techguy85 said:
I'm their staff adviser, and one of their lawyers is actually my personal lawyer so yeah I can contact them. We're well aware that UT and CO both have had campus carry for a while without seeming to have blood running in the streets. In fact, when I was on vacation there in Utah I went onto a college campus with my concealed handgun and somehow my gun stayed holstered and no puppies got shot.
Imagine that.
Anyway, we would love for Ohio to eventually adopt Utah style laws. I think it will take a while. We still have lots of crazy off limits locations like government buildings, a blanket ban on houses of worship, non-secure parts of airports, etc.
Probably shear luck and lack of puppies on campus that prevented the bloodshed while you were here.
As for the blanket ban on houses of worship, I think that is actually a violation of freedom of religion. What if a church WANTS to allow guns in their buildings? And as we see in some of the cases of religious groups (the nuns in particular) objecting to various provisions of Obamacare, having to file paperwork just to do as you please can itself be a violation of religious freedom. So a default of banning guns, but allowing churches to allow them might be shaky.
The best bet, constitutionally is for the law not to bans guns at churches at all. For political reasons, there can be benefit to having the caveat that if the church does ban guns, the law will provide some modest (read as minimal as you can get the other side to accept) criminal penalty for a non-violent, technical violation of the policy.
From liberal Vermont, to Conservative Utah, we recognize that "government buildings" are really "the people's buildings" and their rights should be respected therein to the greatest degree possible. Gun bans should be limited to a few, truly high-risk areas like court houses/rooms, and then only if/when real security provides something more than the honor system.
One step at a time, one step at time in the right direction.
Best of luck.
Charles
Charles