(a) No person shall knowingly convey, or attempt to convey, a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone.
(b) No person shall knowingly possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone.
(c) 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.
(d) This Section does not apply to officers, agents, or employees of this or any other state or the United States, or to law enforcement officers, authorized to carry deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance and acting within the scope of their duties to any security officer employed by a Board of Education or governing body of a school during the time that the security officer is on duty pursuant to that contract of employment, or to any other person who has written authorization from the Board of Education or governing body of a school to convey deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone or to possess a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone and who conveys or possesses the deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in accordance with that authorization.
Division (c) of this Section does not apply to premises upon which home schooling is conducted. Division (c) 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.
This Section does not apply to a person who, at the time of conveying or attempting to convey a handgun into, or possessing a handgun in, a school safety zone, is carrying a valid license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under Section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and is in the school safety zone in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B), unless the person knowingly is in a place described in division (B) of Section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.
(e) (1) Whoever violates division (a) or (b) of this Section is guilty of illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this Section, illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone is a felony of the fourth degree.
(2) Whoever violates division (c) 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. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this Section, illegal possession of an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone is a felony of the fifth degree.
(f) (1) In addition to any other penalty imposed upon a person who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this Section and subject to division (f)(2) of this Section, if the offender has not attained nineteen years of age, regardless of whether the offender is attending or is enrolled in a school operated by a Board of Education or for which the state Board of Education prescribes minimum standards under Section 3301.07 of the Revised Code, the court shall impose upon the offender whichever of the following penalties applies:
A. If the offender has been issued a probationary driver’s license, restricted license, driver’s license, or probationary commercial driver’s license that then is in effect, the court shall suspend for a period of not less than twelve months and not more than thirty-six months that license of the offender.
B. If the offender has been issued a temporary instruction permit that then is in effect, the court shall revoke it and deny the offender the issuance of another temporary instruction permit, and the period of denial shall be for not less than twelve months and not more than thirty-six months.
C. If the offender has been issued a commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit that then is in effect, the court shall suspend the offender’s driver’s license, revoke the commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit, and deny the offender the issuance of another commercial driver’s license temporary instruction permit, and the period of suspension plus the period of denial shall total not less than twelve months and not more than thirty-six months.
D. If, on the date the court imposes sentence upon the offender for a violation of this Section, the offender has not been issued any type of license that then is in effect to operate a motor vehicle in this state or a temporary instruction permit that then is in effect, the court shall deny the offender the issuance of a temporary instruction permit for a period of not less than twelve months and not more than thirty-six months.
E. If the offender is not a resident of this state, the court shall suspend for a period of not less than twelve months and not more than thirty- six months the nonresident operating privilege of the offender.
(2) If the offender shows good cause why the court should not suspend or revoke one of the types of licenses, permits or privileges specified in division (f)(1) of this Section or deny the issuance of one of the temporary instruction permits specified in that division, the court in its discretion may choose not to impose the suspension, revocation or denial required in that division.
(g) As used in this Section, “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.
Statutory Reference: O.R.C. §2923.122
(Ord. 04-134. Passed 7-26-04.)