To amend sections 109.71, 109.731, 109.801, 311.41, 311.42, 1547.69, 2921.13, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.127, 2923.128, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 2923.1213, and 2923.16, to enact section 9.68, and to repeal section 109.542 of the Revised Code to revise the laws regarding licenses to carry a concealed handgun and the authority to carry a concealed handgun under such a license; to limit journalist access to information regarding persons who have such a license and who assert reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack; to provide exemptions from certain carrying of firearms-related offenses for persons in compliance with the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission's firearms requalification program; to specifically provide a self-defense affirmative defense to discharge of a firearm while in or on a vessel or motor vehicle-related offenses; to clarify when a firearm is loaded for purposes of offenses relating to possession of a loaded firearm while in or on a vessel or motor vehicle and carrying concealed weapons; to provide that the sealing or expungement of a conviction or delinquent child record is an affirmative defense to falsification based on the failure to report the record on an application for a concealed handgun license; and to identify, as a general law and matter of statewide concern, the right of any person, except as provided in the Revised Code, to own, possess, purchase, otherwise acquire, transport, carry, sell, or otherwise transfer a firearm, firearm component, or ammunition.

Section 1. That sections 109.71, 109.731, 109.801, 311.41, 311.42, 1547.69, 2921.13, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.127, 2923.128, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 2923.1213, and 2923.16 be amended and section 9.68 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 9.68.  (A) Except as otherwise provided in the Revised Code, any person may own, possess, purchase, otherwise acquire, transport, carry, sell, or otherwise transfer a firearm, a firearm component, or ammunition for a firearm. This section, sections 2923.11 to 2923.23 of the Revised Code, and all other sections of the Revised Code dealing with the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, and their ammunition within the state are general laws of the state.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in this division, the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, and their ammunition is a matter of statewide concern, and this section, sections 2923.11 to 2923.23 of the Revised Code, and all other sections of the Revised Code dealing with those matters preempt and supersede any local laws dealing with ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, and their ammunition. Nothing in this section prohibits a municipal corporation from enacting an ordinance pertaining to matters other than the ownership, possession, purchase, other acquisition, transport, carrying, sale, or other transfer of firearms, their components, or their ammunition. Nothing in this section preempts or supersedes any local zoning regulations that limit, but do not prohibit, the sale of firearms, firearm components, or ammunition for firearms in areas zoned for commercial, retail, or industrial use.

(C) As used in this section:

(1) The possession, transporting, or carrying of firearms, their components, or their ammunition include, but are not limited to, the possession, transporting, or carrying, concealed on a person's person or concealed ready at hand, of firearms, their components, or their ammunition.

(2) "Firearm" has the same meaning as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 109.71.  There is hereby created in the office of the attorney general the Ohio peace officer training commission. The commission shall consist of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and selected as follows: one member representing the public; two members who are incumbent sheriffs; two members who are incumbent chiefs of police; one member from the bureau of criminal identification and investigation; one member from the state highway patrol; one member who is the special agent in charge of a field office of the federal bureau of investigation in this state; and one member from the department of education, trade and industrial education services, law enforcement training.

As used in sections 109.71 to 109.77 109.801 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Peace officer" means:

(1) A deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, member of the organized police department of a township or municipal corporation, member of a township police district or joint township police district police force, member of a police force employed by a metropolitan housing authority under division (D) of section 3735.31 of the Revised Code, or township constable, who is commissioned and employed as a peace officer by a political subdivision of this state or by a metropolitan housing authority, and whose primary duties are to preserve the peace, to protect life and property, and to enforce the laws of this state, ordinances of a municipal corporation, resolutions of a township, or regulations of a board of county commissioners or board of township trustees, or any of those laws, ordinances, resolutions, or regulations;

(2) A police officer who is employed by a railroad company and appointed and commissioned by the governor pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code;

(3) Employees of the department of taxation engaged in the enforcement of Chapter 5743. of the Revised Code and designated by the tax commissioner for peace officer training for purposes of the delegation of investigation powers under section 5743.45 of the Revised Code;

(4) An undercover drug agent;

(5) Enforcement agents of the department of public safety whom the director of public safety designates under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code;

