the rule is worded would prohibit the lawful “open carry” of firearms in the parks.

According to the dates listed on the Rules and Regulations, this was "Authorized and approved by Board of Park Commissioners Resolution No. 50.08. Date Approved: May 13, 2008. Effective June 1, 2008". The relevant ORC section has an effective date of March 14, 2007.

If you have any questions about this, I would be happy to discuss it with you.

Sincerely,

"Tbrew85"

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:28 am
by tbrew85
Today, I got this reply.

Mr. Tbrew85:

We appreciate your comments in regard to the open carry provisions of state law and the apparent conflict with the language of MetroParks Rules and Regulations. You are correct that state law always trumps local ordinances whenever there is a conflict. Recent court cases from across the state support your contention regarding open carry rights regardless of the possession of a concealed carry permit.

Our Park Rules and Regulations are due for an up-date to eliminate such conflicts, address present park system needs and increase clarity. Locally, you may be interested to know, our Ranger staff have never issued a citation based on the specific section of our Rules and Regulations which is the subject of your email and, under present circumstances, our officers will not do so.

However, your communication is very timely. We are in the process of rebuilding our Ranger Dept. and a rewrite of its public safety operating policies and existing Park Rules and Rules will take place in the coming months.

Thank you for taking the time to alert us to the potential conflict for had we been unaware the rights of responsible gun owners might have abridged.


Jonathan R. Granville
Executive Director
MetroParks of Butler County
2051 Timberman Road


Hamilton, OH 45013

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:29 am
by pleasantguywhopacks
Excellent response.

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:36 am
by tbrew85
Agreed, and quite honestly, I was pleasantly surprised.

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 9:38 am
by Chuck
If you respond back, please point out that while the rangers may not be enforcing this illegal rule, as long as it is posted it may prevent people who otherwise would have carried from doing so, leaving themselves defenseless

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:05 am
by mreising
I believe I had Butler county for one of the counties I sent packets to, I just don't remember if it was the info packets for 9.68 or the law updates, or both. I do remember that I sent at least one packet to Butler Metro Parks Rangers.

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:15 am
by tbrew85
mreising wrote:I believe I had Butler county for one of the counties I sent packets to, I just don't remember if it was the info packets for 9.68 or the law updates, or both. I do remember that I sent at least one packet to Butler Metro Parks Rangers.
Actually, Butler County is the one I took off your hands this past fall to update them all on the changes in law, and I did send one to the Rangers.

I wonder what exactly he meant by "We are in the process of rebuilding our Ranger Dept." ?

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:16 am
by djthomas
tbrew85 wrote:I wonder what exactly he meant by "We are in the process of rebuilding our Ranger Dept." ?
If it's anything like the Cleveland sports franchises it's an ongoing process that restarts every three years but no matter how much time elapses the product is the same :)

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 11:28 am
by docachna
djthomas wrote:
tbrew85 wrote:I wonder what exactly he meant by "We are in the process of rebuilding our Ranger Dept." ?
If it's anything like the Cleveland sports franchises it's an ongoing process that restarts every three years but no matter how much time elapses the product is the same :)

Hey, now !!! Weeden's gonna take the Browns to the Promised Land...... :roll: :roll: :roll:

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 12:09 pm
by jmboerger
I wonder what exactly he meant by "We are in the process of rebuilding our Ranger Dept." ?
The MetroParks of Butler County Ranger Department suffered staffing cuts before the passing of a recent park levy, but the department is now hiring officers to "rebuild" to levels that will better provide a safer environment for the park visitors.

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 8:36 pm
by Brian D.
Ex-OFCC member 'color of law' just lately has been taking the Butler County Metroparks to task because they never really fixed their ORC 9.68 non-compliance problems. (Or, perhaps they backpedaled, I don't know for sure.) So, he put them on notice with some letters, and they just now changed their rules to fall in line with 9.68.

Man, I wish pre-emption had some enforcement "teeth".

Re: Butler County Metroparks

Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:08 am
by BB62
Brian D. wrote:Ex-OFCC member 'color of law' just lately has been taking the Butler County Metroparks to task because they never really fixed their ORC 9.68 non-compliance problems. (Or, perhaps they backpedaled, I don't know for sure.) So, he put them on notice with some letters, and they just now changed their rules to fall in line with 9.68.

Man, I wish pre-emption had some enforcement "teeth".
Details here:

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/showt ... park-rules" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;