Transporting Firearms in Ohio: A Comprehensive Guide 2024

Firearms laws limit who can own firearms, where they store them, and how they can carry them. They apply to people carrying weapons for hunting or protection as well as those with nefarious goals.

These laws often impose strict liability. You could face arrest and prosecution regardless of your knowledge of the law or intent to violate it. Whether you are an ardent Second Amendment supporter or got caught with a concealed handgun in the wrong place at the wrong time, knowing your rights before and during an arrest for transporting firearms in Ohio can save you from a conviction.

Contact our weapons charges defense attorney at Gounaris Abboud online or at (937) 222-1515 for a free case evaluation when you face firearms charges.

Firearm Possession in Ohio: An Overview

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution gives U.S. citizens the right to own and carry a firearm, subject to limitations.

Ohio restricts firearm possession by certain individuals, including those who:

• Suffer from chronic alcoholism
• Are deemed mentally incompetent, mentally defective, or mentally ill by the court
• Were ordered by the court to live in a mental institution
• Are fugitives from justice
• Were charged or convicted of a violent felony
• Were charged or convicted of a felony drug offense that involved illegal possession, sale, distribution, or trafficking of a controlled substance
• Suffer from dependency on a controlled substance prohibited by law

As long as these disabling factors don’t apply to you, you can generally own and possess a firearm in Ohio. However, if there are any questions about one’s right to carry, you should still contact a lawyer as there are often details that a simple checklist cannot answer.

Ohio is an “open-carry” state. That means individuals who legally own a firearm can openly carry it in plain sight within the state with or without a concealed carry permit, subject to other limitations. For example, you must meet different requirements when transporting firearms in Ohio in your motor vehicle based on whether you have a valid concealed handgun license or weapon permit. However, unlike some states, Ohio gun laws do not require firearms owners to register their weapons at a state level and prohibit cities from creating registries.

Ohio’s gun laws define legal ways to transport firearms for everyone, including those with a concealed firearm permit. First, knowingly discharging a firearm in a motor vehicle is illegal. Second, knowingly transporting a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle in a way in which a person can access it without leaving the vehicle is against the law.

Concealed Carry Permits: Ohio Requirements for a Concealed Handgun License

Ohio refers to the permit authorizing individuals to carry a concealed weapon as a Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit. Some states refer to this as a concealed firearms permit or concealed handgun license.

Ohio’s concealed carry laws require first-time CCW applicants to meet several requirements, including:

Permitless Carry Law in Ohio

In June 2022, Ohio became the 23rd State to allow its citizens to carry a concealed handgun. CCW permits can still be secured, but this law now allows citizens over the age of 21 to carry without a permit. The same laws, prohibitions and rules are still applicable to both those who have a permit and those that do not.

Ohio does not require active duty military members to pay the fee or submit to the training course.

Even when a person possesses a concealed carry permit, Ohio law prohibits individuals from carrying a concealed handgun in certain locations, including:

• Police stations
• Sheriff’s offices
• Correctional facilities
• Airport terminals
• Courthouses
• Mental illness facilities
• Universities (unless specifically allowed)
• School safety zones

In addition to their Ohio concealed carry license, individuals carrying a concealed handgun must carry another valid form of government identification.

Understanding Deadly Force in Ohio

Deadly force is a concept that underlies both criminal and civil liability in Ohio. The unjustified use of a deadly weapon capable of causing serious injury or death can result in serious criminal charges and a civil lawsuit against the aggressor. However, you can use lethal force to protect yourself or others.

Criminal Offenses

Murder happens when someone purposely ends someone else’s life. Criminal assault occurs when someone knowingly causes or attempts to cause physical harm to another person. Prosecutors can charge you with these criminal offenses when you knowingly discharge a firearm at someone else.

Also, Ohio law prohibits reckless homicide and negligent assault when you act with reckless disregard for the risks posed by your actions. For example, carrying a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle could result in injury or death if the gun gets jostled while driving on bumpy roads or during a motor vehicle crash.

Civil Liability

A victim could sue you for injuring them. For example, if you accidentally discharged a loaded handgun while cleaning it, you could get sued if the bullet pierced your wall and hit your neighbor.

