Ohio: Committees to Hear Self-Defense Bills

On April 10^th, the Ohio state Senate Judiciary Committee and the state House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee will be holding the fourth hearings to accept proponent/opponent testimony on Senate Bill 180 and Substitute House Bill 228 respectively.  These bills will improve the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves in Ohio.  Please contact committee members and urge them to SUPPORT SB 180 and Sub. HB 228.  Click the “Take Action” button to contact committee members.

Senate Bill 180, sponsored by state Senators Joe Uecker (R-14) and Jay Hottinger (R-31), and Substitute House Bill 228, sponsored by state Representatives Terry Johnson (R-90) and Sarah LaTourette (R-76), would expand circumstances under which a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense.  Further, these bills would shift the burden of proof to the state, so the state would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person charged with an offense that involved the use of force against another, did not use that force in self-defense. 

SB 180 would also reduce certain concealed handgun offenses to minor misdemeanors and eliminate the mandatory posting of signs that warn against the conveyance of a deadly weapon onto specified premises.

In addition, Sub. HB 228 would:

• Generally bars a rental agreement for "subsidized residential premises" from requiring a tenant to agree to a prohibition or restriction on the lawful ownership, use, or possession of a firearm, a firearm component, or ammunition within the tenant's rental dwelling unit.  Law-abiding gun owners should not be denied the right to Keep and Bear Arms, regardless of their economic status or street address.
• Strengthens firearms preemption ensuring that laws regarding firearms and ammunition are uniform across the state to guarantee that gun owners and sportsmen are able to exercise their rights equally across Ohio.
• Adds an affirmative defense to the charge of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle which applies if: (1) the firearm was a handgun, (2) the handgun was placed in the motor vehicle by an individual other than the defendant, and (3) the defendant did not know or have reason to know that the handgun was placed in the motor vehicle.    

Again, please click the “Take Action” button to contact Senate Judiciary Committee members and urge them to SUPPORT SB 180 and the House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee to SUPPORT Sub. HB 228.