U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- On October 28, the Ohio House Government Oversight Committee, after 5 hearings that started 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.
(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 House bill is more comprehensive than the Senate bill.
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 a concealed 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 supermajority 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 permitless 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 that might otherwise be ignored, have better chances of passage.
This correspondent will not be surprised if Constitutional carry passes in Ohio this year.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
That will be great if CC gets signed into law in Ohio. The good people of Ohio deserve to exercise that constitutional right. TEX
Why do you keep calling it ConCarry? How many “gun free” zones were there in 1792?
How many churches, schools and hospitals were there? In most cases parked your musket at the door when you entered.
Preachers led militias & fought in the War. Churches weren’t “gun free” zones. Kids took guns to school to hunt on the way there or back.
Sure. A musket is big and would be uncomfortable to hold while sitting in the pews and would likely interfere with view of those behind. Leaving them by the door should be equated to depositing umbrellas at the door. Mere fact guns then were carried as casually as umbrellas are today speaks volumes.
Yep. How many “gun free” zones were there in 1792 when 2A was adopted?
NONE.
It’s not Constitutional Carry.
Good luck, Ohio!!
Opponents do not seem to understand that there is one hellish difference between “should take firearm training” (which involves individual responsibility) and some mystical “mandated ‘government-defined’ firearms training.” But hopefully the current legislators DO understand that distinct difference!
Permitless carry strips law enforcement of this authority, forcing them to allow people with violent criminal histories to carry concealed guns throughout the state.
Total disregard for the language of the bill. Straight up LIES!
Typical CRB (Commie Rat Bastard) talking point.
And based upon false claims of authority, too.
Totally agree. That stood out like a sore thumb when I read it.
Not to mention – Permit-less carry leaves individuals solely responsible for decision to carry. How does ‘granting’ individual authority decrease individual responsibility?
If someone suffers consequences of being in public without a gun – currently government is largely responsible, under permit-less carry only that individual is responsible for their decision to be unarmed. Which regime decreases personal responsibility?
Best of luck in getting this passed, Ohioans!
I have read, re-read and looked deep into the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights and still cannot find ANYTHING to do with, “personal responsibility”, “firearms training”, “live-fire training”, with regards to firearms and the carrying of? “Permitless carry strips law enforcement of this authority, forcing them to allow people with violent criminal histories to carry concealed guns throughout the state.” WE NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH ANY OF THIS! WHY? Because back in the day, these “violent criminals” were either SHOT, HUNG or spent truly their LIFE in and DIED IN PRISON! For some reason a bunch of… Read more »
Firearm safety is an important but small part of carrying a gun. Knives, even fists and feet can kill. From age 5 people are shown a lie. Hitting somebody in the head can kill or cripple but not in a cartoon. Hunter safety, trap shooting, even games such a paintball or ISPC. don’t teach self-defense. All schools SHOULD track USE OF FORCE LAW beginning every year in 5th grade. It would improve the jury pool and reduce ignorant armed people from inadvertently breaking the law. I like CONST I TUTIONAL CARRY but such a law shouldn’t be necessary. Training (… Read more »
I really wish people would stop calling these laws constitutional carry. If the law is still dictating who is allowed to carry, when they can carry, what they can carry, and where they can carry then it’s not constitutional. It’s “permitless” carry at best.
“Stop whining! We gave you Constitutional Carry!”
Timid 2A leaders won’t push to ban ‘Gun Free’ Zones even when we have the power. So when massacres like Pulse, El Paso*, Parkland & Virginia Tech continue, as they have despite shall-issue ‘carry’?
“AW Ban! Mag limits! ‘Bkrnd Chks’! Red Flag! No Fly-No Buy!”
*El Cielo Walmart’s half-surrounded by ‘GF’ El Cielo Mall, deterring carry. 23 dead due to a patchwork quilt of private GFZs. ‘Libertarians’ say “Don’t tell private firms what to do” despite GFZs menacing public safety. Yet Gvt bars firms from serving rancid grease, sh!t & rat parts.
Might want to refrain from writing in code so that people understand what it is you are trying to convey?
You really can’t figure out that GFZ = Gun Free Zone?
The special relationship between writer and reader, and the artificial nature of communicating in print requires the author to “bend over backwards” to get his message to his readers.
The burden of communication is on the writer. Thus certain conventions beyond punctuation have developed.
One such convention is the to spell out the word or phrase to be abbreviated the first time, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. In this case gun free zone (GFZ).
Many others, on this site, use this as a courtesy (e.g. commie rat bastard(CRB). Please see hoss supra.
I honestly have no idea what you just said.
Reminds me of the lyrics from a Maryln Manson song.
“ Babble babble bitch bitch”
I honestly doubt your IQ level.