The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Ohio lawmakers are rushing headlong into summer recess, but on the way out the door, one committee took up two firearm provisions aiming in different directions.
Given the timing of their introduction, both measures face an uphill climb for passage before the current session ends. Still, as political messaging goes, the bills stake out important positions for their party ahead of a consequential election.
The Democrat-backed measure would roll back the so-called constitutional carry law passed in 2022 allowing anyone 21 or older to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. Across the aisle, Republicans want to place new penalties on undocumented people found in possession of a firearm.
Weapons under disability
Federal law carries several regulations which bar a person from possessing a gun. Perhaps most notable of late, people addicted to drugs can’t possess a firearm — that was one of the charges for which Hunter Biden was found guilty.