Restoration of Rights bill (HB54) scheduled for possible vote in Senate committee

The Senate Judiciary on Criminal Justice Committee, which is chaired by BFA "A+" -rated Sen. Tim Grendell (R), has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday, June 14 at 4:00 PM in the Senate Building's North Hearing Room.

The committee, which has previously passed Sen. Jason Wilson's (D) SB61 by a 8 - 1 vote, will hear testimony on an identical bill which has already passed in the House - HB54 - before a possible vote.

Sponsored by Rep. Ron Maag (R), HB54 will align Ohio law with federal statutes regarding the restoration of rights to Ohio firearms purchasers. HB54 passed in the House on May 11 by a 78-18 majority. If it clears the Senate committee and is passed by the full Senate, it will be sent to Governor John Kasich for his signature.

Due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has stopped accepting Ohio's court orders restoring a citizen's right to own firearms. The purpose of this bill is to update Ohio's statutes to address this issue and protect Ohio citizens' legal rights under the law.

"Someone who has been legally buying firearms, in some cases for many years after they received a legal Ohio restoration, may suddenly discover that he or she is back under a firearm disability because Ohio's restoration of their firearm rights was not deemed complete by Federal authorities," said Hanson. "The proposed bill realigns Ohio's law with new Federal enforcement rules to effectively get the same result that has been working in Ohio for years."