Ohio House Weighs Bill Barring Enforcement of Federal Gun Control

The Ohio House is expected to pass legislation this year barring in-state enforcement of federal firearm and ammunition laws.

The legislation, House Bill 51, is titled the Second Amendment Preservation Act.

Among other things, the Act implements a “civil penalty” in an instance where:

The state or any political subdivision of the state knowingly employs an individual who is acting as or previously acted as an official, agent, employee, or deputy of the government of the United States, or otherwise acting under the color of federal law within the borders of this state, and who knowingly…enforces, attempts to enforce, or participates in any way in the enforcement or implementation of any federal acts, laws, executive orders, rules, regulations, statutes, or ordinances regarding firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.

Cleveland.com reported that House Speaker Jason Stephens (R) is confident of the bill’s passage in the House, which would send it to the state Senate for debate and a possible vote.

The outlet described the Second Amendment Preservation Act as a reflection of Ohio “conservatives’ resistance to and distrust of federal gun-control laws.”

WKBN quoted Rep. Mike Loychik (R), sponsor of the Second Amendment Preservation Act, saying, “This Second Amendment Preservation Act protects one of our most fundamental rights as citizens. This bill allows Ohio’s law enforcement to carry out Ohio’s laws when it comes to owning guns, ammunition, and accessories. If any of these protections are violated, the bill permits an Ohioan to sue agencies whose employees have violated the Act.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.