The Akron Legal News

Lawmaker's testimony targets gun-free zones in state's concealed carry law

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: February 9, 2016

The Lebanon, Ohio lawmaker advocating the elimination of so-called “victim zones” outlined in Ohio’s concealed carry gun law recently provided testimony before members of the Senate’s Government Oversight and Reform Committee.

Rep. Ron Maag maintains in Substitute House Bill 48 that current law unnecessarily inhibits a law-abiding citizen’s ability to exercise their 2nd Amendment right.

“These practical changes allow license holders to carry out daily activities without undue hardship; it would prevent law-abiding citizens from unintended law-breaking in many circumstances,” the Republican lawmaker said.

As the law is written, entering one of these forbidden zones while armed - intentionally or not, a permit holder would be charged with a felony.

As Maag sees it, Substitute House Bill 48 adds practicality to the law.

“This bill essentially cleans up issues with the original concealed carry legislation,” he told committee members. “It is meant to facilitate lawful gun ownership so that citizens are able to protect themselves and their family from crime.”

The forbidden carry zones — places where citizens may be vulnerable to crime are the main focus of the bill.

The new law would eliminate the “victim zones” in daycare centers, private aircraft, and certain government buildings.

It also would limit the zones to secure areas in airports and police stations and clarify the existing provision regarding schools. Substitute House Bill 48, finally, would allow college campuses to permit concealed carry if they so choose.

“It is important to note that these changes only apply to those legally permitted to carry a concealed weapon,” the lawmaker said. “These individuals have demonstrated that they have the capacity to carry a weapon responsibly under Ohio law and should be able to do so without excessive burden.

“It is my aim to facilitate responsible gun ownership and enable Ohioans to protect themselves.”

According to analysis of the bill, daycare centers and homes are not automatically off limits to carriers of concealed handguns. Maag, however, stressed that these daycare centers would be treated like private businesses.

“They could opt-out by posting a no gun sign,” he said.

He offered an example in which a permit holder driving one child to school and another to daycare. The license holder — as prescribed by state law — must leave the weapon in the car with the older child, while taking the younger child into daycare.

The bill eliminates the explicit prohibition against carrying concealed handguns on aircraft, yet retains “a place in which federal law prohibits the carrying of handguns” as a prohibited place, analysis further outlined.

Instead of prohibiting all firearms in an airport terminal, the bill prohibits carrying a firearm in any area of a passenger terminal that is beyond a passenger or property screening checkpoint or other restricted area.

A permit holder would be able to carry a concealed handgun into a government building, other than a courthouse or a building used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility, or rest facility, as long as the legislative authority over the building enacted a law to permit the action.

The bill amends the blanket prohibition against carrying concealed handguns in a sheriff’s office or police or State Highway Patrol station by limiting the restriction to those areas where the public does not have access.

Maag next pointed to the boundaries of The Ohio State University as another example of the law’s impracticality.

“High Street? Neil Avenue? Where is OSU’s boundary line?” he asked. “This bill would allow college campuses to permit concealed carry ... (and) changes the penalty for carrying on a campus where you are not allowed to a minor misdemeanor. So (permit) holders don’t make a felony level mistake when navigating confusing campus boundaries.”

Finally, the changes would allow a sheriff to use concealed handgun license fee revenue to purchase ammunition and firearms with approval of a board of county commissioners.

The House passed the bill November 17, 2015 with bipartisan vote of 68-29.

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