We, concerned citizens of Wyoming, Ohio petition Wyoming City Council to:

• Reverse the resolution Council made on April 17 which will allow concealed carry of firearms in public spaces of Wyoming, and
• Revisit the process of voting on resolutions when the issue directly or indirectly impacts the health and safety of Wyoming residents to include proactively collecting public opinion

With regard to the issue of concealed carry:

• The resolution that passed in Wyoming on April 17, 2017 will allow individuals to carry firearms into public spaces including municipal buildings and public parks – spaces where they had previously been forbidden. This decision is made on the back of the passing of Ohio House Bill 48, known as the “Guns Everywhere” bill, which leaves it to each municipality to decide locally whether it should relax gun control legislation. Wyoming City Council could have taken no action and the prior restrictions on carrying guns would have remained in place. Instead, it proactively decided to make it easier for guns to be carried in more places in our community.
• The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police were each vocally opposed to HB-48, challenging the false perception that more guns increase safety. In fact, more guns can heighten the emotional context that leads to more violence. Additionally, 87% of mass shootings in the US occur in places where concealed carry is permitted.
• In an article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer on April 20, 2017, the city manager of Wyoming is quoted as saying, “our community is probably 50-50 on this issue.” Without engaging the community in any dialog on this matter, the actual proportion is impossible to gauge. But a simple search of Americans’ position on the issue of concealed carry turns up a study recently published in The American Journal of Public Health which shows fewer than 1 in 3 adults support gun carrying in the same public spaces Wyoming now permits.

With regard to the issue of revising the process for voting on resolutions that directly or indirectly impact our health and safety, this resolution was:

• Raised, discussed, and voted upon without any public discourse
• Passed proactively, reversing a default position that would have kept accepted guidelines in place in our community
• Voted upon without the benefit of a large body of evidence which demonstrates the risk to public safety when more guns are more available in public spaces

By adding my signature to this petition, and as a tax-paying citizen of Wyoming, I demand that City Council reverse the concealed carry resolution passed on April 17 and commit to revisiting the process for voting on resolutions that relate to the health and safety of Wyoming residents.