(a) No person shall knowingly possess an object in a school safety zone if both of the following apply:
(1) The object is indistinguishable from a firearm, whether or not the object is capable of being fired.
(2) The person indicates that the person possesses the object and that it is a firearm, or the person knowingly displays or brandishes the object and indicates that it is a firearm.
(b) Division (a) of this section does not apply to premises upon which home schooling is conducted. Division (a) of this section also does not apply to a school administrator, teacher, or employee who possesses an object that is indistinguishable from a firearm for legitimate school purposes during the course of employment, a student who uses an object that is indistinguishable from a firearm under the direction of a school administrator, teacher, or employee, or any other person who with the express prior approval of a school administrator possesses an object that is indistinguishable from a firearm for a legitimate purpose, including the use of the object in a ceremonial activity, a play, reenactment, or other dramatic presentation, or a ROTC activity or another similar use of the object.
(c) Whoever violates division (a) of this section is guilty of illegal possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) "Object that is indistinguishable from a firearm" means an object made, constructed, or altered so that, to a reasonable person without specialized training in firearms, the object appears to be a firearm.
(2) "School safety zone" consists of a school, school building, school premises, school activity, and school bus.
(3) "School", "school building", and "school premises" have the same meaning as in RC 2925.01.
(4) "School activity" means any activity held under the auspices of a board of education of a city, local, exempted village, joint vocational, or cooperative education school district; a governing authority of a community school established under RC Chapter 3314; a governing board of an educational service center, or the governing body of a school for which the state board of education prescribed minimum standards under RC 3301.07.
(5) "School bus" has the same meaning as in RC 4511.01.
(Ord. No. 931-14. Passed 4-20-15, eff. 4-21-15)
Statutory reference:
Similar state law, see RC 2923.122
Similar state law, see RC 2923.122