The Ohio House of Representatives passed a flurry of bills this week, including a constitutional carry bill, that will now head to the Senate floor.
HB 227 is the constitutional carry law. It provides that Ohioans who are not otherwise barred from owning a firearm no longer need a license to carry a concealed handgun. The law does, however, allow Ohio’s gun owners to obtain a concealed carry license for the purpose of carrying their concealed handguns in other states that do require such licensure.
It also removes a gun owner’s duty to inform a law enforcement officer that he or she is carrying a concealed weapon when the gun owner comes into contact with a law enforcement officer at a traffic stop, or in other situations that currently require such disclosure.
The bill, co-sponsored by State Reps. Tom Brinker (R-Cincinnati) and Kris Jordan (R-Ostrander), passed through the Ohio House with a 60-32 vote, after making its way through the House Oversight Committee earlier this month.
A second gun rights bill also passed the Ohio House alongside the constitutional carry bill.
HB 99 says that teachers and school employees may carry weapons in schools, provided that they undergo 20 hours of training and receive approval from the Ohio peace officer training commission.
Previously, the Ohio Supreme Court had ruled that teachers needed hundreds of hours of training if they intended to carry a weapon inside a school.
House Democrats do not believe that 20 hours is enough training.
“First and foremost, as a mom, right, with three school-age children, it is terrifying to me to absolutely imagine that there is going to be a teacher with inadequate training with a gun in their classroom,” Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) reportedly said.
Among other notable laws passed by the Ohio House this week is “Esther’s Law.”
SB 58 unanimously passed the Ohio Senate Wednesday, with a vote of 87-0.
That bill allows for Ohioans to place electronic monitoring equipment like cameras in the rooms of loved ones who are residents of a nursing facility.
The bill is named for the mother of Steve Piskor, who in 2011 placed a security camera in his mother Esther’s nursing home room, only to find that she was being abused by staff. Two aides at the nursing facility went to jail after they were caught on camera abusing Piskor’s mother.
That bill passed the Senate in October, before roaring its way through the House in the past month.
HB 292 also passed the Ohio House this week with a 79-10 vote, providing for sales tax exemptions for purchasing parts used to make electric vehicles. SB 59 also passed the House unanimously this week, creating the Ohio Veterans’ Heritage Protection Act, which prohibits “war relics” on public property or in cemeteries from being removed.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
