Gov. DeWine Signs Bill Lifting Conceal Carry Permit Requirement

The new law applies to Ohioans 21 and over who are legally eligible to own and carry a firearm in the state.

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(Columbus, Oh.) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill into law that makes it easier for Ohioans to carry concealed guns.

This week, DeWine signed Senate Bill 215 into law.

The legislation eliminates a concealed carry permit requirement for Ohioans 21 and over who are legally eligible to own and carry a firearm in the state.

According to the Buckeye Firearms Association, Ohio is the 22nd state to allow people to carry a concealed weapon without a license.

Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey noted her support of the 2nd Amendment but fell short of supporting the new law.

“It is important to note that I support the 2nd Amendment; however, I think that signing this bill into law is not very well thought out for highly populated jurisdictions such as Hamilton County. To vote for people to be able to conceal carry without a license, without any training, without any documentation, makes it exponentially harder for law enforcement to prevent gun crimes.

Poor decision making happens, and unfortunately, if you’re carrying a weapon and you make a poor decision in a very elevated and high stress situation, the repercussions and ramifications of that are tremendous. People in the general public may not understand how poorly most people shoot. That’s why I have been a vocal opponent of this bill, and tried to educate the public on what this means for our community.

I have many, many years of firearm training and I am usually at 90% accuracy. In a high-stress situation, my accuracy or that of any trained officer will go down by about 40%. This is something that needs to be considered when we allow untrained and unlicensed individuals to walk the streets of Hamilton County with concealed weapons.”

Gun owners can still apply for a concealed weapons permit under the legislation. In encounters with law enforcement, the law requires individuals confirm they are carrying a weapon if asked by an officer.

For more information, visit Senate Bill 215 | The Ohio Legislature.