Ohioans who have been deemed by a court to be mentally incompetent are not allowed to possess firearms or have concealed carry licenses. Yet a recent cross-check of databases by the state’s Attorney General showed more than three dozen mentally ill Ohioans still had active concealed carry permits.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says this was the first time the state has cross-referenced the list of mentally incompetent Ohioans with concealed carry licensees.
“If a court of law, after due process, determines you are not competent to handle your own affairs, you shouldn’t have a gun," Yost says.
Yet Yost found 41 people did have CCW licenses. He says local law enforcement authorities were alerted so they could strip guns and licenses away. Yost says a permanent, automated cross-checking is now in place to ensure local sheriff’s offices are notified when people are declared mentally incompetent so officers can confiscate their licenses and guns.
