Ohio Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. RECIPROCITY NOTES: Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire. Pennsylvania and South Carolina recognize Ohio’s RESIDENT permit only. See http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Law-Enforcement/Concealed-Carry/Concealed-Carry-Reciprocity-Agreements. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | Enacted |
No-Net Loss | No Legislation |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | Shall Issue |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Outright Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Possession
No state permit or license is required to possess a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. MORE |
Purchase and Transfer
No state permit or license is required to purchase a handgun, rifle, or shotgun. MORE |
Carrying
It is generally unlawful to carry concealed on the person or concealed ready at hand a handgun without a concealed handgun license. Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.12(A), (C)(2). MORE |
Antiques and Replicas
Antique and antique replica rifles, shotguns, or handguns are treated like modern arms for possession, carrying and purchase purposes, unless specifically exempted. Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.11(B)(1) (definition of “firearm” as “any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant. ‘Firearm’ includes an unloaded firearm, and any firearm that is inoperable but that can readily be rendered operable.”).
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Machine Guns, Assault Weapons, Magazines, Ammunition, etc.
Ohio has no laws generally restricting “assault weapons” or “large capacity” magazines. Ohio state law regulates “dangerous ordnance,” which includes certain firearms and ammunition, suppressors, and other items. MORE |
Preemption
The Ohio preemption law, Ohio Rev. Code § 9.68(A), reserves to the state legislature the right to regulate the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, storage, carrying, sale, other transfer, manufacture, taxation, keeping, and reporting of loss or theft of firearms, their components, and their ammunition, and prohibits “any manner of ordinance, rule, regulation, resolution, practice, or other action enacted or enforced by a political subdivision in conflict” with this provision. MORE |
Restoration of Rights
A person who is prohibited from acquiring, having, carrying, or using firearms may apply to the court of common pleas in the county in which the person resides for relief from such prohibition. Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.14(A)(1). MORE |
Range Protection
A 1997 law, Ohio Rev. Code § 1533.85(A), provides that the owner, operator, or user of a shooting range is not liable in damages in a civil action to any person for harm allegedly caused by noise at the shooting range, or the failure to limit or suppress noise at the range, if the owner, operator, or user substantially complies with noise rules prescribed by the Chief of the Division of Wildlife pursuant to Section 1533.84. MORE |
Miscellaneous
With limited exceptions, a member of the firearms industry is not liable in damages in, and is not subject to a grant of injunctive relief in, a tort or other civil action for harm allegedly sustained by any person as a result of the operation or discharge of a firearm. “Member of the firearms industry” means any manufacturer, dealer, or importer of firearms, firearms components, or firearms ammunition or any trade association the members of which, in whole or in part, are manufacturers, dealers, or importers of firearms, firearms components, or firearms ammunition. Ohio Rev. Code § 2305.401. MORE |
Thursday, June 19, 2003
A bill that would permit Ohioans to carry concealed handguns passed the Senate Wednesday despite lukewarm support from ...
Monday, June 2, 2003
NRA-backed HB 12, sponsored by Representative Jim Aslanides (R-94), will soon be up for a vote in the ...
Monday, June 2, 2003
State law currently prohibits local officials from adopting laws banning firearms sports inside township limits. But legislation under ...
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) became the 53rd member of the Senate to co-sponsor the bill that would ...
Thursday, May 15, 2003
The recent attack at Case Western Reserve University left one person murdered and two injured. What can be ...
Saturday, May 10, 2003
House Bill 12, Right to Carry legislation, will have opponent testimony Wednesday, May 14, at 9:00 a.m., in ...
Monday, May 5, 2003
"Cincinnati`s decision this week to drop its 4-year-old lawsuit against gun manufacturers was a good if inevitable move. ...
Friday, May 2, 2003
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Wednesday, April 30, that the lead attorney in the City of Cincinnati’s reckless ...
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Lawyer Stanley M. Chesley told Cincinnati City Council on Tuesday that he could not justify moving forward with ...