Handful of gun-related bills already in works for new Ohio legislature

by Joe D. "Buck" Ruth

6:00am Wednesday, February 12, 2025

The 136th Ohio General Assembly is barely underway, but already a handful of firearms-related bills have been introduced in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Go to our Legislation page to see where Buckeye Firearms Association stands on gun bills we have examined.

In the meantime, here are bills that have been introduced thus far:

House of Representatives

HB 5: Spnsored by Reps. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Township) and Bernard Willis (R-Springfield), this bill would crack down on repeat felons and restore rights for nonviolent offenders who have paid their debt to society and have lived a productive life.

HB 45: Sponsored by Reps. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) and Rachel Baker (D- Cincinnati), this bill would prohibit a firearms dealer from transferring a firearm until at least ten days have elapsed since contacting the national instant criminal background check system.

HB 46: Sponsored by Thomas and Rep. Michele Grim (D-Toledo), this bill would allow family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to obtain a court order that seizes a person's firearms, based on an accusation of that person posing a danger to themselves or others.

HB 68: Sponsored by Reps. Adam Mathews (R-Lebanon) and Justin Pizzulli (R-Scioto County, this bill would allow a concealed handgun licensee to carry a handgun in a building or structure that is not a courthouse but in which a courtroom is located in specified circumstances. It also would permit a nonresident of Ohio to obtain statutory relief from firearms disability based on an Ohio conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication.

Senate

SB 59: Sponsored by Sens. Al Cutrona (R-Canfield) and Tim Schaffer (R-Lancaster), this bill would exempt from the sales and use tax the sale of certain firearms and ammunition and authorize refundable tax credits for small arms and ammunition manufacturing projects.

SB 75: Sponsored by Sens. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) and Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati), this bill would increase the penalty for failure to report a lost or stolen firearm.

SB 96: Sponsored by Sens. Hearcal Craig (D-Columbus) and Willis Blackshear Jr. (D-Dayton), this bill would authorize a nonrefundable income tax credit for the cost of handgun training and firearms storage and locking devices.