Clipfile

Trilby Sport Shop operates as the only dedicated firearms retailer left within Toledo city limits, following the closure of Tom's Guns and Shooting Supplies in late 1997. Owner Ned Plummer manages a business that has been systematically squeezed by decades of local gun control legislation.

What makes Trilby different from shops outside the city: Toledo requires all handgun buyers to obtain a Handgun Owner's Identification Card from the city Treasury Department. The process involves:

• •One-page application and photograph
• •Background check by Toledo police records division
• •Three-year card validity
• •Approximately 2-3 week processing time (often stretching to 14+ days in practice)

"I can't remember the last time a card came in under 14 days," Plummer notes.

The card system, passed unanimously in 1968 after the assassinations of MLK Jr. and Robert Kennedy, checks national and local records for felony convictions and other disqualifying factors. About 2% of applicants are rejected.

Starting in 1994, the Brady Act added a second federal background check layer through the National Crime Information Center, adding another 2-5 days to the process. This means Toledo buyers now navigate:

1. Local check – covers felonies, certain alcohol/drug-related disorderly conduct, multiple violence-related misdemeanors 2. Federal Brady check – criminal background verification

Sergeant Louis Beringer, who conducts the local research, admits: "Our check is essentially the same one Brady does."

The compounding regulations have devastated gun retail in Toledo:

• •Trilby sells "maybe a few dozen handguns a year"
• •Some months pass with zero handgun sales
• •Cleland's Outdoor World, just outside city limits in Monclova Township, sells nearly 1,000 handguns annually—about 50% to Toledo residents
• •In 1994, Ohio had 10,000+ federal firearms licensees; that number dropped below 6,000 within three years

Despite the regulatory gauntlet, Plummer continues operating with:

• •Handgun sales (with full compliance to local ID card requirements)
• •Knowledge of the complete local/federal background check process
• •Expertise navigating the three-year renewal cycle

Proponents argue Toledo's system provides protection the Brady Act doesn't:

• •Periodic renewal checks – cards expire in three years, triggering re-screening
• •Possession bans – Toledo can order handguns seized from felons after crimes (federal law can't)
• •Stricter criteria – alcohol/drug disorderly conduct and violence-related misdemeanors disqualify buyers in Toledo

In the most recent 12-month period, Toledo issued about 580 new ID cards and renewed 1,200—suggesting roughly 5,500 residents legally own or use handguns, though police estimated 100,000 handguns in the city in 1968.