CINCINNATI, OHIO — An armed off-duty police officer was allegedly drinking at an arcade-themed bar in Cincinnati when a patron contacted management regarding his violation of Ohio law. In Ohio, it is allowed for a concealed carrier to go into a liquor-serving establishment but it is illegal to consume alcohol while armed. A manager for the 16-bit Arcade bar calmly approached the officer and reiterated the bar’s “no weapons policy”. According to both the bar’s social media Facebook page and Cincinnati News, the off-duty police officer was compliant and polite throughout the interaction.
His fellow off-duty police officer, though, took big issue with the bar’s ruling.
Via 16-Bit Bar & Arcade’s Facebook
So, in conclusion, bar establishes a “weapons free policy” that’s relatively reasonable considering the fact you can’t legally drink and carry in the state of Ohio — police officer or citizen. The bar manager didn’t appear to be too proactive in trying to enforce the policy except in the instance that the person in question was carrying while under the influence of alcohol.
This is, for some reason, a big dividing point in the 2A community. There’s someone out there who’s going to yell, “shall not be infringed!” and then there’s a person who knows that if you’re drinking, your judgement isn’t sound. Heck, that’s why there’s drunk driving limits for motor vehicles. If you’re in an altered state of mind, your reaction to situations will be entirely different than when you’re sober… But the consequences are very much the same.
We’ve talked extensively to this topic in several previous articles. If you’re curious, you can find our most recent here.
So the off-duty police officer who had been drinking while carrying a firearm could have easily walked away from this situation by simply shutting his friend up. Instead, his friend decides to make it a personal crusade, calling the business “anti-cop”.
Since when does anti-cop mean obeying the law? Let’s not digress.
The basics are this: if you’re drinking at a bar, don’t carry. Bonus — it’s the law in Ohio, especially for off-duty police officers.
R.C. 2923.121 prohibits an off-duty law enforcement officer who has a right to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to R.C. 2923.126(D) from carrying a concealed handgun in any room in which liquor is being dispensed in premises for which a D permit has been issued under R.C. Chapter 4303 …
So if you ever do catch yourself or a friend in a similar predicament, do yourself a favor and when the manager asks you to leave the first time, just leave. The career you may be saving might be your own.