HB450 (Armed Services 18-21 gun rights restoration) scheduled for sponsor testimony in Senate committee

The Senate Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee, chaired by Sen. Tim Grendell (R-18), will hear sponsor testimony on Rep. Bruce Goodwin's HB450, legislation that would restore gun rights to members of the armed services or the Ohio National Guard who are between the ages of 18 and 21, on Wednesday, November 19 at 10:00 a.m. in the Senate Building's North Hearing Room.

The Ohio House of Representatives passed HB450 on May 22 with a strong bi-partisan 90-3 vote.

“This is important legislation,” said Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine. “We are talking about men and women who volunteered to lay their life on the line for their country and their fellow man. We trust them with the full might of the U.S. military. Surely we can trust them with a handgun when they return home from duty.”

Current Ohio law prohibits persons under the age of 21 from buying a handgun. There is an exemption for persons aged 18-20 who are properly appointed or employed as a law enforcement officer.

The bill would add an exemption for active or reserve members of the armed services or the Ohio National Guard, aged 18-20 who have received firearms training.

"I believe it is time that we extend this basic Second Amendment right to those who choose to serve our country in the military," Goodwin said, "and who choose to put their lives on the line so that we can enjoy that right."

The bill was also modified by the House to address questions about the residency of Ohioans who deploy to other states, and people from other states who are stationed in Ohio. The amendment clarifies that persons aged 21 and over in our military, either from Ohio or stationed in Ohio, meet the residency requirements for an Ohio Concealed Carry License (CHL).

“These are exactly the people we want carrying guns to protect our society," Irvine said. "They are trained to respond quickly and appropriately to violent situations.”

It would be a travesty for a serviceman to defend others on foreign soil, and then fall victim to a street thug at home because he couldn’t get a license to carry a hand gun. The amendment solves that problem.

Buckeye Firearms Association is calling on the Ohio Senate to move this bill through the legislative process and to pass it into law before the close of the 127th General Assembly on December 31.

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Download HB450 as passed by the Ohio House (16 pages)