Ohio, like the vast majority of states across the country, has a firearms preemption law in place that generally precludes any governmental entity besides the state legislature from enacting their own gun laws. Despite that statute, the organizers of the Champaign County Fair decided to prohibit firearms from the fair, which led to the arrest of an off-duty police chief last year.
The prosecutor in Champaign County decided to ask Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost if the Champaign County Agricultural Society, which runs the fair, is considered a "political subdivision" under Ohio's preemption statute. If so, the CCAS isn't allowed to craft any gun-related restrictions on fairgoers, and Paris Police Chief Eric Smith never should have been told to leave the fair because he was openly carrying a firearm. In turn, that complicates Smith's prosecution on charges of obstructing official business and criminal trespass.
Yost has now weighed in, concluding that the Ag Society does indeed qualify as a political subdivision, and it has no authority to declare the county fair a "gun-free zone."
In a letter to Champaign County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin S. Talebi, Yost laid out his reasoning:
A county agricultural society is a creature of statute. It derives its existence, as well as its powers, responsibilities, and limitations from the statutory provisions of R.C. Chapter 1711. R.C. 1711.13 provides that:
County agricultural societies are hereby declared bodies corporate and politic, and as such they are capable of suing and being sued and of holding in fee simple any real estate purchased by them as sites for their fairs. (Emphasis added.)
... A county agricultural society has at times been characterized as a private organization performing some governmental functions; it is a corporation voluntarily formed and governed by a board of directors who are statutorily designated as not being “public officers.” More recent authority, however, gives greater focus to the governmental aspects of a county agricultural society, described below, such as the determination that it must comply with the open meeting requirements of a public body, must follow the prevailing wage laws of a public authority, and is a political subdivision under the state’s political subdivision tort liability law even though not expressly listed in that statute.
Yost also cited three prior opinions from the Attorney General's office dating as far back as 1984 that assert these agricultural societies are considered political subdivisions, as well as two court decisions stating the same.
In his advisory opinion, Yost noted that one of the purposes of the state's firearm preemption law is to provide statewide uniformity on gun laws.
The determination that a county agricultural society is a political subdivision for purposes of R.C. 9.68 supports the purpose of the statute for uniformity of regulation.
In summary, by weighing all of the attributes of a county agricultural society, including its statutory responsibilities and the state’s oversight; the consistent use throughout the Revised Code of the three-element definition of a political subdivision; and the legislative purpose of the firearms pre-emption statute, I must conclude that a county agricultural society is a political subdivision within the meaning of R.C. 9.68.
It was dumb of the Champaign County Agricultural Society to adopt a "gun-free" policy in the first place, but at least Yost's opinion has offered some clarity to the CCAS and other organizers of county fairs throughout the state. They can't claim ignorance of the law going forward, and they certainly can't argue they're empowered to disarm fairgoers before they're allowed to pass through the gates of the fairgrounds.
If the legislature wants to exempt agricultural societies from the state's preemption law it has the authority to do so. Lawmakers could also specifically prohibit firearms at county fairs on their own, though I suspect that a) there's not enough support in the legislature to do that and b) making fairs off-limits to lawful carry would spark a successful legal challenge.
It's unclear how many county fairs in the Buckeye State have policies similar to the one in Champaign County, but based on Yost's opinion they should all be null and void. That's good news; not only for Chief Smith, but for other Ohio gun owners who shouldn't have leave their carry gun locked up in their vehicle where they could be stolen or at home where it does them no good if they need to defend themselves or others.
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