Ohio Republicans Push ‘Stand Your Ground,’ Improvements for Concealed Carry

Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House are pushing “Stand Your Ground” legislation and improvements for concealed carry.

The improvements include permitless carry legislation, which would allow law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-defense without first asking for government permission.

Permitless carry is currently the law of the land in 12 states. Those are: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, and West Virginia. It is also legal in the vast majority of Arkansas and Montana.

According to Opposing Views, Republican lawmakers are considering a “Stand Your Ground” statute. Such laws remove any duty for a law-abiding citizen to retreat before using a gun in self-defense. Such laws began sweeping through state legislatures in the early 21st century and now a majority of states have “Stand Your Ground” laws. The most recent state to adopt such a law was Iowa, where Governor Terry Branstad (R) signed “Stand Your Ground” legislation on April 13, 2017.

Another piece of pro-Second Amendment legislation — House Bill 233 — would allow Ohio concealed carry permit holders to “avoid penalty” for carrying firearms into gun-free businesses as long as they take the firearm out of the business if asked to do so. This does not give the permit holder permission to ignore gun-free business designations, rather, it provides a bit of leeway for armed, law-abiding citizens who accidentally carry a gun into an area posted as gun-free.

Brad Miller, spokesman for Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, summed up the pro-Second Amendment efforts, saying, “For a lot of members in the caucus, it comes down to the constitutional rights of Ohioans.” He also addressed the proposed improvements in concealed carry, saying, “There are cases where you never know when your life might be put in danger.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.