An Overview of Ohio Firearm Laws
The regulatory landscape for gun use in the United States is both large and complicated, with federal, state, and sometimes local laws and regulations imposing significant restrictions. As a basic rule of thumb, federal law will trump or preempt if the federal regulation is more restrictive. Thus, in general terms, Ohioans have more leeway to own and operate firearms than other Americans.
Restrictions most relevant to shooting on private property are found under federal or state law. When digging deeper into state regulations, Ohio gun control laws are laid out in Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2923. Other chapters impose varying degrees of background checks and licensing requirements. On a mostly complementary level, Ohio is also a member of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
In the past few years, the Ohio General Assembly has enacted notable changes. The Ohio legislature passed HB 85 in 2012 to establish a procedure enabling active-duty members of the armed forces who are stationed in Ohio, or who are residents, to be treated like Ohio residents for purposes of obtaining a concealed-carry license.
In 2014 , jealous of Castle Doctrine laws in other states, Ohio legislators adopted "Stand Your Ground" legislation in SB 299. This law allows homeowners to use deadly force against intruders without first attempting to retreat, even in public places. In a narrower context, SB 199 of 2015 addresses concealed carry on college campuses. Lawful holders of concealed-carry licenses are now permitted to carry a concealed weapon in school safety zones, except day-care facilities and preschool.
Senate Bill 29 was signed into law earlier this year. The law, effective Sept. 13, 2016, amends Ohio Revised Code § 2923.121 to allow the use of deadly force to "prevent commission of certain felonies."
Other legislative and state precedent lay out specific permits, concealed carry requirements, and limitations for hunters and gun owners. Generally speaking, Ohio imposes strict and broad bans on automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Ohio places no limits on the purchase of handguns or rifles for use at home. For example, generally anyone (not prohibited from possessing a firearm) can purchase as many handguns as they want at a time in Ohio.
Shooting on Privately Owned Property: Ohio Law Requirements
In Ohio, establishing criteria for the discharge of firearms on private property is a matter of local regulation. Because of the diversity in local regulations and ordinances, being able to determine requirements for the lawful discharge of firearms in one locality does not provide a reliable window into the requirements governing a neighboring community. To further complicate matters, in many instances, local resources for information may be thin, particularly with respect to a less emphasized area of regulation. For these reasons, obtaining the aid of an attorney licensed to practice in Ohio and familiar with the gun laws in your community is often best.
Fortunately, this is an area of law wherein a bit of self-education is often all that is required to help you make the necessary determination as to whether shooting on a piece of land you own is fully permissible subject to no permit, in need of a local permission slip, or completely prohibited.
Statewide, Ohio law provides that shooting on land owned by the shooter is generally permitted but subject to local zoning regulations. The first piece of a complete legal determination is thus the identification of the jurisdiction the property is located in followed by a review of the zoning regulations applicable to that jurisdiction. For example, the City of Columbus zoning code generally prohibits the discharge of any firearm within city limits except in certain districts commonly associated with industry rather than residential development or during the course of a segment of the city designated for special sporting events. Other municipalities have strict zoning codes which are even more prohibitive than that of Columbus. This aspect of the determination is fairly straightforward, but additional facets merit your attention.
Zoning codes, even those which permit the discharge of firearms, are subject to exceptions, regulations, and prohibitions such as the following: While this list is not exhaustive, it should be readily apparent that the zoning code is, for those living within a community, your first line of defense in determining the requirements for the discharge of firearms on privately owned property. Turning back to the above example, the City of Columbus specifies distances from the property line within which the discharge of firearms is permitted. As such, even if the land on which you wish to shoot is located within an industrial district and, as such, has no zoning code prohibiting shooting, the property line may be a maximum distance of 150 feet from any residence. That distance may be your guide. So long as your nearest neighbor is greater than 150 feet away, you can likely shoot away without regard for zoning code limitations.
Now, before feeling overly confident in your ability to get that turkey this year with the family 223, it is important to note that the above discussion is not the end of the story. While the above requirements discuss state and local rules and regulations, it is also necessary to consider whether county or other local prohibitions may apply to the discharge of firearms within the jurisdiction. Like city zoning codes, these rules may vary widely across the state.
In Franklin County, for example, the board of health has made regulations aimed at minimizing the risk of noise and other hazards in shooting ranges and recreational shooting areas. Your 223, however, is neither of these and as such, the potential for ammunition often used in the hunting of deer and turkey permeating deep into the ground and into the water table is sufficient for other counties to have followed suit. Check for your county’s rules and regulations carefully.
