Four gun bills are scheduled to get their first hearing before a state legislative committee on Wednesday.
Three of the bills before the House State Government Committee would significantly roll back Ohio’s gun laws, including:
- House Bill 35, which would make it a first-degree felony for law enforcement officers or others to enforce any new gun bans or firearm registration requirements. It would also prohibit local governments from establishing a firearm registry.
- House Bill 48, which would allow concealed handguns to be taken into a wide variety of places, including churches, day-care centers, state buildings, and airports outside security checkpoints. It would further allow concealed-carry permit holders to take handguns into school safety zones if the firearms are left in the car, and public and private universities and colleges would also be given the choice of allowing concealed handguns on campus.
- House Bill 152, which would allow anyone in Ohio who is 21 or older to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, as long as they’re allowed to own the gun.
Each of the bills is sponsored by conservative Republican lawmakers. But while the GOP dominates the Ohio General Assembly, it’s unclear how far the measures will advance in the legislature, as some similar attempts to loosen Ohio’s concealed-carry laws have been shot down in the past.
The State Government Committee will also hear testimony on House Bill 20, which seeks to make sure that parents with concealed weapons keep their guns in their locked car when picking up or dropping off their children off at school.
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