Dropped by Mt. Gilead in Morrow County on Friday to take some pictures of what the fairgrounds looks like before the fair setup starts.
Saw those pesky signs:
Some were on ticket booths (no problem) and some were on fences surrounding the grounds (problem).
Notice that they are posted pursuant to ORC 2923.126B and 2923.1212.
ORC 2923.126B lists the places where a CHL holder may not carry a CHL. The "premises" of a fairgrounds is not listed there.
ORC 2923.1212 is an instruction to certain entities to post a CPZ sign. This is not directed at a private citizen and has no penalty associated with it. You and I, as citizens, cannot "violate" 2923.1212.
Open carry is restricted by the language of the sign since it says 'unless otherwise authorized by law'. As we all know, open carry is legal BECAUSE there are no laws against it.
I disarmed and went into the fair office and let the nice lady know that I needed to talk to somebody about the "No Firearms" signs on the entrance to the fair and the fact that that's not permissible.
She told me that the Cheif of the Mt. Gilead Police was head of security for the fair and that he was working on that yesterday. She also told me that the Fair Board President was on vacation until a week from Sunday.
I asked if she could write down the Chief's name for me and she did, but she also wanted to get my name (handed me pen and paper) so she could have him or the Sheriff get ahold of me. When I neglected to write down my info, she asked my name. I said, "My name's Dave." and she wanted my last name, but I was already on my way out the door.
I stopped by the Mt. Gilead Municipal Building where the police department is located. I wandered aimlessly around Mt. Gilead for about 2 minutes before finding the place. NOT a big town.
The nice lady there said the Chief was out until Monday, but that the Captain was in. I never bothered to get his name, but he doesn't think the signs say I can't carry.
Maybe he hasn't actually read them.
Here's the audio of the fair office lady and the police captain (part 1):
www.ohionets.com/stuff/Fair-office-police-captain-1.mp3
I was actually headed south on Rt. 61 back to Columbus when I decided I didn't want to take the chance the city was going to play a game of "Hide the Authority Figure". We call Monday and he'll have called in sick. Tuesday he will be too busy catching up on what he missed on Monday, etc., etc.
I stopped back at the fair office, opened the door and told the ladies at the counter, "Hi. Just to let you know, I'm gonna be walking around out here." Sounded perfectly innocent to me.
I took some pictures and eventually took a seat in the grandstand. Shade and a cool breeze. Nice.
Took 12 minutes for the Captain to show up.
He spent about 6 minutes in the fair office and came out with a paper, probably a police incident report. As he drove over, I came down out of the grandstand. Getting out of his cruiser, he says, in an exasperated tone, "Have ya' got just a minute?"
Here's the audio of the fair office lady and the police captain (part deux). It's about 10 minutes long. If you listen to it, you'll find that I called all 'you people' crazy.
www.ohionets.com/stuff/Fair-office-police-captain-2.mp3
The ride back to Columbus was uneventful, so I hung out in Bexley's Jeffrey Park to see if I could get arrested there for carrying next to a school that really isn't a school.
No luck.
