Governor Strickland signs SB184, Ohio's Castle Doctrine Law
Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine, Legislative Chair Ken Hanson and several other Leaders were on hand Tuesday, June 10, for the signing of SB184, Ohio's Castle Doctrine Law, by Democrat Governor Ted Strickland.
Strickland called the bill “common-sense legislation”, and stressed that it will also clear up ambiguous sections of Ohio's concealed-carry law.
“What we've clarified in this bill I think will go a long way toward providing both law enforcement as well as law-abiding citizens some confidence that what they're doing is, in fact, consistent with the law,” he said.
“I want to thank all parties concerned for working together to make this victims’ rights bill the law in Ohio,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA's chief lobbyist. “When you're confronted by a criminal, you don't have the luxury of time. Under the ‘Castle Doctrine’ provision, if someone breaks into your occupied home or temporary habitation, or your occupied car, you now have an initial presumption that you may act in self defense and you will not be second-guessed by the State. The ability to protect yourself and your family from harm is important no matter where you are.”
Also included in SB184 are several pro-gun provisions that make Ohio's concealed carry laws more “user friendly”. Among these revisions include important clarifications for persons without a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) to legally transport firearms in an automobile, and pick up/drop off abilities for license holders in school safety zones. The bill also designates mandatory legal fees for gun owners who require court orders to have firearms returned to them, decriminalizes concealed carry in privately owned parking garages, allows permit holders to carry a firearm in an unlocked glove compartment or center console and removes the written test requirement for renewal of a concealed handgun license.
Please call Governor Strickland at 614-466-3555 to thank him for his support.
If your Representative or Senator voted in favor of SB184, you should also call them and thank them. These calls are important so please take the time to thank those who have worked so hard in the last few months to pass this excellent piece of legislation.
The Act will become law on September 9, 2008.
- DOWNLOAD THE ACT
- SB184 Analysis: Significant practical improvements for ALL Ohioans
- What SB184 means to you: Part I – Castle Doctrine
- What SB184 means to you: Part II – Seizure and Return of Firearm
- What SB184 means to you: Part III – Official Stops
- What SB184 means to you: Part IV – Transportation of Unloaded Firearms
- What SB184 means to you: Part V – School Safety Zones
- What SB184 means to you: Part VI - Government building victim zones
- What SB184 means to you: Part VII – “Class D” victim zones
- What SB184 means to you: Part VIII – Sealed and expunged records
Hanson's "The Ohio Guide to Firearms Laws” updated to reflect SB184 changes
Media Coverage
- Columbus Dispatch - Governor signs bill protecting those who shoot intruders in self-defense
Gov. Ted Strickland today signed into law a bill that relaxes certain gun restrictions and establishes a new “castle doctrine” for shooting an intruder in self-defense.
The legislation, Senate Bill 184, takes effect in 90 days.
It was backed by the National Rifle Association to establish a presumption that a person acted in self-defense when shooting someone who unlawfully enters his or her home or occupied vehicle. Supporters say it will protect the innocent from facing charges.
- Toledo Blade - Ohio governor signs 'Castle Doctrine' bill despite concerns by law enforcement
"What this bill does is attempt to say clearly that an individual does have the right to protect themselves, and I think that's the way it ought to be," he said. The new law takes effect in 90 days.
The measure reverses current law, shifting the burden away from a would-be victim to prosecutors to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that he was not in reasonable fear of bodily harm when he used deadly force inside his home or vehicle. A legal resident of a home would no longer have a duty to retreat in such a situation.
"It is common-sense legislation," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Stephen Buehrer (R., Delta). "It's going to make people feel safer in their homes and more able to conduct themselves in lawful ways when they go about the awesome responsibility of protecting their families."
Ohio joins about half of the nation's states with some form of "Castle Doctrine" on their books. Representatives of the National Rifle Association and concealed-carry proponents applauded after Mr. Strickland affixed his signature to the bill.
...Mr. Strickland defended his support for the bill despite some law enforcement concerns.
"I'm not particularly happy that not everybody agrees, but I think by and large it was a successful effort to get a final product that will protect the rights of people to defend themselves in their homes and their cars and also bring about some very needed clarification of concealed-carry provisions that had been enacted previously," he said.
- WHIZ Media (Zanesville) - Gun Laws in Ohio Changing
Local authorities have dealt with concealed carry since 2004 and believe this could clarify a lot of questions still associated with the law.
Already the bill has done away with the issue of carrying a gun in a locked glove box.
Colonel Bryan Hoover from the Muskingum County Sheriff's Department explains other changes, " It also permits guns to be carried in retail establishments that sell liquor, as long as the licensee isn't consuming. It permits concealed carry in a school zone, when picking a child or dropping a child off."
The Sheriff's Department will now also honor concealed carry permits to those who've had their records expunged, where in the past they would've been denied.
- WKYC (NBC Cleveland/Akron) - Strickland signs bill relating to concealed-carry law
"This legislation offers needed clarifications to Ohio's concealed carry law and strengthens legal protections for citizens who defend themselves and their families against intruders in their homes," Strickland said.
State Senator Steve Buehrer sponsored the Senate bill.
- WKYC (NBC Cleveland/Akron) - Local gun owners see castle law as 'common sense'
Local gun owners and prosecutors are downplaying the impact of the state's new "castle" law, but they agree that its passage supports those who resort to self-defense.
"Makes me feel a whole lot better," said David Little of Barberton, a gun owner who vows to protect his home against intruders. "Any and all that protects my rights, I'm all for."
...Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Brad Gessner [said] "You are in your home. You're trying to protect your home. (With the new law) you have less fear of the ramifications of someone coming after you and suing you."
The law extends to self-defense against intruders trying to enter an occupied vehicle.
- WTOL (CBS Toledo) - Gun owners fired up over self-defense law
Criminals could be in the crosshairs under a new law signed Wednesday by Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, reports News 11's Tim Miller
...Gun owners across Ohio are fired up about the new law, called the "Castle Doctrine." You'll no longer have to prove someone breaking in is out to do you bodily harm. It will be assumed that anyone who kills or injures an intruder will have acted in self-defense.
Some folks in the area are pleased with the new law.
"Sure, I understand stealing a TV set is not as valuable as a life, but you don't know that's all that person is in there to do and you've got that right to defend your castle," says Tom Urbanski, who runs Ski's Firearms Training in Oregon.
He's also pleased the new law protects homeowners from civil suits by an intruder who survived being shot and that it extends to someone attacking you in your car. Urbanski believes the new law will contribute to a decrease in the crime rate.
"It's no longer the case where you're the crook you know you've got the gun so you know you have the advantage. Now that person you may be attacking could be able to shoot back," Urbanski says.
- Youngstown Vindicator - Castle Doctrine enacted
Praising its “common sense” approach and the bipartisan effort that brought it to fruition, Gov. Ted Strickland signed the so-called Castle Doctrine on Tuesday, enacting protections for Ohioans who defend themselves against intruders in their homes or cars.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve Buehrer, a Republican from Delta, was years in the making and was offered in different forms during past general assemblies.
On Tuesday, flanked by Strickland and Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the governor’s Cabinet Room, Buehrer said the bill “is going to make people in this state and in our communities feel safer in their homes and more able to conduct themselves in a lawful way as they [take] the awesome responsibility of protecting their families within their homes.”
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