Rep. Arndt and challenger hold different views on gun laws

SANDUSKY — Voters in Erie and Ottawa counties interested in gun issues will have a clear choice when they go to the polls this fall to decide the Ohio House 89th district race.Although state Rep. Steve Arndt, R-Port Clinton, and Oak Harbor Mayor Joe Helle, the Democrat in the race, both describe themselves as reasonable on gun issues, there are clear differences.Arndt was endorsed by the Buckeye Firearms Association in his 2016 campaign, which awarded Arndt an "A" for his stances. Arndt voted for bills in the 2016 session and the current session to ease regulations on concealed carry gun owners.Helle said the private ownership of a "military-style weapon of war" should be banned and that Arndt was "absolutely irresponsible" for co-sponsoring and voting for a bill that reduces penalties for concealed carry gun owners.House Bill 233, which Arndt co-sponsored, passed the House 64-31 with Arndt voting in favor. It awaits Senate action.The bill reduces the penalty for entering a building where concealed guns are forbidden from a felony to a misdemeanor. In addition, the gun owner would only be prosecuted if he was asked to leave and refused to do so.Helle would have voted against the bill."Plain and simply, if a person is not responsible enough to know where and when they can carry a concealed weapon, then they are not responsible enough to carry one at all," Helle said in an email to the Register. "I support concealed carry and have had a permit myself for the past many years. But there needs to be some level of responsibility outside of placing the burden of enforcement on the owner or controller of the premises."Arndt said it's unfair to prosecute a felony against a gun owner who might not have known he wasn't supposed to take his gun inside a building. He said people who are told to leave in those instances have to comply."We refer to it as the jerk clause," Arndt said. "If you want to be a jerk about it you should be arrested."State Rep. Dick Stein, R-Norwalk, voted for HB 233 but state Rep. Bill Reineke, R-Tiffin, voted against it, according to a tally on the website of the Buckeye Firearms Association.Arndt also voted during the 2015-2016 session for Senate Bill 199, which Gov. John Kasich signed into law.The law allows concealed carry gun owners to keep their weapons in locked vehicles when they go to work, even if the employer bans guns. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce opposed the bill.The law also allows active duty military members to carry guns without a state concealed carry license and permits colleges and day care centers to allow concealed carry guns on the premises.Arndt said a duck hunter is allowed to leave his gun in the car when he goes to work, and it makes no sense to have stronger rules against concealed carry licensees. If the business doesn't want the gun in a building, it still has to be left behind in a locked car, Arndt said.Helle, an Army veteran, said his opinion is informed by his service."On the numerous military installations I served on in my six years in the Army, one general policy remained the same. Unit and garrison commanders all had standing policies that service members were not to carry concealed weapons while on leave or elsewhere," he said.Reineke also voted for Senate Bill 199. Stein didn't hold office during the last session.Arndt said he tries to be reasonable and looks at a gun bill's provisions carefully before deciding how to vote."I usually reserve judgment until it's through the committee process," he said. "These things can be very fluid."Helle said he's a Second Amendment supporter who grew up with firearms in the house. His parents were careful to maintain strict control of the guns and bullets, he said.He said he favors mandatory training for all gun owners, a waiting period for all gun purchases and the banning of bump stocks.Reach reporter Tom Jackson at jackson@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @jacksontom.State Rep. Steve Arndt, R-Port Clinton, mingles at the Ottawa County Republican Party election watch party at the Knights of Columbus banquet hall in Port Clinton on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. Oak Harbor Mayor Joe Helle appears on Between the Lines with Matt Westerhold on Wednesday, June 14, 2017.