Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson has asked state lawmakers to clarify Ohio's firearm laws, warning that a recent federal announcement could lead otherwise law-abiding gun owners to break state law without knowing it, his office said in a release on Friday, October 23.
Source: Ohio Attorney General's office
In a letter to Senate President Rob McColley and House Speaker Matt Huffman, Wilson cited the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' October 9 announcement that it will no longer require individuals to obtain its approval under the National Firearms Act before making or transferring short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns or firearm suppressors.
Ohio law currently prohibits the creation, possession or use of these items without ATF approval, the release said. That means the federal change, on its own, does not lift the state restriction.
"Under current Ohio law, Ohioans wishing to own or use a short-barreled rifle, short-barreled shotgun or firearm suppressor must register those items with the federal government or face the risk of criminal prosecution. If that reflects the policy of this legislature, so be it. If, on the other hand, the legislature sees these registration requirements as archaic remnants of an overly restrictive past, it is time to eliminate them from Ohio law." — Attorney General Andy Wilson, in his letter to legislative leaders
The attorney general's letter does not itself change the law; only the legislature can do that. Until lawmakers act, Ohio owners of the covered items remain under the state requirement Wilson described.
Gun-rights groups say work on the issue was already under way at the Statehouse. The Buckeye Firearms Association says a bill it backs, Senate Bill 214, has passed the Senate and would address suppressors, while other backed bills would address short-barreled firearms, according to reporting on Wilson's letter.
Source: Dayton Daily News via CFM
Gun Owners of America, in an October 23 alert, said Senate Bill 214 would remove suppressors from Ohio's "dangerous ordnance" classification and urged lawmakers to extend the change to short-barreled rifles and shotguns as well. Those are the groups' characterisations of the bills; the legislature has not yet passed a final change.
Source: USA Carry / Gun Owners of America
For Ohio gun owners, the practical point is the gap Wilson flagged: what federal officials no longer require, Ohio law still does — until and unless the General Assembly rewrites it.