Online training for CCW

[ShelleyE]

Hello.
I'm a 61 year old woman.
I want to get my Ohio carry permit. The state of Ohio requires 6 hours of classroom training and 2 hours of firearm training/shooting.
I suffer badly from COPD and sleep apnea.
I'm on Oxygen 7X24.
I am an accomplished shot with a handgun & know & practice all the safety rules.

Sitting through a 6 hour class in one sitting would be extremely difficult.
The two hour firearm training/shooting should be OK as long as I can take a breath of Oxygen every once in a while. I assume taking an Oxygen bottle to the range would not be allowed, but, the range the online training refers to has an enclosed range and a separate area away from the firing.

I've been advised to make sure the instructor(s) giving the training sessions have been approved by the State for training due to some con artists in the past. I ran across some online training sites that offer the classroom portion online. That portion can also be broken down into several sessions.
This would be a Godsend to me!

My question here is, is the online training like this acceptable to the State of Ohio?
Who in the Sate of Ohio can I contact to find out?

Thank you so much in advance.

 

[Frank Ettin]

.....My question here is, is the online training like this acceptable to the State of Ohio?
Who in the Sate of Ohio can I contact to find out?......

Moderator's Note:

The OP's questions are narrow and specific. Let's keep discussion focused on her questions and on Ohio law and practice. What happens in other States is irrelevant. Whether Ohio law and practice are good/wise/proper is irrelevant.

Note to the OP:

It appears from this link that the process for licensing concealed carry is within the jurisdiction of the Ohio Attorney General. That is probably who to contact,

 

[rtroha]

You will be applying for your license either with your local sheriff or the sheriff in an adjoining county. They are the ones who will either accept or deny whatever training certificate your trainer gives you. Checking with the sheriff as to which trainers they accept certificates from might work.

Make sure whatever training you get meets the letter of the law. Some trainers have been charged criminally for trying to shortcut the training requirements and the students of those trainers have lost their licenses.

Don't hold your breath expecting any kind of answer from the Ohio Attorney General. They always answer, "We don't give legal advice to individuals."

 

[Art Eatman]

I'm dubious that supplemental oxygen would not be allowed. No reason for that. The shooting is from a static position; no running or jumping around. I've worked with two CHL instructors and I really doubt that they'd have had any objection.

 

[hdwhit]

Not only is the provider of the on-line class going to have to be acceptable to the authorities in Ohio, you are still going to need to find an instructor that will provide the practical shooting instruction and you will need to make sure they accept the on-line class as well.

Rather than trying to get two sets of instructors involved, it might end up being more convenient to find out if there is a class that splits the 6 hours of classroom instruction across two days and take that.

 

[Frank Ettin]

.....Don't hold your breath expecting any kind of answer from the Ohio Attorney General. They always answer, "We don't give legal advice to individuals."

Just to clarify, the OP would not be asking the Ohio AG for personal legal advice. She would be asking if certain training satisfies the requirements of the State of Ohio. That would be a question within the purview of the Ohio AG as the senior state officer responsible.

Now it's possible the the AG would not have an answer because the issue might never have come up.

 

[TheGerman]

ORC specifically allows online training. Here is the AG's publication about it http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Law-Enforcement/Concealed-Carry/Concealed-Carry-Laws-Manual-(PDF)
Ask the instructor for the range part to show / give a copy of his/her credentials, these are typically also mentioned on the training certificate that you will need to bring for the application.

I personally am not a big fan of the online training as it leaves very little time for the instructor at the range to determine firearms proficiency, but it is perfectly legal.

 

[ShelleyE]

Hello again,
Thank you for all the informative replies!
I decided against taking the online class in favor of a classroom setting.
I've taken both, online and classroom training courses for work and I really like the classroom better.

Again, thank you.

 

[ants]

Shelley, welcome to the THR forum!!! Nice to have you here.
You will do well in the classroom, and you'll get your carry permit.
I'm sure of it!

Check back regularly on all sorts of firearm topics.
I'm always amazed at the knowledge base on this Forum.

Let me add one item: In my profession (engineering and construction) we deal with
public facility accessibility for persons with disabilities, including training and certification.
Every federal, state and local public agency has a policy regarding program accessibility.
I'm absolutely sure the State of Ohio and your local jurisdiction will provide accommodation.
I'm sure of it!

 

[bearcreek]

Sitting through a 6 hour class in one sitting would be extremely difficult.
The two hour firearm training/shooting should be OK as long as I can take a breath of Oxygen every once in a while. I assume taking an Oxygen bottle to the range would not be allowed, but, the range the online training refers to has an enclosed range and a separate area away from the firing.

I've been advised to make sure the instructor(s) giving the training sessions have been approved by the State for training due to some con artists in the past. I ran across some online training sites that offer the classroom portion online. That portion can also be broken down into several sessions.
This would be a Godsend to me!

My question here is, is the online training like this acceptable to the State of Ohio?
Who in the Sate of Ohio can I contact to find out?

Thank you so much in advance.

Shelley, I'm an Ohio CHL instructor. Hopefully I can help with some of your questions. To start with, here is the place to start to get official answers to many questions you may have. This is the Ohio AG Concealed Carry Laws Manual. http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/...ublications/Concealed-Carry-Laws-Manual-(PDF) Your question about online courses is addressed on page 4.

Just to clarify, instructors are not technically approved "by the state". It's up to the county sheriff to determine if the instructors credentials meet the state requirements. Technically, an instructor only has to be certified by a "national gun advocacy organization" in order to qualify. There is no definition given in Ohio law for what exactly that means. If you find an instructor who interests you the best way to confirm that you won't waste your time with them is to call your county sheriff and ask, since that's who will end up approving or denying the application anyway. Have the instructor's information, including their instructor number, ready when you call.

There are in person courses available that are not all in one block. We usually do our courses in two 3 hour classroom sessions and one 2 hour range session. I know there are others that do it that way as well. We believe it helps with student's information retention.

The oxygen may or may not be an issue depending on the range. I don't know why it would be but you never can tell. As I'm sure you know, many people don't really understand compressed oxygen and how it works. They've seen to many Hollywood movies with exploding gas cylinders. Wouldn't be a problem on my range but mine is outdoors.

Hope that helps. Good luck!