Ohio Democrats introduce bill to effectively kill concealed carry in Ohio

Editor's Note - the author misread the bill language pertaining to tenants of rental/ lease properties. Corrections added in bold. We regret the error.

by Chad D. Baus

Two Ohio Democrat State Representatives, Bill Patmon and Ted Celeste, are co-sponsoring a bill "to generally prohibit a person from having a firearm on privately owned land or premises unless the person owns, controls, or resides on or in the land or premises, has permission of the owner or person who controls the land or premises and, if the land or premises is rental property, of the tenant when required, or is the tenant with respect to those premises." The bill specifies that it "applies to any person, including a concealed handgun licensee."

HB595 would essentially reverse current law, which allows concealed carry on private property unless a sign is posted requesting that law-abiding CHL-holders stay out, and replace it with a requirement that CHLs would need to obtain permission to carry almost anywhere they go. That permission could come in the form of a sign specifically granting permission to CHL-holders, or by the CHL-holder obtaining permission either orally or in writing. The bill would even require non-tenants on rented or leased property to obtain permission to bring a firearm on the property. Short of obtaining that permission, the gun owner or concealed handgun licensee would not be allowed to go on the property, visit a place of business, or even to keep a gun in their friend's apartment or place of business (if they lease).

In a typical day, licensees might visit a dozen or more different places of business, homes of friends or family, etc. HB595 would require them to obtain oral or written from each and every property owner or person in control of the property they visited, or would require the business owner to post a sign extending a blanket permission.

The bottom line is that if these two Democrats had their way, licensees would need permission to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense almost anywhere they go. This bill would make Ohio's concealed carry law the most cumbersome, and therefore useless, law of its kind in the country.

Click here to read the gun control bill in its entirety.

This isn't the only gun control legislation Patmon has pending. In June, the BFA "F"-rated legislator introduced HB563 - misguided gun control legislation that would "prohibit any person from storing or leaving a firearm in the person's residence unless the firearm is secured in safe storage or rendered inoperable by a tamper-resistant lock or other safety device if the person knows or reasonably should know that a minor is able to gain access to the firearm and to provide criminal penalties if a minor gains unauthorized access to a firearm not so stored or rendered inoperable."

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.