Court Orders Cleveland to Stop Enforcing Local Gun Control

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan has ordered Cleveland to stop any enforcement of 19 separate local gun control ordinances, effective immediately.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation is the lead Plaintiff in the case, which was filed in early 2009. In the interim, Cleveland sued the State of Ohio in an attempt to have the state's firearm laws declared an unconstitutional usurpation of a city's home rule authority. In December 2010, the Ohio Supreme Court entered final judgment against Cleveland, ruling (for a second time) that the state's laws were valid.

The Cleveland ordinances invalidated dealt with gun registration, owner I.D. cards, assault weapon bans, limits on firearm dealers within city limits, possession of firearms in parks and other public places, seizure and destruction of firearms, storage of firearms, reporting theft of firearms and concealed carry of firearms.

Judge Corrigan wrote, "R.C. 9.68 clearly invalidates any and all municipal ordinances regulating 'the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, and their ammunition.'" Judge Corrigan set July 7, 2011 as a hearing on Buckeye Firearm Foundations request for mandatory attorney fees. The Ohio Supreme Court has already upheld the validity of the mandatory attorney fee provision.

Attorney Ken Hanson, who represented Buckeye Firearms Foundation in the litigation, said “"We are gratified that the trial court took the time to understand the arguments and the law, and consider the case without being sidetracked by emotional, discredited arguments. Public records requests clearly showed that these ordinances were almost never used to prosecute criminals, and instead operated only as a bar to ownership/possession by those inclined to follow the law in the first place."

Jim Irvine, a board member of Buckeye Firearms Foundation, observed "When we originally filed this case, Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi said the case was 'more of a publicity stunt than a legal maneuver' and concluded that none of the city's ordinances conflicted with state law. Clearly this ruling shows that he was wrong on both counts, and it is the taxpayers of Cleveland that will end up paying for his incorrect conclusions."

Download the ruling here.

FLASHBACK Dec. 12, 2006: Senate overrides Governor's Veto of HB347 21-12: "Cities are out of the firearm regulation business"

Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair Ken Hanson was a guest on NRANews.com to discuss on May 25. Ken discussed the successful outcome of the BFF lawsuit with The Daily News' Ginny Simone at 5:00 p.m. and with Cam & Company host Cam Edwards at 9:40 p.m.

Cam & Company is broadcast live on Sirius Patriot 144 and at http://www.nranews.com from 9:00 PM - 12:00 A.M. Eastern. At the conclusion of the show, an archive is available at that website for at least one week.