Ohio Law / Open Carry

W

Wreck-n-Crew

New member
I was doing a search on Ohio open carry and though many threads and post related to it, they appear to point back to another thread that was not subjective to the matter so here i am .

I have owned a gun or two since i was 18 (25 years ago ...shhh) and i was always aggravated about what i was always told about the law here prior to conceal carry permits came along.

Not totally clear yet, and though i have read and searched I still have a hard time dispelling the rumors about open carry after the conceal carry change.

Specifically rumored that open carry is now permitted here and no permit necessary. I find this hard to believe, that it is that simple now.

Before there was no law against it, but you would/could get arrested for inducing panic for open carry according to my experience and information derived from LEO(understanding that they enforce and someone else rights it.). I perceived it as the way around allowing ones rights to carry by using another law to tamp it down...but that was the perception and i have no facts to back that up as was the case for anyone i know or discussed it with.

Okay so i read that the "rule" is that you can open carry but nothing about inducing panic as it relates to the new law as far as jurisdictional boundaries etc, leaving me to wonder whether open carry has changed at all. (not sure if it was there, just not found).

I followed the link provided by Staff to my state and found the short version short and the long version longer (not surprised the state laws contain anything near a simple answer.)

Does anyone have anything relative to Ohio Open Carry Laws as they stand today as it pertains to inducing panic...etc.?
 
Ohio

Specifically rumored that open carry is now permitted here and no permit necessary.
Click to expand...

Open carry has never been illegal in Ohio, therefore, it has always been legal. Ohio has always been 2A friendly.

Does anyone have anything relative to Ohio Open Carry Laws as they stand today as it pertains to inducing panic...etc.?
Click to expand...

I don't see how any municipality could use Inducing Panic (2917.31 ORC), as none of the three paragraphs under section-A apply. However, municipalities can write whatever laws they choose, and could modify this law to include something that could apply.

I don't recommend open carry, especially in a jurisdiction like Cleveland that might have a restrictive law outlawing it.
 
Quote:
Specifically rumored that open carry is now permitted here and no permit necessary.
Click to expand...
Open carry has never been illegal in Ohio, therefore, it has always been legal. Ohio has always been 2A friendly.
Click to expand...
Sorry bad proofreading, Should have went back over that a second time. This pc has a mind of its own sometimes.

After reading your reply
I don't see how any municipality could use Inducing Panic (2917.31 ORC), as none of the three paragraphs under section-A apply. However, municipalities can write whatever laws they choose, and could modify this law to include something that could apply.

I don't recommend open carry, especially in a jurisdiction like Cleveland that might have a restrictive law outlawing it.
Click to expand...

I come back to the main reason for my post.
If I remember correctly the law states that there is no law against open carry of a firearm. Furthermore that it applies to all jurisdictions/municipality's.

IF that part of the law has not been changed in any way, the law as i read and understood then i must focus on the inducing panic section of the law as it pertains to open carry.I remember reading some on it

I appreciate the information as well as the advice. I feel that i am confident my next answer lies in the aforementioned sentence on Inducing panic.
 
Your answer lies in Ohio case law.

Several years ago, a case went all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court regarding open carry and the legality thereof (before the concealed carry permit law). The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that because the state constitution guarantees a right to keep and bear arms, the state may NOT completely prohibit the carrying of arms. At that time Ohio state law prohibited concealed carry. Therefore, the state Supreme Court ruled, since the state prohibited concealed carry open carry had to be legal.

With that ruling as protection, the Ohio gun rights organization began organizing open carry events around the state. The "authorities" became tired of all the frantic phone calls from the blissninnies about a man with a gun, so they caved in and enacted a concealed carry permit system.

But the court's ruling still stands. It isn't a right if you have to buy a permit to exercise it, and the concealed carry permit costs money. So open carry remains legal in Ohio by virtue of the state constitution and the Ohio Suprme Court.
 
IMHO: The best place for information on OC in Ohio is the Ohio sub-forum at www.opencarry.org (AKA OCDO)

What has been stated already is correct, unlicensed OC (and licensed OC) is legal, and has OH Supreme Court backing. I do not believe with the Court ruling a local government entity can do much to restrict your OC any more than the general restrictions on any carry (like courts, schools etc)
 
Ohio does have a state preemption law, where state law trumps all local laws.
I work in a store in Wickliffe Ohio (just east of Cleveland.)
We have had OC'ers in our store on three occasions.
The problem with Ohio OC, as I see it, is the rules defining transport of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
 
amd6547 said:
The problem with Ohio OC, as I see it, is the rules defining transport of a loaded firearm in a vehicle.
Click to expand...
Could you be more specific? Is this a problem for all open carry, or only for people who choose to open carry but not obtain a permit for concealed carry? How does the law affect someone who has obtained a concealed carry permiot but chooses nonetheless to open carry (either all the time, or on occasion)?
 
