Does Transport of Unloaded Handgun With Loaded Clip In Same Case Violate Concealed Carry Law?
State of Ohio v. Thomas L. Davis, Case no. 2006-0826 3rd District Court of Appeals (Marion County) ISSUES: • Is an unloaded handgun being transported in a car inside a closed case “ready at hand” if a loaded ammunition magazine is located inside the case, next to the gun? • May a defendant charged with carrying a concealed handgun in a motor vehicle assert the affirmative defense that he was transporting the weapon in compliance with R.C.2923.16(C)? BACKGROUND: Thomas Davis of Marion County was stopped for a traffic offense in April 2005. When the officer who stopped him asked about the contents of a closed case bearing the name of a gun manufacturer on the driver’s side floorboard near his feet, Davis stated that the case contained an unloaded handgun and a loaded ammunition magazine. The officer arrested Davis and charged him under R.C. 2923.12(A)(2), which prohibits carrying or having a handgun “concealed on the person’s person or concealed ready at hand,” when the possessor of the