The above discussion is, again, no means of providing an exhaustive description of mandate. Rather, it is intended to illuminate the obtuse and complex nature of the requirements that govern shooting on private property.
Ohio Firearm SoCal Safety Advice
Safety Protocols and Recommendations for Shooting on Private Property in Ohio
Respect for property rights is a cornerstone principle of the Second Amendment in Ohio. Besides a select few locations in Ohio, you can’t legally shoot any firearms on public land. So when it comes to shooting guns in Ohio, private land is the best option. If you’ve got access to enough property, and the necessary permits and/or licenses, you can shoot almost wherever you want. But that said, these aren’t carte blanche rights. First and foremost, Ohio property owners have the right to maintain control over their property and prevent others from using it without their consent. However, Ohio law does provide certain "defenses" to this, which we wrote about here: If a police department has to respond—and district attorneys increasingly prosecute gun crimes—it doesn’t matter whose land you’re on. You are going to be charged with a crime, bear it in mind. Gun owners in Batavia, Wilmington, and Hamilton know this from experience: shooting in their back yards has to be reasonable, or they risk criminal charges of violation of Ohio law (as opposed to civil law.) You see, the restrictions in Ohio legal code are vaguely worded, so if local law enforcement believes a person is recklessly discharging a firearm in a municipality, city, or village, charges will be pressed. Disturbing the peace is one way to get charged in these cases, and noise ordinances also apply. Therefore, to avoid trouble, we tell our clients that it’s best practice to get a verbal or written affirmation from a neighbor (a neighbor that is within likely earshot at least) that what they’re doing is OK with them. Moreover, it’s your duty to contact your local law enforcement before shooting firearms if you’re concerned about the area you live in. In these situations, we’ve found that most Ohioans (even in densely populated areas) are amenable to shooting early in the day, or during the week.
Potential Liability and Criminal Consequences
Very few people ever actually read the pages of liability waivers at ranges and private clubs— let alone enter into shooting contracts with anyone. Let alone, for shooting on their own property. The consequences for failing to do so, however, can be severe.
Since Ohio has largely preserved the doctrine of assumption of risk in the negligent shooting context, Ohio courts regularly uphold liability waivers even in the context of negligence and malpractice in other contexts. Thus, the property owner may be able to dispose of all civil liability for injuries caused by improperly compensated or otherwise negligent individuals on their property simply by printing up a waiver form. That notwithstanding though, Ohio courts have held that in order to effectively assume the risk of injury or damage caused by other parties on the property, a contract must be made in advance of the conduct by one party to the conduct of another. In doing so, the courts will strictly impose a reasonable but fairly strict general rule for performing compensation for use of property (even in private contexts). So while many homeowners and other private property owners could possibly avoid liability for the injuries and damages caused or aggravated by their property, they may still have to face criminal charges resulting from injuries or damages that they themselves cause to others as a result of shooting at their property without a license.
Local governing agencies do not look well on private property owners operating as unlicensed ranges or private gun clubs. Ohio law requires that no person shall engage in the business of operating, leasing , or otherwise causing to be operated a shooting range or facility without a license to do so. A violation of this provision is a first-degree felony. An otherwise responsible property owner could end up in jail because a range operator within that property was practicing shooting. The kind of insurance coverage necessary to protect the property owners against these kinds of actions would be virtually impossible to find.
Ohio law provides only for criminal liability without regard to whether the property owner knowingly caused the violation. The law also authorizes the state of Ohio to take action against the shooting range or facility or shooting competitions, regardless of any licensure that might prevail. The law plainly requires all shooting ranges and facilities to discharge of all existing ammunition and shooting range related debris or waste. Ohio law also plainly prohibits the unsafe or unsanitary storage of any ammunition, nor may anyone at the facility fire upon or near such wastes.
Because Ohio law further provides that operators of shooting ranges or sport shooting competitions have a duty to prevent and ameliorate excessive noise and other nuisances caused by a shooting range or facility or competition, the criminal consequences of operation without license or for impermissible shooting range practices is all the more severe. It is important therefore that the property owner (not to mention the shooter) take great care to ensure that any involved in shooting on private property are sufficiently covered—in terms of liability and otherwise. There is simply no telling how far this could go to penalize them if things ever go wrong.
