Wednesday, November 30th, 2016
Sheriff wants concealed-carry classes
Courses would be offered for county workers, their spouses
By William Kincaid
CELINA - Mercer County Sheriff Jeff Grey wants to offer free concealed-carry classes to all county employees and their spouses.
Speaking to county commissioners on Tuesday about his budget for next year, Grey brought up the proposal as a way to help county workers protect themselves while out of the office. A concealed-carry license would allow them to carry firearms in public.
"A county this size, everybody knows who the county employees are," Grey said.
He pointed to growing antigovernment sentiments nationwide, although not necessarily locally, as the reason for his proposal.
"Sixteen years ago when I became sheriff, I didn't carry a gun with me all the time, and I very seldom go anyplace without a gun anymore," Grey told commissioners.
However, even if licensed, county employees would not be permitted to carry weapons within county buildings. Only law enforcement personnel can do so, Grey said.
"When they're in the courthouse, they're not 100 percent safe, but we are providing some security for people ... because there's a deputy there," he said.
County sheriffs, under Ohio law, are responsible for issuing, denying, suspending or revoking concealed-carry licenses, according to the Ohio Attorney General's website.
Grey is proposing to offer training to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun. The total training time required is eight hours with a minimum of two hours of in-person training consisting of range time and live-fire training.
Grey said his department has qualified firearms instructors. He would like to offer the classes for free to county employees and their spouses. They would, however, still have to pay for their actual license.
Under Ohio law, a small amount of the concealed-carry permit processing fee can be used for firearms training as well as ammunition purchases, Grey pointed out.
Locally, Grey has offered to train his office's civilian employees.
"I would imagine that you three occasionally are out someplace with your family and somebody's unhappy about a decision you made," Grey told commissioners Greg Homan, Rick Muhlenkamp and Jerry Laffin.
Some may address their grievances professionally while others may not, Grey said.
Grey said he will seek a Mercer County Prosector's Office opinion before asking commissioners to act on the proposal. Asked for their opinions on Tuesday afternoon, only Homan responded. He said he does not oppose Grey's offering the training.