You don't need a permit for open carry.. Only concealed. Depending on how your dressed or Acting, there shouldn't be any panic induced. May get a few stares, but no panic. Buckeyefirearms.org has a section dealing with the laws on guns as well as knifes.


Sent from iPhone
 
From the NRA:
In Ohio, A firearm in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle is considered loaded if its magazine is loaded or a loaded magazine is ready at hand.* Muzzleloading weapons are considered unloaded if the percussion cap or priming powder in the pan is removed.

It is unlawful for a person not issued a concealed handgun license or a temporary emergency license to have a firearm in a motor vehicle unless it is unloaded and carried in one of the following ways:

•* In a closed case, box, or package.

•* Secured in a rack in plain sight.

•* In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle.

•* For long guns, in plain sight, with the action open or the weapon stripped, or if the firearm’s action will not stay open or it cannot be easily stripped, in plain sight.

If a licensee is transporting a loaded concealed firearm and is stopped by a law enforcement officer, he must keep his hands in plain sight, notify the officer that he has a concealed firearm and a license to carry a concealed firearm, and follow all specific instructions issued by the officer.

These rules would seem to make OC difficult. One would have to unload the weapon and store it properly while driving.
 
amd6547 said:
These rules would seem to make OC difficult. One would have to unload the weapon and store it properly while driving.
Click to expand...
This is true if one open carries and does not have a permit. The exact same situation exists in neighboring Pennsylvania: unlicensed open carry is legal, but transportation in a vehicle is not unless you have a permit.

In both states, having a concealed carry permit eliminates the problem (but not the duty to inform in Ohio -- although I believe I heard that may be rescinded).
 
Aguila Blanca's take is "correct" but what really happened is...well, funnier.

Us gunnies sued in the Klein case for access to concealed carry permits. The 2003 Ohio Supreme Court decision said that we lost - but in their reasoning behind the loss, they noted that "well everybody knows open carry is legal, therefore the right to bear arms isn't being completely stepped on" (paraphrase).

Well everybody did NOT know that. The various police chiefs and politicians of the bigger cities and counties all looked at each and went "oh [bleep]" while the gunnies all looked at each and went "no [bleep]? Hell yeah!"

Basically, the previous practice of arresting for "disturbing the peace" came to a crashing halt, which led to the open carry rallies in happy laps around the various state capitals and a CCW law passed in 2004 that in turn did NOT invalidate the open carry ruling/comment in Klein.
 
"..Open carry and transporting in a vehicle are really two different subjects.."
-garycw

Are they?
Are you limiting yourself to walking around the neighborhood, never OC'ing farther away?
If you OC and need to drive, you better know you need to transport that firearm in a legal manner. Lacking a carry permit would make OC tedious and pointless if you have to drive.
 
amd6547 said:
"..Open carry and transporting in a vehicle are really two different subjects.."
-garycw

Are they?
Are you limiting yourself to walking around the neighborhood, never OC'ing farther away?
If you OC and need to drive, you better know you need to transport that firearm in a legal manner. Lacking a carry permit would make OC tedious and pointless if you have to drive.
Click to expand...

Agreed. ... Unless the law in Ohio has changed bullets & gun are to be separate that you would have to exit the vehicle to bring them together. Like in the trunk.
 
amd6547 said:
"..Open carry and transporting in a vehicle are really two different subjects.."
-garycw

Are they?
Are you limiting yourself to walking around the neighborhood, never OC'ing farther away?
If you OC and need to drive, you better know you need to transport that firearm in a legal manner. Lacking a carry permit would make OC tedious and pointless if you have to drive.
Click to expand...
And that's exactly the point. I know this is exactly the problem in Pennsylvania, and it has been my understanding that it is also a problem in Ohio. In PA, unlicensed open carry is legal when you're on foot, but transportation in a vehicle is a separate provision under the law and requires a carry permit except for a very few, very specific circumstances.

So open carry and vehicle transport ARE separate and different discussions. And this is why I asked you in post #7 if you were referring to ALL open carry, including by licensed persons, or only to unlicensed open carry. I many states (including both Ohio and PA) it makes a difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top