Liability for Careless Storage

You could face criminal and civil liability under state gun laws for carelessly storing or transporting firearms in Ohio. For example, suppose that you kept a loaded firearm in an unlocked drawer in your home. You may face charges and a lawsuit if your child’s friend takes the loaded handgun and accidentally shoots their foot.

Affirmative Defense for the Use of Deadly Force

In some circumstances, you can justify the use of deadly force under Ohio firearm laws. However, these defenses will not necessarily defeat all charges. For example, you can overcome charges of aggravated assault or homicide when you use lethal force to protect yourself from an imminent attack. However, you could still face charges for illegally transporting firearms in Ohio if you shot your attacker with a concealed weapon hidden under the seat of your motor vehicle.

Also, remember that having a concealed handgun license does not justify all uses of that firearm. Therefore, you still need to meet the requirements for self-defense if you injure or kill someone. In short, violations for possessing, storing, and transporting firearms in Ohio are separate and independent from offenses involving deadly force, such as gun assault and homicide.

Elements of Self-Defense

You must meet several requirements to assert self-defense. Under Ohio firearm laws, self-defense only applies in cases involving the defense of yourself or others. It does not apply in cases involving the defense of property.

For example, you cannot shoot someone for trying to break into your motor vehicle. However, you can shoot someone if you are inside the motor vehicle during the break-in and reasonably believe the assailant will injure or kill you. Similarly, you can probably shoot someone that you reasonably believe is assaulting someone else, even if the purported victim is a stranger.

To use self-defense, you must prove two elements. First, you must not have acted as the aggressor. The aggressor is the person who initiated or escalated the situation. Thus, you might have trouble asserting self-defense if the other person insulted you and you responded by drawing your loaded firearm and pointing it at the other person.

Second, you must show you sincerely and reasonably believed you or someone else faced an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. The belief must have been objectively reasonable, meaning that a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have felt the same way you did.

Suppose someone was carrying a loaded handgun in plain sight. After insulting and shoving you, they put their hand on their gun. You may have grounds for drawing your concealed handgun and using deadly force against the other person.

Challenging a Law Enforcement Officer Search

Self-defense is somewhat limited because it only applies to cases where prosecutors charge you with using a loaded or unloaded firearm to threaten, injure, or kill. The defense does not apply when prosecutors charge you with violating Ohio law due to the way you store or transport firearms.

One powerful defense is asserting the law enforcement officer conducted an illegal search. To search for a weapon, a law enforcement officer must have a warrant or show exigent circumstances.

The U.S. Constitution limits the state’s ability to conduct warrantless searches to only a few situations, such as:

• Permission from the person searched
• A weapon in plain sight
• Probable cause to believe the person committed a crime and no time to obtain a warrant

Motor vehicle cases, in particular, can be tricky. On one hand, you have a reasonable expectation of privacy in your vehicle. On the other hand, a law enforcement officer knows they might never find the motor vehicle again after it leaves the scene.

Transporting Firearms in Your Vehicle

The legality of transporting concealed firearms in motor vehicles depends on whether you possess a CCW permit. If you have a concealed carry permit, Ohio law allows you to transport a loaded, concealed handgun inside your motor vehicle.

However, you cannot carry a concealed weapon in your vehicle if you’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Carrying a concealed weapon in your vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol amounts to a 5th Degree Felony, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of $2,500.

If you don’t have a CCW permit, you can legally transport an unloaded firearm as long as it is carried in one of the following ways:

• In a closed package, box, or case
• In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle
• In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for that purpose

Violation of this provision amounts to a 4th Degree Felony, punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $250.

Facing and Overcoming Firearms Violations Under Ohio Law

Ohio law restricts how you can transport a firearm in a motor vehicle. You can distill these restrictions into a few principles. First, certain people cannot transport firearms. Under the law, no person shall knowingly transport a firearm in a motor vehicle, even if it does not belong to them.

Second, you do not need an Ohio concealed carry license to transport a weapon in your motor vehicle. Instead, you need to keep the loaded or unloaded firearm in a location you can only reach by exiting the vehicle.

Finally, if you face charges for firearms violations, you have defenses. These include self-defense and an illegal search of your motor vehicle by a law enforcement officer.