Ohio: Where Guns and Alcohol May Not Mix…But They Mingle.

And yes, that IS a real swizzle stick. Photo ©2011, Brad Kozak, All Rights Reserved.

They say drinking and driving don’t mix. And they’re right. They also say guns and alcohol don’t mix. Right again, as far as drinking and carrying. But there’s been a decided swing towards common sense, as states update their laws to allow those that don’t drink to carry in bars. Such became the case Thursday in Ohio, when newly-elected governor John Kasich (formerly with Fox News) signed a bill allowing concealed weapons into bars and restaurants. Think that sounds insane? But wait, there’s a method to the (perceived) madness.

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Dear Diary: 30 Days to Conceal Carry, Day 5

I don’t get out much. Part of that is habit. Part comes from being self-employed. Part comes from being a single dad. And part is frankly that the only time I hang around bars is when I’m booked there with my band. (I’m a militant non-smoker, and I don’t drink much, either.) But there’s a couple of things I can say about bars – most of them are in less-than-wonderful parts of town, and most of their parking lots look to my Condition Yellow-trained eyes as wonderful locations for a mugging. Now I’ve never been in a bar fight. Never been mugged outside a bar (or in an alley behind a bar, which is usually where I have to load in/load out if I’m playing). But as they say in the financial services industry, “past performance does not insure future results.”

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