Shooting Disputes and Complaints
When engaging in shooting activities on your own property, it is likely that you will have to deal with complaints, disputes and trespassing issues with your neighbors and/or law enforcement. The sheriff may be called, relatives of neighbors may come over demanding to know what’s going on, and possibly some of your pissed-off neighbors may even stop over to yell at you while you’re out in the woods at your shooting spot or on your property, or even while you’re out in public, simply because they see you with a rifle case or hear a noise from you shooting on your property. Ohio gun laws do not require that a shooter on private property inform neighbors or law enforcement that they are going to shoot, but be advised that disputing neighbors and/or law enforcement will likely show up to your house if they hear shooting, and it isn’t uncommon for homeowners to be cited by law enforcement for a noise violation (even just one shot) by a law enforcement officer who did not know the homeowner’s legal rights in the state of Ohio, as instructed by an attesting neighbor who felt it was their job to call the police or sheriff, or simply someone passing by that happened to hear it and was then estatic to report you and get you in trouble. If you are a landowner shooting on your own land, or in a permitted area where signs are posted prohibiting shooting on public or private land, such as a wildlife preserve or other places where it is posted that shooting is prohibited, you have the legal right to shoot where you own the property. The sheriff or police officer has to cite you because there is a "noise complaint" of gunfire, even if all the evidence of the "noise" is that of the empty casings rolling around your driveway after shooting (because in Ohio, if the bullets are fired down range, it is not a violation to be on your own driveway if you live there, and if you live on the property, you can shoot there). If you get cited, ask the officer if he/she understands Ohio gun laws that permit shooting on your own property, and if they do not, they can go home. Challenge the citation in court, and bring up the fact that law enforcement was ignorant of the law and has been since the law went into effect in 2006. If necessary, contact animal rights groups, PETA and the Humane Society, and seek help from the lawyers listed at Country Lawyer Blog for citizen involvement in order to get the municipality to stop being oppressive against good folks in Ohio while trying to defend their property, rights and lifestyle choices. If you have neighbors that are complaining about noise, killing their dogs or cats, or whatever else nonsense people wish to make up in order to get neighbors cited under an arbitrary city ordinance or township resolution, explain to them first what Ohio gun laws state, provide them the link where you got the information, then ask them when they have time to watch The Truth About Guns video on YouTube titled Is Gun Noise Illegal in Tennessee? The video is less than four minutes long, and it educates people from other states that do not know how Ohio gun laws work regarding shooting on your own property. Note that Tennessee has similar state laws and the residents are fighting the same types of noise violation citations. If you have a township or municipality that wishes to disrupt your lifestyle in order to ticket you for having the "audacity" to shoot on your own property, speak to your county prosecutor or state representative for suggestions on how to resolve this issue without the use of courts and lawyers and escalating the situation for no reason other than emotional uptightness and ignorance of Ohio gun laws.
Significant Court Cases and Examples
The interpretation of gun laws can differ from city to city in Ohio. The same can be said of the judicial decisions that govern those gun laws and how they’re applied to specific situations. The aggregate of these decisions is significant in the context of shooting on private property. Even as new legislation is signed into effect, oftentimes, there are specific scenarios that require a final decision from the court system. The following are some of the more noteworthy court precedents regarding shooting on private property: A 2002 case in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, established that property owners could shoot an intruder in defense of their home, even if the intruder also had a weapon. In the case of State v. Wozniak, a retired police officer was charged with murder after shooting and killing a man during a meth raid in his garage. The intruder was armed with a knife, and the state charged Wozniak under an Ohio law that states deadly force may not be used if the victim is attempting to escape from the person committing the offense. Following a motion by the defendant to dismiss the charges, the Tuscarawas County Court of Appeals ruled that while "there may be some question as to whether a warrantless search was being conducted , " property owners can "do whatever they deem necessary and reasonable to stop such an invasion." The laws governing a private property owner’s use of force in Ohio have been to protect property owners from unwarranted actions on the part of parties that believed that they had a right to be on the property. In light of the Wozniak decision, it seems that the law now allows for individuals to take justice into their own hands if they feel that their safety is threatened. In the 2012 case of State v. Lee, the Ohio Supreme Court revised the standard that governs the brandishing of a firearm or dangerous ordinance in self-defense. Instead of using an objective standard—the reasonable belief that an attacker was putting them in a position where their life was in jeopardy—Defendant Lee contended that the court should employ the subjective standard, or what the accused believes. The trial court agreed and charged the jury accordingly. In the end, the Court held that the accused’s subjective belief was irrelevant to the proceedings, and that the law would use the objective standard when determining whether a crime was committed. However, the court also concluded that the standard stated above may be appropriate in determining the extent of the owner’s justification.