Ohio Constitutional Carry is Advancing

Ohio is moving closer to becoming the next member of the Constitutional Carry club. In 2021, the Ohio Senate and House had both passed Constitutional carry bills which were similar in purpose. The Senate bill is SB 215.  The House Bill is HB 227.  When two similar bills pass the Senate and the House, there is some horse trading which goes on to see which bill, and which chamber will get credit for passing a bill into law. 

It appears the Senate Bill, SB 215 has become the chosen vehicle. On January 25, 2022, SB 215 was assigned to the House Oversight Committee. On February 8, testimony was heard in favor of the bill. The committee passed the very similar House Bill last year with a 8-5 party line vote.  There will be another hearing for testimony against the bill in February, then the bill is expected to be brought to a vote in the committee.

The bill removes the requirement for adults 21 or over who can legally own firearms to have a permit to carry them concealed. With the bill people 21 years old or older may carry where those with a CHL may carry them. In addition the bill eliminates the requirement to carry the CHL in Ohio, for those who have the CHL. 

If SB 215 is passed to the full house by the Oversight committee, the full house will vote on the bill. If it passes without amendments, the bill will then be sent to Governor Mike DeWine. 

Buckeye Firearms Association has reported Governor DeWine committed in writing, to sign a permitless carry bill. Governor DeWine is facing a competitive primary. The primary election will be held on May 3, 2022. Early voting begins on April 5, 2022. To receive full benefit from keeping his promise and signing Constitutional Carry into law, the bill will have to be delivered to Governor Devine before April 5th. 

It takes a couple of days to complete the administrative procedures to pass a bill to the governor for signature. It is likely the bill would be passed by April 1st. Once the bill is passed out of committee, it could move very quickly.

If Ohio joins the Constitutional Carry club, there is more incentive for Indiana to join, as well. Indiana has a common border with Ohio. Indiana has passed a Constitutional Carry bill in the House. It is currently in the Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee, where it was killed in 2021. 

The Pennsylvania legislature passed a Constitutional Carry bill which was vetoed by Governor Wolf  in 2021. 

Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are currently considering Constitutional Carry bills.  Wisconsin is also considering a bill. The Wisconsin bill faces a certain veto by Democrat Governor Evers. 

Ohio is the quintessential Mid-West state. West Virginia and Tennessee both share borders with Ohio. Both West Virginia and Tennessee are members of the Constitutional Carry club. 

21 states currently have Constitutional Carry. They are:

Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Those 21 states make up 56% of the land area of he United States. 

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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