Ohio gun owners who feel the need to temporarily remove firearms from their home will soon be able to turn to gun stores or their local police departments for help. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have unanimously agreed to allow "any owner of a lawfully possessed firearm or a person authorized by the owner of a lawfully possessed firearm" to store a firearm with a federally licensed firearms dealer or with a law enforcement agency "upon application and agreement."
These voluntary off-site storage measures are, thankfully, becoming increasingly popular in red states as an alternative to "red flag" laws. Unlike Extreme Risk Protection Orders, which have been used in states like New Jersey to strip lawful gun owners of their ability to legally keep ahold of their guns simply because a family member was subject to a mental health assessment, the off-site storage allows gun owners to decide for themselves if and when it's necessary to temporarily remove their firearms from the home, and to return them whenever they feel ready.
Under SB 273, FFLs and police departments can come up with their own policies and procedures for storing firearms, and no gun store or law enforcement would be required to take in firearms.
The bill also states that "If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that a federally licensed firearms dealer or law enforcement agency withheld return of a firearm or firearms after a demand was made for the return by an owner of a lawfully possessed firearm or a person authorized by the owner of a lawfully possessed firearm, without legal cause, in addition to any other relief ordered, the court shall award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the person who sought a court order finding the firearm stored was illegally withheld."
That honestly doesn't appear to be an issue in any state that already allows for voluntary off-site storage, but it's still good that gun owners have that additional layer of protection for those who might be hesitant to take advantage of any program in their area.
The one followup I'd like to see from Ohio lawmakers is a provision providing a tax credit or even grant money to FFLs and police departments who would like to participate but need to acquire additional gun safes so they've got the storage space. That would require either an outlay of public funds or a decrease in tax revenue, but I think it would be a good way to encourage gun shops and police departments to offer themselves as temporary storage options.
I can't imagine Gov. Mike DeWine rejecting this bill, but with unanimous support in both chambers there are plenty of votes to override any potential veto. I suspect that DeWine will be happy to put his signature on SB 273, though. The legislation offers up a common sense solution for gun owners who, for whatever reason, believe it would be best to temporarily remove some or all of the guns from their collection. It might be a family member going through mental health challenges or simply an extended time away from home that triggers the concern, but regardless of the circumstance gun owners will benefit from having this as an option going forward.
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