Ohio gun rights bill could hinder investigations of gun crimes
Police in Ohio would be barred from enforcing federal laws.
Ohio’s leading prosecuting attorney’s association says a gun bill currently before state lawmakers would limit local police departments’ ability to help federal law enforcement investigate certain crimes — such as whether the man who shot four people at a Beavercreek Walmart last month obtained his weapon legally.
House Bill 51 would also prohibit state-level enforcement of federal rules restricting use of pistol braces like the one used in the Oregon District shooting in 2019.
The measure, known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, awaits a House vote, which could come as soon as this week. It was scheduled to be heard on the floor last Wednesday, but leadership held off on a vote.
At its core, H.B. 51 is a message to the federal government that Ohio’s state and local police departments will not be used to enforce federal gun restrictions.
If it were to go into effect, all Ohio law enforcement would be blocked from “enforcing, attempting to enforce, or participating in any way in the enforcement” of any federal firearm regulations; local police departments couldn’t employ any ex-federal agents who once enforced gun regulations; and departments would be subject to a $50,000 fine, plus legal fees, for each violation of the law.
However, local police departments and federal agencies often work together on drug, human trafficking and gang violence task forces that can often result in federal gun charges. To address this, H.B. 51 allows for local and federal coordination in cases where federal gun crimes are “ancillary,” or secondary, to the original offense.
Lou Tobin, director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, told this news organization that the ancillary exception won’t do enough to protect Ohio’s law enforcement. He said the bill’s broad prohibitions and steep punitive measures would force Ohio’s prosecutors to advise their law enforcement agencies to no longer assist federal agents in task forces and certain investigations.
“What we can and can’t do (under H.B. 51) is still just unclear,” said Tobin. “It’s going to have a chilling effect on all of this voluntary cooperation that goes on.”
Tobin believes that H.B. 51 would serve as a new vehicle for lawsuits to be levied against law enforcement in situations where local police helped pro