There's been a lot of talk about the Poland Municipal Forest as of late with much of the focus on the possible removal of dead ash trees.

But Tuesday night village council was forced to act quickly to change an ordinance that banned firearms in the forest.

Last month the village was told the ordinance violated state law and they were threatened that legal action would be on the way if it wasn't changed.
It stemmed from a 2008 Ohio supreme court ruling.

Poland Village Solicitor, Anthony D'Apolitio, says, "I did some research on the Ohioans for Conceal Carry Permits and they are the folks going across the state of Ohio looking for these ordinances trying to make sure all the villages and townships are with the state law."

The right-to-carry group sued Cleveland recently for a similar ordinance and Cleveland lost. They were also forced to pay all attorney fees in the case.
That's why Poland wanted to act before it got to that.

They've already taken down the signs in the forest that prohibited guns to be taken inside. Although you are allowed to have guns in the forest, you're still not allowed to point them at anyone and you still can't discharge them.

"The first time someone sees somebody with a gun back there I imagine there will be some alarm and some concern. They are allowed to have those guns they are allowed to walk through the woods with them," says D'Apolito.