To dovetail with state law accommodating licensed concealed carry permit holders and weapons possession, the Cleveland Metroparks' three-person park board is expected to revise its rules and regulations.

The change will help the parks system conform with state law that permits licensed permit holders to carry weapons - chiefly handguns - in the agency's parks. Exempted, however, are buildings, as is the case with almost all government installations.

Cleveland Metroparks' spokeswoman Jane Christyson said that park rules and regulations currently prohibit the carrying of weapons, including concealed handguns.

These rules must be altered in order to mesh with the state's more liberal laws that permit those persons with the legal paperwork to carry weapons, Christyson acknowledged.

However, state law still applies and which restricts possessing a weapon - including firearms under a disability, such as being under the influence of alcohol or recreational drugs.

Cleveland Metroparks' three park board members are expected to vote on the changes at their 9 a.m., Thursday, March 17 meeting.

Last year statewide, 47,337 new concealed carry permits were issued along with 13,544 renewals. The number of new licenses is the second highest number since the program began several years ago, reports the Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Among the new  licenses issued in 2010 were 1,196 in Cuyahoga County along with 549 renewals. However, persons are allowed to obtain a permit from an adjacent county's sheriff office, a process found typical among prospective permit holders surrounding Lake County which ranked second in the state in the number of such documentation provided.

This item also will appear on The News-Herald/Morning Journal's Outdoors with Frischkorn Blog


- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
   JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com