We are getting extremely close to total victory and passing Constitutional Carry into law for Ohio.
There are a few more critical steps that must be made before we can get it passed out of the General Assembly, so please read this email and then take immediate action!
For the last two months, Ohio Gun Owners’ leadership team and OGO’s army of members and supporters like you have been engaged in a tremendous effort to move Constitutional Carry.
>>> In late October, after an intense and politically brutal effort, OGO forced the House Government Oversight Committee to pass HB227 and send it to the full House for consideration.
That effort (particularly overcoming Majority Leader Bill Seitz’ efforts to block the bill) was accomplished by the sheer size and quantity of demands made by OGO’s members across Ohio.
>>> In early November, OGO executed a statewide mobilization campaign to pressure the entire House Republican Caucus to vote yes when Constitutional Carry came to the floor for a vote.
OGO had already whipped the vote count and new we had the votes for passage, but our goal was to get an overwhelming majority of House members to vote yes so that Governor DeWine couldn’t use Republican “No” votes as a veto excuse.
>>> On November 17, Constitutional Carry was finally moved onto the floor for full consideration by the Ohio House of Representatives, and passed by a vote of 60 to 32, with not ONE single Republican voting against the bill!
But OGO didn’t pause or slow down for a celebration.
After it passed the House, the Ohio Gun Owners Constitutional Carry bill (HB227) was transmitted to the Senate and referred to the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee.
Over the summer, Ohio Senator Terry Johnson had introduced a separate Constitutional Carry bill, Senate Bill 215, that also had been referred to the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee.
The problem was, that bill had stalled in committee and did not receive any action for months and months before OGO’s HB227 got pushed out of the Ohio House.
So with both OGO’s HB227, which had already passed the Ohio House, and SB215, both in the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee, Ohio Gun Owners immediately went to work.
>>> We met with Veterans and Public Safety Committee Chairman Frank Hoagland, who promised his support for the bill.
Hoagland, a thirty-year member of the US Navy Seals, was adamant that he was eager to move the bill as soon as he was given a green-light by leadership.
>>> We met with every Republican member of the committee, provided answers for any with questions, and got favorable responses to inquiries of support for a committee vote.
With the entire committee and chairman in support for the bill, the only possible objection left was the Senate Republican Leadership team.
>>> Ohio Gun Owners immediately met with staff from Senate President Matt Huffman’s office as well as Senate Majority Floor Leader Kirk Schuring.
Schuring admitted there was significant support for Constitutional Carry within the caucus, but indicated that the Senate would probably pass Senator Terry Johnson’s SB215 version (which is very similar to the House-passed HB227, but not identical) and that he doubted it would be voted out before the then-upcoming Christmas holiday.
The problem that they all had, however, is that Ohio Gun Owners doesn’t like backing down or letting off the gas.
You see, it is very important when advocating for controversial gun-rights legislation not to lose momentum, so instead of kicking back for the holidays, OGO instead urged everyone we spoke with to move quickly and get a vote before Christmas break.
But keep in mind, Ohio Gun Owners isn’t in the business of begging for freedom.
And we don’t pretend to be such fancy or great lobbyists in the hopes that everyone will like us so much that they’ll pass our bills.
That’s why the whole time we were meeting with the legislators in person we were making dang sure that every senator in the building was being bombarded by grassroots gun owners from every district in Ohio demanding they get off their butts and pass Constitutional Carry!
And you know what? It worked.
On Tuesday, December 14, the Senate Veterans and Public Safety Committee voted Senator Johnson’s SB215 out and sent it to the full senate. . .
. . .and on Wednesday, December 15, the entire Ohio Senate passed SB215 out of the Ohio Senate by a vote of 23 to 8!
Freshman Republican Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) was the only Republican in the entire Ohio General Assembly to betray gun owners and vote with the radicalized Democrats!
The fact is, for the first time in history, the entire Ohio House and the entire Ohio Senate have passed Constitutional Carry, with massive majorities to boot.
You know what? That is only because of the hard work, dedication, action and financial support of patriots like you.
Now we have a problem, however. The House has passed their version (HB227) and the Senate has passed their version (SB215).
But for a bill to be sent to the governor for either a passage signature or a veto, ONE of the chambers must pass the other chamber’s bill in identical form!
>>> SIGN YOUR OFFICIAL PETITION NOW! <<<
The fact of the matter is that now that both chambers have passed Constitutional Carry in similar but not identical bills, the play clock has started.
You see, the Ohio General Assembly is on Christmas recess and doesn’t gavel back in until January 19th. And there are very few legislative session days scheduled between now and the Ohio Republican Primaries.
If we do not force one of these chambers to take up the other chamber’s bill, everything we have worked for could be for nothing if they are allowed to run out the clock.
That’s why I hope you’ll sign your petition, but when you do, I hope that you’ll consider an very generous donation to help Ohio Gun Owners do everything we must do to get Constitutional Carry across the finish line!
OGO is gearing up and preparing to roll out an aggressive, no-holds-barred pressure program when they return to Columbus, including:
>>> A massive digital and internet ad blitz targeting legislative leadership; and
>>> An in-district, direct-text messaging campaign in every district that matters!
OGO’s ad blitz and in-district, direct-text campaigns are legendary now in Columbus because they are brutally effective, especially in advance of the 2022 Republican primaries.
But we’re not going to be to be able to implement this full program without your assistance.
That’s why I hope that when you sign your petition, you’ll also consider a very generous donation so that we can FINISH THIS FIGHT FOR YOU!
I don’t know what you can afford.
But every single thing you and me and thousands like us have worked so hard to accomplish since January of last year is on the line.
And if we are going to be successful, I need to know as quickly as possible what kind of resources I have to work with.
So please sign your petition along with a generous contribution of $100.
>>> SIGN YOUR OFFICIAL PETITION NOW! <<<
We’ve made an unbelievable amount of progress in the last few weeks.
We passed Constitutional Carry out of the House Government Oversight Committee, even though everyone at the Statehouse said it was the most anti-gun committee in the General Assembly.
We forced the entire Ohio House to vote on HB227, passing Constitutional Carry out of an Ohio legislative chamber for the first time in history.
Constitutional Carry passed an Ohio Senate Committee for the first time ever with SB215.
And when gun owners thundered in mid-December and pushed SB215 all the way out of the Senate, pro-gun history was made in Ohio!
We have come this far only because gun owners have stood shoulder to shoulder and marched in lockstep with each other, removing every obstacle standing in our way.
I can’t bear to think of losing all the progress we have made.
Right now, if we crank up the heat, we can finish this fight and secure our right to defend ourselves and our families and loved ones without begging government permission ever again!
Help us get Constitutional Carry passed in the Ohio General Assembly for the FINAL TIME!
So please immediately sign your petition and consider making a generous donation so Ohio Gun Owners can FIGHT FOR YOU!
For Freedom,
Chris Dorr
Executive Director
Ohio Gun Owners
P.S. Thanks to your grassroots pressure, Constitutional Carry has been voted through each chamber of the Ohio General Assembly for the first time in history.
ALL we need for Constitutional Carry to get sent to Governor DeWine’s desk is for EITHER chamber to pass the opposing chamber’s bill one last time!
With the clock running out before the 2022 Republican Primary, OGO is launching a massive campaign to force legislative leadership to do just that!