Ohio: Self-Defense Bill to be Heard in Committee

This week, there will be two important committee meetings taking place. Tomorrow, December 12th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will be a discussing any possible amendments and/or testimony for any of the bills that are listed on the agenda, including Senate Bill 180.  On Wednesday, December 13th, a substitute bill will be released in the House Committee on Federalism and Interstate Relations, addressing the same issues as SB 180 as well as some other Second Amendment related issues.

Senate Bill 180, sponsored by state Senators Joe Uecker (R-14) and Jay Hottinger (R-31), would expand circumstances under which a person has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense.  Further, this bill would shift the burden of proof to the state, so the state would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person charged with an offense that involved the use of force against another, did not use that force in self-defense.  SB 180 would also reduce certain concealed handgun offenses to minor misdemeanors and eliminate the mandatory posting of signs that warn against the conveyance of a deadly weapon onto specified premises.

Stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates on these bills.