(6) An employee of the department of natural resources who is a natural resources law enforcement staff officer designated pursuant to section 1501.013, a park officer designated pursuant to section 1541.10, a forest officer designated pursuant to section 1503.29, a preserve officer designated pursuant to section 1517.10, a wildlife officer designated pursuant to section 1531.13, or a state watercraft officer designated pursuant to section 1547.521 of the Revised Code;

(7) An employee of a park district who is designated pursuant to section 511.232 or 1545.13 of the Revised Code;

(8) An employee of a conservancy district who is designated pursuant to section 6101.75 of the Revised Code;

(9) A police officer who is employed by a hospital that employs and maintains its own proprietary police department or security department, and who is appointed and commissioned by the governor pursuant to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code;

(10) Veterans' homes police officers designated under section 5907.02 of the Revised Code;

(11) A police officer who is employed by a qualified nonprofit corporation police department pursuant to section 1702.80 of the Revised Code;

(12) A state university law enforcement officer appointed under section 3345.04 of the Revised Code or a person serving as a state university law enforcement officer on a permanent basis on June 19, 1978, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(13) A special police officer employed by the department of mental health pursuant to section 5119.14 of the Revised Code or the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities pursuant to section 5123.13 of the Revised Code;

(14) A member of a campus police department appointed under section 1713.50 of the Revised Code;

(15) A member of a police force employed by a regional transit authority under division (Y) of section 306.35 of the Revised Code;

(16) Investigators appointed by the auditor of state pursuant to section 117.091 of the Revised Code and engaged in the enforcement of Chapter 117. of the Revised Code;

(17) A special police officer designated by the superintendent of the state highway patrol pursuant to section 5503.09 of the Revised Code or a person who was serving as a special police officer pursuant to that section on a permanent basis on October 21, 1997, and who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(18) A special police officer employed by a port authority under section 4582.04 or 4582.28 of the Revised Code or a person serving as a special police officer employed by a port authority on a permanent basis on May 17, 2000, who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission attesting to the person's satisfactory completion of an approved state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer basic training program;

(19) A special police officer employed by a municipal corporation who has been awarded a certificate by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission for satisfactory completion of an approved peace officer basic training program and who is employed on a permanent basis on or after March 19, 2003, at a municipal airport, or other municipal air navigation facility, that has scheduled operations, as defined in section 119.3 of Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, 14 C.F.R. 119.3, as amended, and that is required to be under a security program and is governed by aviation security rules of the transportation security administration of the United States department of transportation as provided in Parts 1542. and 1544. of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended;

(20) A police officer who is employed by an owner or operator of an amusement park that has an average yearly attendance in excess of six hundred thousand guests and that employs and maintains its own proprietary police department or security department, and who is appointed and commissioned by a judge of the appropriate municipal court or county court pursuant to section 4973.17 of the Revised Code;

(21) An investigator, as defined in section 109.541 of the Revised Code, of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation who is commissioned by the superintendent of the bureau as a special agent.

(B) "Undercover drug agent" has the same meaning as in division (B)(2) of section 109.79 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Crisis intervention training" means training in the use of interpersonal and communication skills to most effectively and sensitively interview victims of rape.

(D) "Missing children" has the same meaning as in section 2901.30 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 109.731.  (A) The Ohio peace officer training commission shall prescribe, and shall make available to sheriffs, all of the following:

(1) An application form that is to be used under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code by a person who applies for a license to carry a concealed handgun or for the renewal of a license of that nature and that conforms substantially to the form prescribed in section 2923.1210 of the Revised Code;

(2) A form for the license to carry a concealed handgun that is to be issued by sheriffs to persons who qualify for a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and that conforms to the following requirements:

(a) It has space for the licensee's full name, residence address, and date of birth and for a color photograph of the licensee.

(b) It has space for the date of issuance of the license, its expiration date, its county of issuance, the name of the sheriff who issues the license, and the unique combination of letters and numbers that identify the county of issuance and the license given to the licensee by the sheriff in accordance with division (A)(4) of this section.

(c) It has space for the signature of the licensee and the signature or a facsimile signature of the sheriff who issues the license.

(d) It does not require the licensee to include serial numbers of handguns, other identification related to handguns, or similar data that is not pertinent or relevant to obtaining the license and that could be used as a de facto means of registration of handguns owned by the licensee.

