The Possum Post: 2
Constitutional Carry: What You Need to Know
by M
On June 13, 2022, SB 215 - also known as the “constitutional carry bill” - went into effect in Ohio. The bill effectively eliminated any training and licensing requirements for any person to carry a concealed handgun outside of the home in Ohio. While this legislation (unintentionally) clears up many of the gatekeeping measures contained within the concealed handgun licensing scheme to keep BiPOC and other marginalized folks from carrying a firearm for personal defense, the new law does NOT mean that anybody who wishes to can lawfully carry a concealed handgun wherever they want.
SB 215 created a new class of person who can carry a concealed handgun. These are called “qualified persons.” Anywhere a person who possesses a concealed handgun license can carry a concealed handgun under Ohio law, a “qualified person” is now able to carry a concealed handgun, with some limited exceptions. Only concealed handgun license holders are permitted to carry a handgun in a school safety zone or any of the national parks within Ohio. A “qualified person” is defined as any person who would qualify for a concealed handgun license under Ohio law – except that a “qualified person” is not required to complete the training and education requirements and apply for a license. This definition means even though a person may legally possess a handgun in Ohio, they still might not be able to legally carry that handgun concealed under Ohio law.
There are many crimes which disqualify someone from “constitutional carry” who otherwise can legally own a handgun, and these are listed under Ohio Revised Code s.2923.125(D)(1)(A). For instance, a conviction for resisting arrest, assault on a peace officer, negligent assault with a deadly weapon, or two or more convictions for assault would disqualify you from “constitutional carry.” Additionally if you are currently under indictment for or charged with a felony, drug possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking, ANY misdemeanor offense of violence, you are also not a “qualified person” until the charges are dropped or case otherwise completed. Neither concealed handgun license holders nor “qualified persons” can carry in any establishments where concealed carry is prohibited by signs posted at the entrance, or any place a concealed handgun license holder is prohibited from carrying such as courthouses and establishments with a liquor license if the person is drinking.
Note the prohibitions for folks who have been convicted of resisting arrest and assaulting a peace officer. As any leftist organizer is aware, these are charges frequently and frivolously thrown at BiPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals as well as protesters and organizers demonstrating against police misconduct and racial injustice. Having one of these charges on your record may disqualify you from carrying a concealed handgun under the “constitutional carry” bill, depending upon how long ago the conviction took place. Also keep in mind that while protesting with a concealed handgun is not necessarily illegal, Ohio has “firearm specification” sentencing amplifiers which significantly increase the penalty for committing criminal acts while in possession of a firearm, which may include charges commonly brought against protesters and demonstrators when police begin to “clear the street.” Additionally, officers may not know or may plead ignorance to the protections created by the new law, and may wrongly assume anyone carrying a firearm without a concealed handgun license is breaking the law. This would easily create legal headaches for anyone carrying without a concealed handgun license and potentially escalate encounters.
While “constitutional carry” does clear obstacles for folks in marginalized communities and leftist organizers to practice self and community defense, it also creates many potentially serious pitfalls for folks who might not be aware of the law’s definition of a “qualified person” and how that differs from a person who may legally own a firearm. If you have any concerns about whether you meet the definition of a “qualified person,” you should contact an attorney before deciding to carry a handgun to determine your rights under the new law. And of course, keep in mind that fascist agitators and aggressive or careless individuals may see this law as free license to come armed and cause trouble at protest actions. Keep safe comrades, and remember; we protect us.
Mutual Aid by Any Other Name
By W. Speare
Be a neighbor, an act of revolution and Mutual Aid.
I wouldn’t be able to tell you the exact moment – but at some point in my adult life, being neighborly became incredibly important to me. The few addresses that I’ve had, I’ve brought the idea of neighborliness with me. After I got more and more involved in activism, the need to take care of those around me became clearer than ever.
Survey 100 people in any American neighborhood and start asking about Communists, Antifa, or Anarchists, and you’ll get a negative reaction. Approaching someone who is only vaguely aware of who Marx was is probably not going to earn you any brownie points. To be an average American is to either be wholly unaware of the political spectrum or worse; incredibly misinformed. You cannot talk about socialism with the average person.
You cannot talk about it – but you can be about it.
We all have differences and we all come from different situations, but everyone on my street has to deal with the lack of plowing during the snowfall. We all get irritated by the fireworks on a random Tuesday. We all need to eat and we all could use a hand occasionally.
You want to know how to bridge that gap? Help your neighbor. Ask them what they need and then do it. Some have a hard time bringing the trash cans up and down the driveway. Some could use extra bread because the grocery budget doesn’t go as far as it used to. Make that connection. Be that person. Be that person honestly (so long as it is safe for you to do so) and have those conversations. If you are bringing your neighbor produce every week and if you’re practicing what you preach – they’ll listen.
Find solidarity in the common struggles and build from there. Be reliable, friendly, approachable. You might be the only Leftist they will ever meet. Why not also be the best Leftist they could have met?
I’ll leave you with this simple example: I moved back to an old neighborhood around Thanksgiving. I got to know my next-door neighbor a little bit. Casual conversations. Sports, family, work. Rust Belt stuff.
When I found out he has some kids with grandkids in the area, I asked if he wanted a box of produce every week from Food Not Bombs. He said yes. After a few weeks, he let me know how much it meant to him and told me to let him know if I needed anything. While shoveling snow last week, I knocked out his sidewalk after shoveling my own drive and walk. I was already out there, already shoveling. Why not?
