ohio ccw under 21

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mike6161

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I live in Ohio and I am 18. I have a friend who is 20, his dad owns a gun shop, and he works there part time. I was in his car yesterday and see he has a handgun under the seat. I look at him and ask why he has a handgun in the car because he is 20 and you cannot own a handgun in Ohio until your 21.
He said because he works at a gun shop he can carry in Ohio and he does not need to be 21.
Can some one tell me if this is true? If it is were does it say that you can carry in your car under 21 if you work at a gun shop.


thanks
 
Not true. He may be OK to carry while working in his father's business (regadless of whether a gun shop) under a variety of exceptions in the law. In a car, loaded, under the seat -- not legal in OH even if he was 21 and had a CHL.
 
In Ohio..whether you're 18 or 121..loaded gun in car = You best be LEO, or have a CHL.
 
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In Ohio..whether you're 18 or 121..loaded gun in car = You best be LEO.
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You need to catch up on the laws of the state matrem, It has been legal to have loaded pistols in cars for over 4 years now.
 
It has been legal to have loaded pistols in cars for over 4 years now
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Not without a CHL.
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It's true. Ohio has some of the most offsetting car laws.

Until castle doctrine comes into effect, we can't even put a loaded pistol into the glove compartment of our cars, unless the compartment has a lock on it. Which mine doesn't... so if It's not on me, your only hope to carrying on in a car will be in a bag with a zipper or something like that... or a case that snaps shut.

Your friend definitely can't carry a gun like that under the seat. Unless his dad happens to be gunshop owner AND congressman, and can get him out of trouble when it arises.
 
Your friend is wrong.

In Ohio CCW holders must be at least 21 years of age.

There is no legal exemption for gun shop employees, be they family members or not.
 
If the loaded gun was unsecured under the car seat, even being of proper age with a CHL, would be in violation.

K
 
I'd say start looking for a new friend, as your old one is going to prison soon.
 
You mean alittle time in county jail or on Probation that crime is not serious enough for prison life especially the fact he has probably no prior record.
 
Over 21 it's "mishandling firearms". Under 21 it CCW and a felony. In either case if it's loaded and under a car seat, it's concealed. I'd be looking for a criminal law attorney. As an adult and if he/she is a current CHL holder they generally get slapped with a 1 yr suspension.
 
I thought in ohio if you could prove you needed a gun for protection because of your job? That is what started the whole CCW issue in ohio.


and where at in ohio are you from?
 
I thought in ohio if you could prove you needed a gun for protection because of your job?
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Working at a gun store certainly wouldn't qualify for that...
 
Effective September 8th or 9th (can't remember which right now), WITH a CHL, you can store a weapon in a vehicle just about any way you want to IF it's in some kind of container, or in a holster and on your person. The basic requirement is a container with a closure of some kind - think "purse". No lock is required.

You must be 21 to get a CHL....

There used to be an "Affirmative Defense" for unlicensed carry (largely because licensed carry didn't exist), but that went away in 2004 when Concealed Carry with a License became possible. I believe you still had to be 21, though, to get by the "Affirmative Defense".

You can now (again, next week), carry concealed on your own property again, with or without a license (if I read that right). I don't think any age limits apply to that. This would NOT likely include an employer's property.

You MAY be able to get OPOTA Certified as a Security Officer while under 21. This would allow you to carry openly while in uniform, and on the job. (Without a CHL, you can still transport an unloaded weapon; the gun itself and any associated magazines or speedloaders must all be empty, but you can carry ammunition in the vehicle.)

OH has a slightly iffy Open Carry setup. Basically, the Ohio Supreme Court says that it's legal. However, plan on problems.... I don't know, other than while hunting, whether an under 21 individual, would be able to get past the legal hurdles. (ODNR recently dropped it's blanket prohibition against Concealed Carry while hunting, as long as you're not hunting with the same handgun. IMHO, their concern was more about poaching than anything else, but all I could ever get out of them was "we can"....)

(IANAL!)

Best thing to do is wait....

