Laws are for the commoners. Judges want to carry in gun free zones.
Judge William H. Harsha says the idea was born out of an appeals court session in Marietta where an emotional man was pleading his case.
While not making threats, the disheveled man acting as his own lawyer seemed aggressive, on the verge of hysteria and, perhaps, “a little unstable.”
“It opened our eyes again. Some of our courthouses do not have security,” said Harsha, one of four judges on the Ohio Fourth District Court of Appeals.
In an apparent first for an appeals court, the judges last week authorized themselves to carry concealed handguns both in and outside the 14 county courthouses where they conduct their sessions.
The court’s order exempts the judges from obtaining firearms training and a concealed-carry permit. State law already allows judges, prosecutors, bailiffs and law enforcement officers to be armed inside courthouses.
Harsha, a competitive shooter and former Pickaway County prosecutor who has served on the appeals court for 26 years, probably will pack one of his handguns to ensure his safety.
“The probabilities of an occurrence, in reality, are pretty low, but the impact if it happens is devastating,” Harsha said.
Ohio Supreme Court and Ohio Judicial Conference officials knew of no similar orders authorizing a group of judges to carry handguns off the job. It’s possible individual judges have authorized themselves to carry guns outside work.