COLUMBUS – With supporters saying they are eliminating “victim zones,” the Ohio House voted 63-25 Tuesday for a bill allow carrying concealed handguns into daycare centers, along with public areas of law enforcement stations and airports.
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The bill also would allow someone to carry a handgun in a school safety zone if the person has a license and leaves the weapon inside a locked motor vehicle. Under current law, a person in a school safety zone could have a handgun in a vehicle only if the licensee is in the process of picking up or dropping off a student.
The measure now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Rep. Ron Maag (R-Lebanon) the bill’s sponsor, said it cleans up issues with current gun laws and ensures concealed-carry license holders can carry without “undue hardships”
“These practical changes allow license holders to carry out daily activities without undue hardship,” he told a House committee. “It would prevent law-abiding citizens from unintended law-breaking in many circumstances.”
The Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association oppose House Bill 48, arguing that it’s unnecessary and puts inconveniences of those who carry a weapon ahead of the safety of individuals. The Buckeye State Sheriffs’ Association supports it.
In addition, the bill would allow universities to adopt policies permitting people to carry concealed handguns on campus. If such a policy is not in place, the bill also reduces from a first-degree misdemeanor to a minor misdemeanor the charge if a license holder illegally carries a handgun onto a college campus.
Officials at any of the locations mentioned in the bill can individually ban guns.
It would keep a ban on concealed weapons in government buildings unless an agency decides to allow them. The bill was revised earlier to remove houses of worship from the list of places where the weapons would be allowed.