Bill would keep gun stores open during states of emergency
Thousands of Ohio businesses were forced to close during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but gun shops weren't among them.
Gov. Mike Dewine carved out exemptions in his stay-at-home orders for firearm stores and other "essential businesses" like gas stations, grocery stores and hospitals.
Republican lawmakers say Dewine got that part of the shutdown right, and they want to make sure another governor couldn't decide otherwise.
That's why Sen. Tim Schaffer, Rlancaster, introduced Senate Bill 185. The bill, which was voted out of committee Tuesday afternoon, would ban local governments in Ohio from closing gun stores during a declared state of emergency. And it would ban law enforcement from confiscating weapons, invalidating concealed carry licenses or closing down shooting ranges.
"It simply clarifies that people cannot have their rights taken away during a time of a declared emergency," Schaffer said.
Are gun stores essential?
Governors across the country had to answer the same question as they ordered businesses to close: Which industries are essential?
Not surprisingly they came up with different answers.
Michigan, New York, New Mexico, Massachusetts and Washington all ordered gun dealers to close up shop as part of their statewide stay-at-home orders.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom left it up to local sheriffs to decide while Illinois granted the same exemption as Ohio.
And about half the states in the U.S. already had a law on the books similar to what Schaffer is proposing.
"Most of those protections were put in place as a result of Hurricane Katrina and the government response that followed," said Chris Lee, who represents the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Law enforcement in Louisiana confiscated 552 weapons in the weeks following the historic 2005 floods. Local police have always said they only took stolen guns or those found in abandoned homes, but the practice of removing those weapons sparked a national backlash in the gun rights community.
"Ohio has a very pro-gun minded legislature," Buckeye Firearm Association lobbyist Rob Sexton told lawmakers in June.
But he still thinks SB 185 is necessary.
"Red states become blue. Blue states become red. Times change. Politics change ...," Sexton said. "It would be foolish to wait."
Riot prevention
Democratic Sen. Cecil Thomas, Dcincinnati, wants to wait – at least until he hears more from law enforcement.
Thomas, a former police officer, said he worries this bill would take away a tool law enforcement needs to de-escalate dangerous situations like protests that get out of hand.
Current law allows local governments to prohibit the sale or transportation of "firearms or other dangerous weapons" like crossbows and knives when suppressing a riot or "when there is a clear and present danger of a riot."
SB 185 would eliminate that provision for everything except dynamite and other explosives.
The next stop on the road to becoming law in Ohio is a floor vote by the Ohio Senate. Then the bill will head to the House for consideration.
Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.