Bar owners coming up with ways to deter gun carriers

LANCASTER, OH -- Kim Carpenter has worked in Lancaster's bars for 17 years, but a proposed change to Ohio's concealed carry law to allow guns inside bars is enough to give her pause about her future.

"It very well might be the end of my bartending career," said Carpenter, who manages Citi Bar and The Orange Carpet Lounge. "I see too many (situations) where 'he bumped into me at this little table as a reason to punch somebody else in the face.' What happens when they have a gun in their pant pocket?"

Many of Carpenter's fears are echoed by other local bar owners and operators. But gun proponents say a provision that prohibits gun carriers from drinking will keep firearms out of the hands of the inebriated.

Laying out the law

Different versions of a concealed carry revision have passed both chambers of the state legislature, but the bill has not been sent to the governor's office for his signature.
The proposed law expands the places where a licensed permit holder can carry a concealed handgun to locations that have a Class D liquor permit, which includes bars, restaurants and nightclubs, according to the Legislative Service Commission.

Of the 206 liquor permit holders in Fairfield County, 146 have at least one Class D permit. Fairfield County issued the most concealed carry permits per capita among its neighboring counties in 2010.

Although concealed carry permit holders would be permitted to carry handguns into bars, the proposal prohibits them from consuming liquor or being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while carrying a weapon.

A violation of the current law, which prohibits guns in Class D liquor establishments, is a felony offense.

The proposal does not only extend into bars. Stadiums throughout the state, carry-out establishments and other similar places also would see the rules change for their respective locations.

Because Ohio's liquor permits do not differentiate the type of business for which they are issued, a change in the law cannot be limited to specific businesses, Eaton said.

Enforcement effort

Bar owners argue that regulating who is carrying a gun while drunk is difficult -- if not impossible --and that its unlikely someone carrying a weapon will go into a bar without having a drink.

That argument is "looking for a straw that's not there," said Joe Eaton, legislative director for the Buckeye Firearms Association, which lobbied for the law.

Concealed carry permit holders have to complete a rigorous course to get the permit and would not risk losing it, Eaton argued.

Ohio law requires 10 hours of instruction and two hours of experience shooting a handgun as a prerequisite to obtaining a permit. Felony or violent misdemeanor offenses and drug offenses also could disqualify an applicant from receiving a permit.
"They stress in all classes that this is strictly a defense mechanism," said Jack Schrader, a concealed carry permit holder and employee at Barnes Guns.

The proposed law also will allow liquor permit holders to prohibit guns from being carried inside their businesses.

"We're going back to really putting the decision back on the business owner," Eaton said. "They will have the choice."

Main Event on East Main Street already has such a sign, owner Paul Whitaker said.

"I don't totally disagree with the law, but if I have the option of making my place concealed carry or not concealed carry, I probably would not," he said "If they come in and they eat and drink, I would feel a little insecure if they were carrying a weapon."
Citi Bar on West Main Street and Orange Carpet Lounge on North Columbus Street already have bought metal detector wands to ward off customers who are carrying weapons, Carpenter said.

"(Bar customers) are not going to hear the part that you can't be drunk," said Mark Brobeck, who owns both Citi Bar and Orange Carpet Lounge. "That part is going to be drowned out."

Brobeck said he intends to post signs that guns are prohibited in his bars.

"Yeah, we'll put up a sign, but then what -- we pat people down? We buy metal detectors?" asked Kim Swearnigen, who owns JD Henderson's Sports Lounge on South Columbus Street. "If the state can't enforce the 'no smoking' law, how will they enforce the gun law?"

Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said he has "mixed feelings" about the bill.
Restaurants that serve alcohol likely won't cause problems for law enforcement, but adding the potential for guns to bars with a history of violence "would probably not be a very good idea," he said.

"I think, in general, this is not helpful to law enforcement," said Lancaster Police Chief David Bailey, who is against the change to the law.

Bailey said it is unlikely a person would go to a bar without drinking and that the law will put an extra burden on police officers breaking up fights in bars.

"They have to be very cautious that there could be concealed weapons involved," he said.

Rick Rouan can be reached at (740) 681-4345 or rrouan@ lancastereaglegazette.com.
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