Ohio House passes bill to prohibit cities from stopping gun sales during riots

Republicans in the Ohio House passed a bill Thursday that will not allow local governments to close gun stores, stop processing background checks or confiscate firearms during riots or other states of emergency.

"Senate Bill 185 will protect the rights of Ohioans to their firearms recognizing their natural right to protect themselves, recreate and feed their families under any declaration of emergency," Sen. Tim Schaffer, R-Lancaster, said.

The bill, which passed 55 to 22, would prevent all state agencies, political subdivisions (cities, counties, townships), and elected or appointed officials from restricting access to firearms during different states of emergencies. This would include things like required gun registrations, seizing weapons, banning the sale of ammunition, limiting the operating hours at shooting ranges or prohibiting otherwise lawful hunting.

The idea for the legislation sprang from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine carved out an exemption for gun stores in his stay-at-home orders, but other states did not.

"This bill does not add any additional gun rights," Schaffer said. "It simply clarifies that people cannot have their rights taken away during a time of a declared emergency."

Democrats see this as favoring gun stores over other retailers in a potentially unconstitutional way. And they think it might violate Ohio's home rule provision of the state constitution by not letting cities decide how best to handle emergency situations like a riot.

Also, state lawmakers already restrict what people can and can't do at demonstrations, Rep. Richard Brown, D-Canal Winchester, said. Ohio recently banned bricks at protests and other rallies.

"So, you can't bring a brick to a demonstration," Brown said. "But you can go buy a gun during a riot."

SB 185 passed the Ohio Senate on a party-line vote in October 2021, but the bill isn't headed to Gov. DeWine's desk just yet. It has to go back to the Senate for a vote on some minor amendments made by the House.

Anna Staver is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

Get more political analysis by listening to the Ohio Politics Explained podcast

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio passes bill to block cities from stopping gun sales during riots