By John Nolan
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI - After the pizza delivery business where he worked was robbed by someone who fired a shot into the building as he left, Pat Feely started carrying a handgun for protection.

In the six years since, Feely hasn't fired the gun in self-defense, but he has joined the campaign to overturn the Ohio law that prohibits most civilians from carrying concealed weapons.

Feely, 30, of suburban Norwood, tucks his handgun into a waistband holster. He said he often carries it when he goes out at night, especially to shopping malls.

When Feely was arrested in 1999 for carrying his gun, private investigator Chuck Klein recruited him for a test case challenging the Ohio law that allows only law-enforcement officers or officers of state and federal government to carry concealed weapons.

Klein contends the ban violates the state Constitution by forcing anyone arrested for carrying a concealed gun to clear themselves by justifying their need to carry a concealed weapon. The Constitution places the burden of proof on the prosecution and presumes that defendants are innocent.

A Hamilton County judge acquitted Feely in May 2000, saying the state law is flawed because it does not distinguish between criminals and people who carry guns for protection.

Next, Klein and three others sued to overturn the law. Feely was not party to the lawsuit because by then he had moved to a job where he no longer handles cash late at night. The plaintiffs say they do business in higher-crime neighborhoods, sometimes after dark and when they are alone. The Second Amendment Foundation, a gun-rights organization in Bellevue, Wash., is funding the lawsuit.

Last year, the judge in the case temporarily barred Cincinnati-area police agencies from enforcing the concealed-carry ban. But a state appeals court overturned that ruling and sent the case back to the judge. It could go to trial next month.

Source: The Lexington Herald-Leader