Question: What about down the road? What crap will the politicians shove down our throats later if this (Issue One) passes? And is there a difference between the Ohio Constitution and the Ohio Revised Code?
Answer: Protecting our freedoms from threats “down the road” or from politicians who want to “shove tyranny down our throats” is exactly why Ohio Gun Owners supports passing Issue One and raising the threshold to change the Ohio Constitution from 50% to 60%.
Explanation
I’d first like to define what the Ohio Constitution and the Ohio Revised Code are, because it is important to understand their proper roles in order to clearly understand Issue One.
The Ohio Constitution is the foundation of Ohio government and the foundation for all laws in the state of Ohio. It is the bedrock standard that Ohio government must operate in accordance with, all laws must comply with and agree with it, and it supersedes the Ohio Revised Code.
The Ohio Revised Code is the set of laws and statutes passed by the Ohio General Assembly which govern our day-to-day lives and which are enforced by Ohio law enforcement. The Ohio General Assembly is composed of state representatives and state senators elected by the citizens of Ohio, and represent “we the people.”
Article One, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution says that “The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security.”
It is a beautiful statement to have in a constitution.
But one might reasonably ask the question, “so because the Ohio Constitution, which is the highest law in Ohio, says that we have the right to bear arms, does that mean we’ve always had Constitutional Carry?”
The answer is no, and for two main reasons.
The first is that the Ohio Constitution, as a foundational document, is not where the laws governing the carrying of firearms in Ohio are codified.
The laws governing the carrying of firearms are found in the Ohio Revised Code, and these laws are made by the Ohio General Assembly, whom the voters elect.
The second reason why we didn’t have Constitutional Carry (until 2021) in Ohio, even though Article One, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution very clearly allows for it, is because Ohio law enforcement enforces the Ohio Revised Code, not the Ohio Constitution.
I want you to be crystal clear about this, so please forgive me for belaboring this point.
It is clear that ever since the original Ohio Constitution was passed back in 1802, Ohioans have had a constitutional right to carry a concealed handgun.
The Ohio Revised Code, however, did not agree with that “interpretation” of the Ohio Constitution and outlawed the practice of carrying a handgun concealed unless you had a license from the state, so anyone who conceal carried without a license before 2021 and got caught by a police officer was easily arrested, charged and convicted under the law of the Ohio Revised Code.
(Note: Yes, the prohibition on carrying without a license was likely unconstitutional under Article One, Section Four of the Ohio Constitution, but lawsuits challenging such are expensive and were not an option at the time)
That is one of the main reasons I started Ohio Gun Owners.
I wanted the Ohio Revised Code and the Ohio Constitution to say the same thing so that lawful citizens could carry without the government licensing that right and without being arrested for doing so.
So OGO set out on the path to change the Ohio Revised Code.
We had legislation sponsored, it started picking up momentum, it was passed through both chambers of the Ohio General Assembly, it was signed by the governor of Ohio and officially became law when it was enacted in section 2923.111 of the Ohio Revised Code.
It is still the law today in Ohio because it has not been repealed by a new law, and because it is built on the foundation of Article One, Section Four of the Ohio Constitution.
Another example of this relationship between the Ohio Constitution and the Ohio Revised Code would be the illegality of murder.
The Ohio Constitution in Article One, Section One says that Ohioans have the rights of “enjoying and defending life and liberty,” but the law stipulating that murder is illegal is found in chapter 2903 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Future Proof
Ohio is in a constant state of change.
Right now, Ohio has a Republican Super Majority in the Ohio General Assembly and Republicans hold every statewide office, including the Governor’s office.
Because of those facts, we’ve made significant progress in passing pro-gun legislation in the General Assembly over the last several years, where passing legislation requires and will continue to require crossing the 50% threshold.
But Ohio has not always had large Republican majorities, and it will likely not always have them in the future.
If or when the Democrats take control of the Ohio General Assembly at some point, they will have the opportunity to change Ohio’s gun laws in the Ohio Revised Code by passing legislation with a simple majority of the votes, just like we have changed Ohio’s gun laws in the Ohio Revised Code by passing legislation with a simple majority of the votes.
None of that will change if Issue One passes.
What will change if Issue One passes is that, by raising the voting threshold from 50% to 60% to change any part of the Ohio Constitution, the bedrock and the foundation of Ohio’s law and system of government will be protected from the radical changes we see happening around us every day.
And that will give our children, our grandchildren and our legacies the maximum opportunity to enjoy the freedoms and liberty we have today.