Later that day, I heard him come home and thought nothing of it. Minutes later, I heard a noise and looked outside to see my neighbor throwing salt on my steps and drive for me.
Kinda feels like Mutual Aid is a natural part of Evolution, doesn’t it? Be a neighbor. I promise you won’t regret it.
Post Roe at the Clinic
By Madre
On Friday, July 1, millions of women in America lost the fundamental right to control their own bodies. At NEOWC, it was a day like any other day. Anticipating hordes of jubilant anti-choice protesters after the announcement of the Dobbs decision, I’d put out a call for extra escorts, and the group did not disappoint. A dozen of us, armed with rainbow umbrellas, prepared to put our bodies on the line once again to defend the right to choose. The protesters, however, had other ideas – no one came. We spent the afternoon strategizing, commiserating, and raging at the powers that be.
Saturday, we had almost 2 dozen escorts, and a paltry handful of protesters. The real change came with the arrival of the patients, many of whom had to be turned away after Attorney General Yost had the stay of the “Heartbeat Bill” lifted and the 6-week ban went into effect the night before. Although staff called patients they knew were over the limit, there were still many who came for their appointment – even for the procedure itself – who were told they could no longer have the abortion they were depending on. Although all were referred to Women Have Options for assistance with out-of-state travel, they were devastated, confused, and angry. We comforted as many as we could, cried with them, and tried to give them hope.
Since then, we haven’t really seen a change in the number of protesters – Saturdays had become relatively quiet, with the real crazies coming out during the week. What has changed is the level of obnoxiousness. Protesters are louder and nastier, and less inclined to obey the law. One protester, known as “Black Fetus Woman,” charged right into the parking lot, announcing that she needed to “see what was going on in there.” After being removed from the property by escorts, she called 911, claiming that we were performing “illegal” abortions. Others have taken to chanting outside the clinic, calling on “Dr. Death” to come outside and “explain himself” to them. One brings a megaphone, and yells not only at us and the patients, but customers at Sunoco and random passers-by.
The ACLU has filed with the Ohio Supreme Court asking that the 6-week ban be overturned, but the court has not agreed to hear the case yet, and they did deny the motion for an emergency stay. With several more bills fomenting in the state legislature, including a personhood bill and one that mimics the Texas ban’s vigilante aspect, the only thing I am confident of is that this is going to be a long, hard fight. In the meantime, we show up at the clinic every day, we attend meetings and rallies and marches, we write letters to our elected “representatives.” I am emotionally exhausted after every shift.
One good thing that has come out of the ban is that we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of people contacting us to volunteer. Many people stop by with drinks for us, or cash donations, or just words of thanks and solidarity. It is extremely heartening. As always, I am grateful for the support of my SRA comrades. The escort program would not be where it is today without you. Truly, you give me hope for the future.
Why I have a Single Glock
By Heatwrench
I’ve been carrying a handgun every day since mid-2016. I am certified to teach the course that meets the legal requirements Ohio sets for concealed-carry licensing. The following column is a summary of what I’ve learned in my handgun ownership and training journey, so that hopefully you can learn from my mistakes. Skip to the last paragraph if you just want advice and don’t want to read a bunch of gun nerd in-jokes.
My first handgun was an M&P Shield in .40, and it was flippy and had terrible capacity because it was a single stack in .40S&W. From there, I bought a Gen4 Glock and got Glonkpilled and have never owned anything else since.
Of course I’m kidding, Gen4 Glock finger grooves didn’t fit my hand at all, so I got a 19X. And it was giant and heavy and at a range day I picked up something else and shot it WAY better so I had to hunt some more. Also had a 9mm Shield as a summer carry gun while I had the 19X.
Sold both off and picked up a VP9 because I thought HK was cool. Then I had to get a summer carry gun, so I got the VP9SK. While I was on this HK paddle release kick I also bought a Kel Tec P17 which is a super neat little 22 plinker. Dipped a toe and traded into DA/SA with another HK, the P30. Because John Wick. Obviously.
Then, and this is unrelated to handguns, but I got a Vector. They use Glock mags. So I got rid of all my HK stuff (enough with $60 mags lol) and got a G45. And a G26 because I felt like I needed a smolgat. Then I got rid of the G26 because it was tiny and sucked to shoot, and got a gen5 G19 to carry.
Thing is, my hand doesn’t really fit on the G19 grip because big hand kid, so I got rid of it and got an 80% modular thing, and that was a fun build but then I got rid of that too because I was just running the bigboi G45 with the light and comp anyway because… it’s not that hard to hide a biggish gun if you have the right holster and dress for it appropriately.
So when I’m spouting off on guns and telling people to buy a Glock it’s not because Glock is good. It’s just because Glock is good enough, and you can build the skills and knowledge to figure out what you want instead of a Glock with it, and then sell it to a comrade without losing much money because, as mentioned, it’s a Glock.
I’ve also shot and liked CZ polymer frame stuff, M&Ps, Sig’s polymer frame guns both big and little, a bunch of metal frame heavy low capacity fudd guns that are only good for plinking, some HKs in 45 with a can (that was real cool) and probably some other stuff I can’t remember.
So just get a double stack polymer-frame G19-sized gun from a reputable manufacturer like Smith & Wesson or Glock. None of it matters, really. The best thing you can do to improve your handgun shooting is learn the skills and spend the time developing them. Join your local SRA chapter and get active so you can come out with us and learn how to shoot better.