HB 48 (Eliminate many 'no-guns' victim zones) approved by House committee

Earlier today, Sub. House Bill 48 was approved by a vote of 9-2 by the Ohio House State Government Committee. The measure will now move on to the state House of Representatives where it could be considered before the summer recess.

Substitute HB 48, sponsored by Rep. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) seeks to restore Ohioans' right to carry in day-care facilities (unless they post "no-guns"), private airplanes, school safety zones, and in non-secure areas of police stations and airports.

The subsitute bill also contains "opt-in" language which would to allow authorities governing college campuses and certain government buildings the ability to allow concealed carry.

Places of worship, which already have the ability to "opt-in," would see no changes under the subsitute bill.

The NRA-ILA notes the importance of this legislation is underscored by the fact that since 1983, the number of Right-to-Carry states has increased from 8 to 41 “shall issue” licensing/permitting throughout the country. As the number of Right-to-Carry states has increased to an all-time high, the nation’s murder and total violent crime rates have decreased to 43-year lows, respectively.

According to a New York Daily News report, with a single exception, every multiple-victim public shooting in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed since at least 1950 has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry their own firearms.

It is time to stop enforcing these 'no-guns' victim zones and give people back their constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense. As the NRA-ILA notes, the proposed revisions offered by Sub. House Bill 48 are nothing more than practical changes to gun laws in Ohio. The ultimate goal is to close current loopholes in the concealed carry regulations and ensure that the law abiding are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Please write or call your state Representative TODAY and urge them to support Sub. HB 48.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website.