We all know that insanity pervades the Trump Administration. But now it’s obvious state government is infected as well. Ohio case in point:

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder is pushing efforts to pass House bill 178. The intent of that bill is to allow citizens to carry concealed weapons in public without a permit or any firearms training. Clearly Householder has little or no concern for public safety or he would not have allowed such a bill to even come before the House for consideration.

But the debate over the bill has been even more insane than the broad intent would suggest. Since a person will not be required to have any training one lawmaker reasoned that they should at least be exposed to the key elements of Ohio firearms law. He proposed an amendment that would require firearms dealers to hand a one page pamphlet outlining the key elements of Ohio firearms law to new purchasers of a weapon. The Ohio gun lobby objected to distributing that informational pamphlet and the amendment is being killed.

I am a certified but retired firearms safety and concealed weapons permit instructor from another state. I have seen first hand the profound ignorance of firearms many people exhibit when they come for concealed weapons permit training. Now Householder and the gun lobby propose to memorialize support for that ignorance in Ohio’s gun laws.

From my experience I already recognize the pure insanity of passing House bill 178. It will encourage more unqualified people to arm themselves. There will be more unnecessary gunfights and more people will die if House bill 178 becomes law. There won’t be a dramatic increase in additional deaths, but the numbers will be higher than they otherwise would be if the bill does not become law. Sadly many of the additional victims killed will likely be innocent bystanders because the shooters have little knowledge of Ohio gun law, are ignorant of their personal responsibility, and have no firearms handling or safety training.