Taft vows to veto revised gun law

The bill would prohibit local laws that are stricter than state law.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Republican Gov. Bob Taft said Wednesday he will veto a rewrite of the state's concealed weapons law that would wipe out local weapons bans and gun sales regulations.
Taft's objection to overriding local gun laws has been clear for months, spokesman Mark Rickel said, citing as an example Columbus' assault weapons ban.
If the legislation comes to the governor, "the bill would be vetoed," Rickel said.
Taft's announcement came as the House passed the bill 74-14 after an earlier vote by the Senate.
House Speaker Jon Husted, R-Kettering, said he had no comment on Taft's veto threat.
"I'm sure there will be more discussion of this issue," Husted said.
The approval came after Republican lawmakers said earlier this week they had reached a compromise with the State Highway Patrol, which had opposed removing a requirement that drivers keep registered handguns in plain view during traffic stops.
The highway patrol agreed to drop that stance in exchange for an increased criminal penalty for a motorist who fails to inform a police officer that a gun is inside the vehicle. The penalty would increase from a fourth- to a first-degree misdemeanor, with a two-year gun permit suspension.
The Senate vote of 19-10 was largely along party lines, with Democrats in the minority objecting. In the House, several Democrats joined Republicans in approving the measure.
Most-criticized provision
During the Senate debate, most of the criticism was aimed at the provision that would prohibit local governments from passing weapons bans that are more strict than state law, and would nullify municipal bans on assault weapons such as ones adopted by Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo and Columbus.
Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Cleveland-area Democrat, objected to the clause, saying it violates a municipality's "home rule" authority.
"When we look back on the 126th General Assembly, high on the epitaph has to be the death of home rule," said Fingerhut, who offered an amendment striking down the pre-emption clause, a move that Republicans squashed.
Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, a Democrat, had written lawmakers this week urging them to reject the bill.
"It not only violates our community's home rule on firearms, but we believe it jeopardizes the lives of police officers. We don't know how these two points can be made any clearer," said Mike Brown, a spokesman for Coleman.
Cites uniformity of law
Sen. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, said the bill is necessary to clarify the rights of law-abiding Ohioans who are licensed to carry concealed weapons. Removing misdemeanor local weapons laws will allow the state to have uniform rules across the state.
"We can't have local governments apply different standards when dealing with a constitutional right," Jordan said.
Jordan said state and federal gun regulations still would apply, including those that prohibit weapons in schools. But he conceded that the bill would prohibit local governments from passing future gun regulations, including those that prohibit people with licenses from bringing their weapons to playgrounds and parks.
Three Senate Republicans -- Steve Stivers of Columbus, Robert Spada of North Royalton and David Goodman of Bexley -- voted against the bill, with Stivers saying he couldn't accept the clause overruling local gun bans.
About 80 local ordinances are in effect -- regulating what guns can be carried, sales standards and child safety -- in about 20 communities around the state, according to the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, which opposed the legislation.