(A) Discharge of firearms on or near prohibited premises. No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Without permission from the proper officials and subject to division (B)(1) of this section, discharge a firearm upon or over a cemetery or within 100 yards of a cemetery;
(2) Subject to division (B)(2) of this section, discharge of a firearm on a lawn, park, pleasure ground, orchard, or other ground appurtenant to a schoolhouse, church, or inhabited dwelling, the property of another, or a charitable institution;
(3) Discharge a firearm upon or over a public road or highway.
(B) Application of division (A).
(1) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to a person who while on the person’s own land, discharges a firearm.
(2) Division (A)(2) of this section does not apply to a person who owns any type of property described in that division and who, while on the person’s own enclosure, discharges a firearm.
(C) Penalty for violation of division (A). Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises. A violation of division (A)(1) or (A)(2) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A violation of division (A)(3) shall be punished as follows:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2) of this section, a violation of division (A)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) If the violation created a substantial risk of physical harm to any person, caused serious physical harm to property, caused physical harm to any person, or caused serious physical harm to any person, a violation of division (A)(3) is a felony to be prosecuted under appropriate state law.
(R.C. § 2923.162) (Rev. 2005)
(D) Hunting near township park.
(1) No person shall hunt, shoot, or kill game within one-half mile of a township park unless the Board of Township Park Commissioners has granted permission to kill game not desired within the limits prohibited by this division.
(R.C. § 3773.06)
(2) Whoever violates division (D)(1) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(R.C. § 3773.99(A))
(E) Unlawful discharge. No person shall discharge any BB gun, air gun, or firearm, or make use of any sling, bow and arrow, or crossbow, within the corporate limits of the municipality.
(F) Unlawful pointing or aiming. No person shall, intentionally and without malice, point or aim any BB gun, air gun, or firearm, or any sling, bow and arrow, or crossbow at or toward another.
(G) Penalty for violations of division (E) or (F). Whoever violates division (E) or (F) of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
(H) Exceptions. This section shall not prohibit the firing of a military salute or the firing of weapons by persons of the nation’s armed forces acting under military authority, and shall not apply to law enforcement officials or other government officials in the proper enforcement of the law, or to any person in the proper exercise of the right of self defense, or to any person otherwise lawfully permitted by proper federal, state or local authorities to discharge a BB gun, air gun, or firearm, or to use a sling, bow and arrow, or crossbow in a manner contrary to the provisions of this section. Division (E) of this section does not extend to cases in which BB guns, air guns, or firearms, or slings, bows and arrows, or crossbows are used in the confines of structures or used within the confines of a person’s own property, provided such use is under adult supervision and is approved by the municipality.
(Rev. 2003)
Statutory reference:
Improperly discharging firearm at or into habitation or school safety zone, felony offense, see R.C. § 2923.161