State legislators should reject the National Rifle Association's incessant demands to water down sensible gun-control laws.

In the organization's latest assault on common sense and public safety, the NRA is pushing for a change in state laws that would allow anyone to carry a gun in a motor vehicle as long as it is in a case and unloaded. The case, however, would not have to be locked and the ammunition could be close by and at the ready, so the gun could be loaded quickly. Although the gun clearly would be concealed, no concealed-carry permit would be required to carry a gun in this way.

Although the NRA claims this is a needed boost in Ohioans' self-defense rights, it might just as easily be called the traffic-stop-nightmare bill for police or the drive-by-shooters' helper.

No wonder Ohio's prosecutors and many police groups are lining up in opposition to the NRA proposals, which also would take away landlords' rights to prohibit tenants from keeping handguns.

These and other changes are part of a 19-point NRA-backed amendment to Senate Bill 184, which includes ramped-up protections for actions taken in defense of a home or vehicle.

Ohio House members hankering to cater to the gun lobby in an election year might want to push these amendments onto a fast track.

They should be derailed.

The bill, which passed the Senate unanimously in April, gives the owner of a home or a vehicle a virtual pass for any kind of force the owner might apply against whoever enters that property without permission.

The NRA-backed amendments would make a bill of questionable merit even worse.

And Gov. Ted Strickland, a well-known supporter of gun owners' rights, has given far too little consideration to the ramifications of this bill and the amendments.

His spokesman said the governor was not concerned about the opinion of police officers, police chiefs, prosecutors and county sheriffs. Strickland might as well have said that he doesn't care what the people who elected him think.

As the state's highest official in the executive branch of government, which is charged with law enforcement, he has a duty to put the interests of a majority of Ohioans ahead of those of a special-interest group.

Current state law requires motorists without concealed-carry permits to transport their guns in a locked trunk or case. Clearly, the only reason to change this provision would be to give drivers and passengers quicker access to lethal force.

As long as they don't violate laws against discrimination, landlords have private-property rights that allow them to restrict tenants' behavior in many ways. For example, landlords can prohibit the ownership of pets and painting of walls and can restrict occupancy levels. Landlords who believe banning handguns on their property improves safety should be allowed to impose such bans.

Tenants have freedom of choice of where to live. A renter's wish to own a handgun is a personal preference that cannot be allowed to take precedence over the rights of a property owner.

As a promoter of gun ownership for all, the NRA also has proposed a prohibition on considering sealed or expunged criminal convictions as reasons to deny a concealed-carry permit.

The NRA rarely sees a gun-control law it doesn't want to overturn or dilute.

Shame on the legislators who are helping the NRA. And what a disappointment that the governor has not tried to rein them in.