Ohio Statehouse
On October 28, the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee, after 5 hearings starting on April 15, voted to pass HB227 to the full House for a vote. HB227 is the Constitutional Carry bill in Ohio, and passed on a party line, 8-4 vote, as reported by buckeyefirearms.org.
The bill changes Ohio law from dealing with concealed handguns to concealed weapons; it changes the law so that any non-prohibited person 21 years old or older can carry concealed weapons where people can carry with a permit, now. From HB227:
..a person who is twenty-one years of age or older and is not legally prohibited from possessing or receiving a firearm under any law of this state or the United States may carry a concealed deadly weapon that is not a restricted deadly weapon anywhere in this state. The person's right to carry a concealed deadly weapon that is not a restricted deadly weapon that is granted under this division is the same right as is granted to a person who has been issued a concealed weapons license under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, and the person described in this division is subject to the same restrictions as apply to a person who has been issued a concealed weapons license under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.The House bill is more comprehensive than the Senate bill.
(B) The mere carrying or possession of a deadly weapon that is not a restricted deadly weapon pursuant to the right described in division (A) of this section, with or without a concealed weapons license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a concealed weapons license issued by another state, does not constitute grounds for any law enforcement officer or any agent of the state, a county, a municipal corporation, or a township to conduct any search, seizure, or detention, no matter how temporary in duration, of an otherwise law-abiding person.
The companion bill in the Senate, SB 215, had a second hearing on October fifth. Its provisions for permitless carry are very similar to the House bill. From the Senate version of the bill.
Notwithstanding any other Revised Code section to the contrary:
(1) A person who is a qualifying adult shall not be required to obtain a concealed handgun license in order to carry in this state, under authority of division (B)(2) of this section, a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm.
(2) Regardless of whether the person has been issued aconcealed handgun license, subject to the limitations specified in divisions (B)(3) and (D)(2) of this section, a person who is a qualifying adult may carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm anywhere in this state in which a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license may carry a concealed handgun.
(3) The right of a person who is a qualifying adult to carry a concealed handgun that is not a restricted firearm that is granted under divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section is the same right as is granted to a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license, and a qualifying adult who is granted the right is subject to the same restrictions as apply to a person who has been issued a concealed handgun license.(C) The mere carrying or possession of a handgun that is not a restricted firearm pursuant to the right described in divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section, with or without a concealed handgun license, does not constitute grounds for any law enforcement officer or any agent of the state, a county, a municipal corporation, or a township to conduct any search, seizure, or detention, no matter how temporary in duration, of an otherwise law-abiding person.
The future of permitless or Constitutional carry in Ohio is uncertain. Ohio has a super majority of Republicans in the House, 64 to 35. In the Senate, they have more than a supermajority, 25 to 8. The legislature overrode Governor DeWine's veto of SB 22, which reformed and decreased the governor's emergency powers on March 24, 2021. In Ohio, it takes 60%, 3/5 of each house to override a veto. That is 60 votes in the House, and 20 in the Senate.
Governor DeWine has not stated if he would sign or veto a permitless carry bill. With a general resistance to governmental and federal overreach rising in the population, Governor DeWine may feel compelled to sign a bill to show his willingness to protect the individual from the government.
The passage of Constitutional (permitless) carry in Texas created a momentum of legitimacy for Constitutional carry. With 21 states now having permitlesss carry, and another 17 having permitless carry for open carry, the lack of any measurable bad consequences makes permitless carry difficult to argue against. Here is an example, from the testimony of Shannon Gallagher:
We oppose permitless carry because it takes away personal responsibility—
Law enforcement experts, gun instructors, and military personnel overwhelmingly agree that people who carry concealed weapons in public should take firearm training, including live-fire training. Permitless carry strips law enforcement of this authority, forcing them to allow people with violent criminal histories to carry concealed guns throughout the state
This bill goes against our values in Ohio, disregarding the devastating consequences of gun violence to our communities, shown by Ohio’s alarming rates of gun injury and death.
Opponents are reduced to generic "guns are bad" arguments. Those arguments are undercut by the experience of the United States over the last 30 years.
When government excesses are being highlighted, reforms which might otherwise be ignored, have better chances of passage.
This correspondent will not be surprised if Constitutional carry passes in Ohio this year.
©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch
It is the law it just takes some states longer to admit it. Shall Not be Infringed is what the citizens ratified, Not a little control cant hurt? Shall Not is an absolute legal language command. Until 1934 any one could make their own weapons with out permission from any one. Any one could carry and did. No one makes an appointment to get assaulted. Self defense is a personal duty and responsibility. If you are free to walk the streets you have the right of self defense. When you get convicted for a crime the first thing you lose is your rights the second is your freedom. when you pay your debt to the society you violated you get your rights back. I have never seen , in my life time, and I am fairly old, any one ask before they assault you for permission. At my age I'm too old to carry a cop on my hip and when seconds count the minutes the cops take to respond to a call for help can often be way to long to save my life. So that makes it my responsibility and my actions may prevent some one else from being injured or killed with out an appointment Killing an attacker is being too nice injure them well enough they will never want to assault any one else. and hope thy have a long memory of their last failed attempt. People with short tempers might need a long stay in critical care to lengthen their fuse. There is nothing better than on the spot training. especially for the trash that have no concern for others.
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