Ohio Supreme Court Denies the Right of Local Governments to Regulate Firearms 12-29-2010

[Kolesar]

Ohio Supreme Court Ruling on Ohio law the prohibits cities from enacting ordinances that regulate firearms.

http://home.ohioceasefire.org/

Press Release

December 29, 2010

Ohio Supreme Court Denies the Right of Local Governments to Regulate Firearms

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld an Ohio statute that preempts local regulation of firearms in Ohio. The court found that the state law does not violate the home rule authority guaranteed to local governments by the Ohio Constitution.
The City of Cleveland filed a challenge to the law on the day it took effect. After the trial court rejected the challenge, Cleveland appealed and, in 2009, the Court of Appeals found the law violated the home rule authority granted by the Ohio Constitution. When the state appealed this ruling to the Ohio Supreme Court, the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence (OCAGV), and Legal Community Against Violence (LCAV), joined by several Ohio cities as well as other national gun violence prevention groups, filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief in support of Cleveland.<1>

Toby Hoover, Executive Director of OCAGV, said, “We are disappointed that the Ohio Supreme Court failed to uphold the right of local governments to govern themselves as guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution. Cities will continue their efforts to make their communities safe, but the absence of strong federal or state firearms laws leave communities at risk. Legislators need to prioritize the safety of Ohio’s families over the profits and influence of the gun lobby.”

Robyn Thomas, Executive Director of LCAV, stated, “Today’s decision is a departure from established legal precedent which long protected home rule authority in Ohio. Local governments will now be forced to rely primarily on federal and state firearms laws that contain enormous loopholes and dangerous gaps.”
The diversity of Ohio cities and their crime problems made it crucial that each local government be allowed to decide how to protect its citizens. After today’s ruling, numerous commonsense measures that protect citizens from gun violence will no longer be possible at the local level.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,105 Ohioans died from gun violence in 2007, the most recent year for which statistics were available.<2>
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The Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence works to reduce gun violence through education, advocacy and public awareness.

Legal Community Against Violence is a national public interest law center dedicated to preventing gun violence.


Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-6318.pdf

Summary: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/PIO/summaries/2010/1229/092280.asp

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<1> The amicus curiae brief can be found at: http://www.lcav.org/publications-briefs/amicus_briefs/Cleveland_v_Ohio_Amicus_Brief_Ohio_Supreme_Court.pdf.

<1> National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1999-2007, at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_sy.html.