Regards,
 
You MAY be able to get OPOTA Certified as a Security Officer while under 21. This would allow you to carry openly while in uniform, and on the job. (Without a CHL, you can still transport an unloaded weapon; the gun itself and any associated magazines or speedloaders must all be empty, but you can carry ammunition in the vehicle.)
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We do OPTA training all the time and you can be under 21 to take the training buy you won't be legally carrying a gun until you're 21. We had an 18yr old go to the training session last weekend, when the rule was explained to him he dropped out. In Ohio you have a 3 yr period to obtain the license. If you're 18 then you take the class again. If you know of any OPTA certified security guards under 21 carrying a gun while working. I do know some LEOs that would love to meet him.

My own opinion is somewhat skewed. We have a number of under 21 shooting at the range who are NG serving in Iraq. Some of them are Lima Co. reservists. To me they are 1000 times more qualified to be carrying a weapon than some of the 30~40yr olds taking classes. (believe me when I state some of them have absolutely no business packing anything but small change in their pockets)
 
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ar10:

Some places (I wasn't sure about OH) will let LEO's under 21 carry on duty (the agency supplies the weapon). Don't ask for a cite, though. I'm too old to remember :D....

I turned 21 while doing my Civil Defense Auxiliary Police training, many years ago. We weren't supposed to be armed, but the age limit was there because weapons could be issued in a National Emergency. (Due to some hilarious mismanagement at the Civil Defense agency, all of those guns were given to the Sheriff. He probably sold them out the back door.... Don't ask....)

I wasn't able to use my OPOTA training certificate (I found it) in 2004. The PTB were not amused by the 1968 dates on it :D.... Told you I was old....

I agree regarding the age limits thing - I don't know how to change that.... A metric of some kind is necessary, and the ACLU would probably be all over us if real testing (or an Instructor's view) was used. The military has it's own way of deciding who should be carrying what, and when, and it doesn't seem to upset anybody when they say no....

My daughter's 22. I trust her with guns, cars, etc. She won't carry - she's still in College anyway - but probably will take my XD as a "house gun" shortly. Non-problem, IMHO. One of her best girlfriends, who's actually a couple months older, really can't be trusted with crayons. Meantime, we've got a club member who's a champion trapshooter, and barely old enough to own the long guns involved. He'll be ready when the calendar clicks, though.... (I'd like him to meet my daughter - he's got money :D - but the age difference may be a problem....)

Speaking of under 21's at the range.... My range buddy and I wandered in one night while the "Youth" gang - Boy Scouts - were working on their .22 Merit Badges. We waited a little while for them to finish, and then asked the Scoutmaster if the kids would like to shoot some real guns. We let them try a couple 1911's, my old S&W M19 wheelgun, and Joe's Beretta M92. One boy, who was set for the Air Force Academy in a month or so, really liked that.... Later that night we thought about it. Those kids' parents had signed off on .22 rifles.... Nobody mentioned .45's.... Hm.... :D.... Never heard a word.

Regards,
 
thanks for the help. I told him it was not legal so he unloaded it and put it back under the seat. does he have to have a CHL to have a unloaded gun under the seat? is it legal for him to have a handgun in ohio if he got it from a Private seller?

Schmidlin
I live in bowling green and he lives in napoleon.

thanks for all the help and advice.
 
mike6161:

"Under the seat" requires some kind of container. It doesn't need to have a lock, but a latch of some kind. (As I mentioned earlier, think "purse" for the mechanism.) You can't just toss it (holster or not) under the seat. No CHL, and you can't do that at all - it's got to be unloaded and secured in the trunk (or someplace equally hard to get to).

Common sense and the OH CHL laws don't often intersect, but the idea here is that a licensee may have and conceal (or store) a loaded gun in a vehicle, but must do it in a relatively safe manner, and if not on your person, someplace where it's going to be a little tricky to get to. For the most part the latter means that it won't bounce around in the vehicle, or be easily accessible to small children. If you don't have a license, it should be nearly impossible to put the weapon into use without taking enough time that even the most donut-rounded near-retiree can't do something about it.

The old "Plain Sight" rule was to allow an Officer to know exactly where the weapon was. That "it's under my shirt" would have been just as effective wasn't part of the game because of the poison pill intent.

Regards,
 
Mike,

Your young friend has a lot to learn. Hopefully he'll take the time to do so prior to being locked up and assessed a big fine.

The law for car-carry will change on September 9, but it doesn't apply to him anyway.

It is illegal for him to have a handgun in a car in any manner if he is under 21 years of age. Simple as that.

-Dave
 
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