Frequently Asked Questions on HB347

IMPORTANT NOTE: House Bill 347 has an effective date of March 14, 2007. Until then, the laws we have been laboring under for the past few years still apply.

Who voted for the veto-override in the Senate?

The question being, "Shall the bill, Sub. H. B. No. 347, be passed notwithstanding the objections of the Governor?"

The yeas and nays were taken and resulted - yeas 21, nays 12, as follows:

Those who voted in the affirmative were:
Senators Amstutz Austria Carey Cates Clancy Coughlin Dann Gardner Grendell Hottinger Jacobson Jordan Mumper Niehaus Padgett Schuler Schuring Wachtmann Wilson Zurz Harris-21.

Those who voted in the negative were:
Senators Armbruster Fedor Fingerhut Goodman Hagan Kearney Miller D Miller R Prentiss Roberts Spada Stivers-12.

The bill having received the required constitutional majority, passed notwithstanding the objections of the Governor.

Can women now carry in their purse in a motor vehicle?

Yes. Once it becomes effective, Ohio law will now allow a CHL-holder to place their loaded handgun in a “closed case, bag, box or container in plain sight and has a lid, cover or closing mechanism with a zipper, snap or buckle.”

Can a handgun now be placed in a motor vehicle console?

This is another one for the courts. It depends on whether a container is a console and a console is a container. If so, then yes you can carry in a console. If a console is a "compartment" or something like that then no. Only time will tell. Generally speaking, it is a rule of
statutory interpretation that you look to the context of the surrounding
language to interpret things. /In Pari Materia./ Given the rest of the
sentence is talking about boxes, bags, cases etc, things that are not a part of a car, it is probably safe to assume that the courts will say
"container" means something other than a part of a car like a console.

Will HB 347 allow license holders the option to carry handguns openly OR concealed within their vehicle? Or, must handguns be totally hidden from view, in our vehicle?

The Law is entirely silent on "open" or "concealed" as set forth in H.B.347. Before our law just said "in a holster on the person and in plain
sight" and now it just says "in a holster on the person." A similar change was made to the locked box provision. The only thing that still
has any mention of "plain sight" is the new "purse carry" provision. Since it does not say OPEN or CONCEALED it is presumed that both
options are covered, which leaves the police no wiggle room.

For a further summary of the legislation, and to download a copy of the Act, click here.