Ohio Firearm Protection Order Bill

A bill was introduced in the Ohio House last week that would “require persons subject to civil or criminal domestic violence temporary protection orders surrender all firearms in their immediate possession or control to a law enforcement agency or federally licensed firearms dealer.

Collaborating provisions& include that:“Within five days after the expiration of an order (here) described, a law enforcement agency having custody of a firearm surrendered pursuant to the order shall return the firearm to the defendant, unless another protection order has been issued that prohibits the defendant from possessing a firearm or the agency determines that the firearm has been stolen or that the defendant is prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law.

“(a) If a law enforcement agency determines that the defendant is the legal owner of any firearm deposited with the agency and is prohibited from possessing any firearm, the defendant may (sell) all the defendant's firearms that are in the custody of the agency to a federally licensed firearms dealer while the order remains in effect, and within five days after a dealer presents the agency with a bill of sale indicating that the defendant has sold to the dealer all of the defendant's firearms that are in the agency's custody, the agency shall give possession of those firearms to the dealer.

“(b) If a law enforcement agency determines that the defendant is not the legal owner of any firearm deposited with the agency, the agency shall make a reasonable attempt to identify and return the firearm to the legal owner. If the agency cannot identify the legal owner or if the owner is prohibited from possessing a firearm, the agency shall treat the firearm as unclaimed property and dispose of it accordingly….”

“….. If the defendant notifies the court that the defendant owns a firearm that is not in the defendant's immediate possession, the court may limit the order to exclude that firearm if the court is satisfied the defendant is unable to gain access to that firearm while the protective order is in effect. “

“…. If the defendant refuses to relinquish possession of any firearm on the grounds that such relinquishment would constitute self-incrimination in violation of the United States Constitution or Ohio Constitution, the court may grant use immunity for the act of relinquishing the firearm.”

Text of Bill as Introduced