SB 413: Regards transporting a firearm in a motor vehicle
This bill amends existing laws to modify the circumstances in which a person may transport a firearm in a motor vehicle. A person may transport a firearm in a vessel if it is unloaded and carried in one of the following ways: in a closed package, box, or case, or in plain sight with the action opened or the weapon stripped. The bill does not apply to officers, agents, or employees of this or any other state or of the United States, or to law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their duties. The bill also does not apply to persons legally engaged in hunting or to those transporting or possessing a handgun for lawful purposes, such as active duty military personnel. If a law enforcement officer stops a vessel for a violation of this law and a person surrenders a firearm, the officer must return the firearm to the person at the end of the stop. The bill also allows for the susp…
| Apr. 15, 2026 | Referred to committee: Armed Services, Veterans Affairs and Public Safety |
| Apr. 01, 2026 | Introduced |
Regular Session
To amend sections 1547.69, 2923.128, 2923.16, 2953.35, and 4511.19 of the Revised Code to modify the circumstances in which a person may transport a firearm in a motor vehicle.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
That sections 1547.69, 2923.128, 2923.16, 2953.35, and 4511.19 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
As used in this section:
"Firearm," "concealed handgun license," "handgun," "valid concealed handgun license," and "active duty" have the same meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.
"Unloaded" has the same meanings as in divisions (K)(5)-(J)(5) and (6) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, except that all references in the definition in division (K)(5) of that section to "vehicle" shall be construed for purposes of this section to be references to "vessel."
No person shall knowingly discharge a firearm while in or on a vessel.
No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a vessel in a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger.
No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a vessel unless it is unloaded and is carried in one of the following ways:
In a closed package, box, or case;
In plain sight with the action opened or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or that cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.
The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code are affirmative defenses to a charge under division (C) or (D) of this section that involves a firearm other than a handgun. It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (C) or (D) of this section of transporting or having a firearm of any type, including a handgun, in a vessel that the actor transported or had the firearm in the vessel for any lawful purpose and while the vessel was on the actor's own property, provided that this affirmative defense is not available unless the actor, prior to arriving at the vessel on the actor's own property, did not transport or possess the firearm in the vessel or in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by this section or division (B) or (C) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code while the vessel was being operated on a waterway that was not on the actor's own property or while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic.
No person who is charged with a violation of division (C) or (D) of this section shall be required to obtain a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.
Divisions (B), (C), and (D) of this section do not apply to the possession or discharge of a United States coast guard approved signaling device required to be carried aboard a vessel under section 1547.251 of the Revised Code when the signaling device is possessed or used for the purpose of giving a visual distress signal. No person shall knowingly transport or possess any signaling device of that nature in or on a vessel in a loaded condition at any time other than immediately prior to the discharge of the signaling device for the purpose of giving a visual distress signal.
No person shall operate or permit to be operated any vessel on the waters in this state in violation of this section.
This section does not apply to any of the following:
An officer, agent, or employee of this or any other state or of the United States, or to a law enforcement officer, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in a vessel and acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;
Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in a vessel, and who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided in division (H)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to the person;
Any person legally engaged in hunting.
Divisions (C) and (D) of this section do not apply to a person who transports or possesses a handgun in a vessel and who has been issued a concealed handgun license that is valid at the time of that transportation or possession or who, at the time of that transportation or possession, is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, unless the person knowingly is in a place on the vessel described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.
If a law enforcement officer stops a vessel for a violation of this section or any other law enforcement purpose, if any person on the vessel surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop.
Division L-K of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code applies with respect to division (A)(2) of this section, except that all references in division L-K of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code to "vehicle," to "this chapter," or to "division (K)(5)(a) or (b) of this section" shall be construed for purposes of this section to be, respectively, references to "vessel," to "section 1547.69 of the Revised Code," and to divisions (K)(5)(a)-(J)(5)(a) and (b) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code as incorporated under the definition of firearm adopted under division (A)(2) of this section.
If a licensee holding a valid concealed handgun license is arrested for or otherwise charged with an offense described in division (D)(1)(d) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or with a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or becomes subject to a temporary protection order or to a protection order issued by a court of another state that is substantially equivalent to a temporary protection order, the sheriff who issued the license shall suspend it and shall comply with division (A)(3) of this section upon becoming aware of the arrest, charge, or protection order. Upon suspending the license, the sheriff also shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.
A suspension under division (A)(1)(a) of this section shall be considered as beginning on the date that the licensee is arrested for or otherwise charged with an offense described in that division or on the date the appropriate court issued the protection order described in that division, irrespective of when the sheriff notifies the licensee under division (A)(3) of this section. The suspension shall end on the date on which the charges are dismissed or the licensee is found not guilty of the offense described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section or, subject to division (B) of this section, on the date the appropriate court terminates the protection order described in that division. If the suspension so ends, the sheriff shall return the license or temporary emergency license to the licensee.
If a licensee holding a valid concealed handgun license is convicted of or pleads guilty to a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(2) or (4) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division E-(3)-(D)-(3) or (5) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, subject to division (C) of this section, the sheriff who issued the license shall suspend it and shall comply with division (A)(3) of this section upon becoming aware of the conviction or guilty plea. Upon suspending the license, the sheriff also shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.
A suspension under division (A)(2)(a) of this section shall be considered as beginning on the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to the offense described in that division, irrespective of when the sheriff notifies the licensee under division (A)(3) of this section. If the suspension is imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division E-(3)-(D)-(3) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, it shall end on the date that is one year after the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to that violation. If the suspension is imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(4) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division E-(5)-(D)-(5) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, it shall end on the date that is two years after the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to that violation. If the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and the license remains valid after the suspension ends as described in this division, when the suspension ends, the sheriff shall return the license to the licensee. If the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and the license expires before the suspension ends as described in this division, or if the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, the licensee is not eligible to apply for a new license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or to renew the license under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code until after the suspension ends as described in this division.
Upon becoming aware of an arrest, charge, or protection order described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section with respect to a licensee who was issued a concealed handgun license, or a conviction of or plea of guilty to a misdemeanor offense described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section with respect to a licensee who was issued a concealed handgun license, subject to division (C) of this section, the sheriff who issued the licensee's license shall notify the licensee, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the licensee's last known residence address that the license has been suspended and that the licensee is required to surrender the license at the sheriff's office within ten days of the date on which the notice was mailed. If the suspension is pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, the notice shall identify the date on which the suspension ends.
A sheriff who issues a concealed handgun license to a licensee shall revoke the license in accordance with division (B)(2) of this section upon becoming aware that the licensee satisfies any of the following:
The licensee is under twenty-one years of age.
Subject to division (C) of this section, at the time of the issuance of the license, the licensee did not satisfy the eligibility requirements of division (D)(1)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.
Subject to division (C) of this section, on or after the date on which the license was issued, the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or an offense described in division (D)(1)(e), (f), (g), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.