Lame duck's last kick

Ohio Gov. Bob Taft vetoed a concealed carry bill that would have nullified local gun restrictions all over the state.

Good for him.

The Second Amendment gives people the right to own guns, but like any of our Constitutional rights it is not without restrictions. A lot of Ohio communities, Cincinnati among them, have decided for instance that is not in the public interest for people to carry assault rifles.

For years Ohio had an unworkable and unconstitutional policy on concealed carry. You had a right to carry a gun under certain circumstances, but the only way to establish that right was to get arrested and prove your case. That completely warped the notion of innocent until prove guilty and three years ago the Legislature finally corrected the law. The bill the governor vetoed, passed by the Legislature last week, was labeled as a "cleanup" measure to straighten out a few working kinks, such as eliminating the requirement that drivers keep guns in plain sight instead of in their holsters or purses during traffic stops. Instead, as Taft noted in his veto message, with little debate the bill usurped local control on an important public safety issue. The benefit of that escaped me.

The Republican-controlled Legislature has been unwilling to override Taft on his two previous vetoes, but with less than a month left in his term, the members aren't worried about staying on his Christmas list. The House voted 71-21 to override the veto Thursday afternoon. Whether the Senate will follow suit when it reconvenes Tuesday is a closer question. There were 19 senators voting for the bill when it passed last week, the same number needed to override.

I would like to hear each senator voting for an override to explain why he/she wants to eliminate local communities' say over such things as bans on assault weapons.