EUCLID, Ohio — Euclid police said officers have taken dozens of illegal guns off the streets in 2022.
What You Need To Know
- A new law will take effect in June that will eliminate requirements for concealed handgun licenses
- Euclid police report they have taken dozens of illegal guns off the streets this year.
- EPD said the new law will likely leave more guns on the streets
Euclid Police Department Capt. Mitch Houser showed Spectrum News a small sampling of what the department has taken off of the streets, including a gun that he said was taken away because the carrier did not have a concealed handgun license.
Houser said soon police won’t be able to do that, as Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed a bill into law that eliminates requirements for concealed handgun licenses. The new law takes effect in June.
“Right up until the law changes, we will continue to operate under the existing laws,” Houser said.
Houser said there are still ways to seize illegal guns off the street, even with the new law. For example, police could seize a gun if it’s believed to have been used in a crime.
“They’re not gonna go back to the owner unless the judge says so,” Houser said.
Houser showed Spectrum News some of the 30 illegal guns EPD took off the street in just January. Houser said even a gun the size of a long gun would count as a handgun in certain cases.
“It doesn’t have an affixed shoulder stock. It doesn’t have any pistol grips on the front of it,” Houser said, as he showed a similar weapon.
Houser said the larger gun in question can be carried without a license once the new law takes effect.
“They would be able to carry that concealed as a handgun. And as long as they’re not violating any other laws or they’re not precluded from owning a firearm because of maybe their criminal background or their age, that’s gonna be perfectly legal to be able to carry concealed,” Houser said.
He said police will have fewer ways to take illegal guns off the streets, since the parameters for making a gun illegal will change.
“Those weapons that are being carried illegally, simply by that one condition, will no longer be a violation of the law,” Houser said.
The department also has to determine if they will ask if someone is armed at the start of a traffic stop. Under current law, someone has to immediately tell an officer at a stop if they’re armed. When the new law takes effect, they won’t have to. Officers will have to ask, and lying to them will be a misdemeanor. Houser said by default, this new law will leave more guns on the streets.
“Any time you add more guns, it’s gonna be a cause for concern. But at the same time, this is what the law of the land is now,” Houser said.
The new law takes effect in June. Houser said that officers can still seize an illegal gun from someone if they have a felony on their criminal record.
