Gun rights are on the move in the Ohio Senate?
Senator Terry Johnson’s SB215 is up for a proponent hearing tomorrow during the 2:30PM Senate Veterans and Public Safety committee.
This is by far the best bill to be introduced in the Ohio Senate since the full-orbed Stand-Your-Ground bill Senator Johnson introduced for Ohio Gun Owners last General Assembly
As a recap, SB215:
>>> Recognizes the right of lawful Ohioans to carry a concealed handgun without begging government permission to carry first.
It’s a simple concept: if you’re legally allowed to own a handgun, it should be legal to carry that handgun for any lawful purpose with no additional paperwork or license required.
But what if you still want a license for reciprocity purposes or any other reason?
You can still do that under SB 215 as it doesn’t phase out the CHL license, but makes it optional.
>>> Fixes Ohio’s dumb duty-to-notify law by repealing it once and for all.
Violent criminals have never told law-enforcement that they are carrying firearms. Duh.
Likewise, if you get stopped by the State Patrol, you shouldn’t be a criminal for not proactively notifying the police officer (or every additional responding officer!) that you are concealed-carrying your fabulous new Sig P320 X5 Legion quickly enough!
You shouldn’t need to tell law-enforcement that you are exercising your right to worship, your right to assemble, or your right to free speech, either!
And of course, nothing in this bill prevents lawful citizens from telling law-enforcement officers that they ARE carrying a firearm if they so choose.
>>> Fixes Ohio’s Stand-Your-Ground law by creating a process for pre-trial immunity hearings.
If, God forbid, you are ever forced to use a firearm in self-defense, you would no longer be subject to being drug through the court system – and shelling out tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees – to simply prove you were justified for doing so!
Instead, you would be able to go before a judge in a pre-trial immunity hearing, tell them what happened (and yes, we still recommend a lawyer!), and if a prosecuting attorney can’t prove otherwise in that pre-trial hearing, you would be free to go.
>>> Allows Ohioans who were previously charged with failing to notify a police officer of their concealed weapon the ability to have their record expunged.
Now, the fact is that no major piece of pro-gun freedom like this moves without major action from the grassroots, and that is where you come in, FIRST.
As you can see, we have done most of the work for you, and sending an email to every member of the committee in support of this bill will only take a few moments.
Let’s face it, these bills aren’t magically going to get taken up by the Senate Leadership, run through committee, put on the floor and voted out of the Senate on their own merits, like you and I would do.
Because nothing pro-gun happens at the Statehouse unless gun owners are politically FEARED.
That’s what tens of thousands of emails just like yours will do.
Let’s be honest, the only reason this bill is having a hearing tomorrow is because of the political fires you have been lighting at the Statehouse for Constitutional Carry. So let’s keep the hammer down!
And if you’re free tomorrow afternoon, you can join Rob at the Statehouse for the committee hearing in the Senate at 2:30PM, and even say a few words to the committee members during proponent testimony about why this bill is important for our gun rights!
For Freedom,
Chris Dorr
Executive Director
Ohio Gun Owners