(a) No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person's person or concealed ready at hand, any of the following:
(1) A deadly weapon other than a handgun;
(2) A handgun other than a dangerous ordnance;
(3) A dangerous ordnance.
(b) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license shall do any of the following:
(1) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the person after the person has been stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license and that the person then is carrying a concealed handgun;
(2) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;
(3) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the person is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.
(c) (1) This section does not apply to any of the following:
A. An officer, agent, or employee of this or any other state or the United States, or to a law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry concealed weapons or dangerous ordnance or is authorized to carry handguns and is acting within the scope of the officer's agent's, or employee's duties;
B. Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry concealed weapons or dangerous ordnance or is authorized to carry handguns, and who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of RC 109.801, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided in this section does not apply to the person;
C. A person's transportation or storage of a firearm, other than a firearm described in divisions (b), (d), (f), (g), (j) and (n) of Section 627.01 of this Code, in a motor vehicle for any lawful purpose if the firearm is not on the actor's person;
D. A person's storage or possession of a firearm, other than a firearm described in divisions (b), (d), (f), (g), (j) and (n) of Section 627.01 of this Code, in the actor's own home for any lawful purpose.
(2) Division (a)(2) of this section does not apply to any person who, at the time of the alleged carrying or possession of a handgun, is carrying a valid concealed handgun license, unless the person knowingly is in a place described in division (B) of RC 2923.126.
(d) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section of carrying or having control of a weapon other than a handgun and other than a dangerous ordnance that the actor was not otherwise prohibited by law from having the weapon and that any of the following applies:
(1) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in or was going to or from the actor's lawful business or occupation, which business or occupation was of a character or was necessarily carried on in a manner or at a time or place as to render the actor particularly susceptible to criminal attack, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.
(2) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in a lawful activity and had reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the actor, a member of the actor's family, or the actor's home, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.
(3) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for any lawful purpose and while in the actor's own home.
(e) No person who is charged with a violation of this section shall be required to obtain a concealed handgun license as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.
(f) (1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of carrying concealed weapons. Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (f)(2) of this section, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. This section shall not apply in any case in which the conduct constitutes a felony under the laws of the State of Ohio.
(2) If a person being arrested for a violation of division (a)(2) of this section promptly produces a valid concealed handgun license, and if at the time of the violation the person was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of RC 2923.126, the officer shall not arrest the person for a violation of that division. If the person is not able to promptly produce any concealed handgun license and if the person is not in a place described in that section, the officer may arrest the person for a violation of that division, and the offender shall be punished as follows:
A. The offender shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor if both of the following apply:
1. Within ten (10) days after the arrest, the offender presents a concealed handgun license, which license was valid at the time of the arrest to the law enforcement agency that employs the arresting officer.
2. At the time of the arrest, the offender was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of RC 2923.126.
B. The offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500.00) if all of the following apply:
1. The offender previously had been issued a concealed handgun license, and that license expired within the two (2) years immediately preceding the arrest.
2. Within forty-five (45) days after the arrest, the offender presents a concealed handgun license to the law enforcement agency that employed the arresting officer, and the offender waives in writing the offender's right to a speedy trial on the charge of the violation that is provided in RC 2945.71.
3. At the time of the commission of the offense, the offender was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of RC 2923.126.
C. If neither division (f)(2)A. nor (f)(2)B. of this section applies, the offender shall be punished under division (f)(1) of this section.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this division, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (b)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and, in addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for a violation of division (b)(1) of this section, the offender's concealed handgun license shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of RC 2923.128. If, at the time of the stop of the offender for a law enforcement purpose that was the basis of the violation, any law enforcement officer involved with the stop had actual knowledge that the offender has been issued a concealed handgun license, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (b)(1) of this section is a minor misdemeanor, and the offender's concealed handgun license shall not be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of RC 2923.128.
(4) Carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. In addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for misdemeanor violation of division (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section, the offender's concealed handgun license shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of RC 2923.128.
(g) If a law enforcement officer stops a person to question the person regarding a possible violation of this section, for a traffic stop, or for any other law enforcement purpose, if the person surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop. If a court orders a law enforcement officer to return a firearm to a person pursuant to the requirement set forth in this division, division (B) of RC 2923.163 applies.
(Ord. No. 931-14. Passed 4-20-15, eff. 4-21-15)
Statutory reference:
Similar state law, see RC 2923.12
Similar state law, see RC 2923.12