(3) A series of three-letter county codes that identify each county in this state;

(4) A procedure by which a sheriff shall give each license, replacement license, or renewal license to carry a concealed handgun and each temporary emergency license or replacement temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun the sheriff issues under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code a unique combination of letters and numbers that identifies the county in which the license or temporary emergency license was issued and that uses the county code and a unique number for each license and each temporary emergency license the sheriff of that county issues;

(5) A form for the temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun that is to be issued by sheriffs to persons who qualify for a temporary emergency license under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, which form shall conform to all the requirements set forth in divisions (A)(2)(a) to (d) of this section and shall additionally conspicuously specify that the license is a temporary emergency license and the date of its issuance.

(B)(1) The Ohio peace officer training commission, in consultation with the attorney general, shall prepare a pamphlet that does all of the following, in everyday language:

(a) Explains the firearms laws of this state;

(b) Instructs the reader in dispute resolution and explains the laws of this state related to that matter;

(c) Provides information to the reader regarding all aspects of the use of deadly force with a firearm, including, but not limited to, the steps that should be taken before contemplating the use of, or using, deadly force with a firearm, possible alternatives to using deadly force with a firearm, and the law governing the use of deadly force with a firearm.

(2) The attorney general shall consult with and assist the commission in the preparation of the pamphlet described in division (B)(1) of this section and, as necessary, shall recommend to the commission changes in the pamphlet to reflect changes in the law that are relevant to it. The commission shall make copies of the pamphlet available to any person, public entity, or private entity that operates or teaches a training course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), and (e) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and requests copies for distribution to persons who take the course, class, or program, and to sheriffs for distribution to applicants under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code for a license to carry a concealed handgun and applicants under that section for the renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun.

(C)(1) The Ohio peace officer training commission, in consultation with the attorney general, shall prescribe a fee to be paid by an applicant under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code for a license to carry a concealed handgun or for the renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun as follows:

(a) For an applicant who has been a resident of this state for five or more years, an amount that does not exceed the lesser of the actual cost of issuing the license, including, but not limited to, the cost of conducting the criminal records check, or forty-five dollars;

(b) For an applicant who has been a resident of this state for less than five years,. The prescribed fee shall be an amount that shall consist of the actual cost of having a criminal background check performed by the federal bureau of investigation, if one is so performed as provided in section 311.41 of the Revised Code, plus the lesser of the actual cost of issuing the license, including, but not limited to, the cost of conducting the criminal records check, or whichever of the following is applicable:

(a) For an application made on or after the effective date of this amendment, fifty-five dollars;

(b) For an application made prior to the effective date of this amendment, forty-five dollars.

(2) The commission, in consultation with the attorney general, shall specify the portion of the fee prescribed under division (C)(1) of this section that will be used to pay each particular cost of the issuance of the license. The sheriff shall deposit all fees paid by an applicant under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code into the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance expense fund established pursuant to section 311.42 of the Revised Code.

(D) The Ohio peace officer training commission shall maintain statistics with respect to the issuance, renewal, suspension, revocation, and denial of licenses to carry a concealed handgun and the suspension of processing of applications for those licenses, and with respect to the issuance, suspension, revocation, and denial of temporary emergency licenses to carry a concealed handgun, as reported by the sheriffs pursuant to division (C) of section 2923.129 of the Revised Code. Not later than the first day of March in each year, the commission shall submit a statistical report to the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of representatives indicating the number of licenses to carry a concealed handgun that were issued, renewed, suspended, revoked, and denied in the previous calendar year, the number of applications for those licenses for which processing was suspended in accordance with division (D)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code in the previous calendar year, and the number of temporary emergency licenses to carry a concealed handgun that were issued, suspended, revoked, or denied in the previous calendar year. Nothing in the statistics or the statistical report shall identify, or enable the identification of, any individual who was issued or denied a license, for whom a license was renewed, whose license was suspended or revoked, or for whom application processing was suspended. The statistics and the statistical report are public records for the purpose of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(E) As used in this section, "handgun" has the same meaning as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 109.801.  (A)(1) Each year, any of the following persons who are authorized to carry firearms in the course of their official duties shall complete successfully a firearms requalification program approved by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission in accordance with rules adopted by the attorney general pursuant to section 109.743 of the Revised Code: any peace officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, township constable, chief of police or member of an organized police department of a municipal corporation or township, chief of police or member of a township police district police force, superintendent of the state highway patrol, state highway patrol trooper, special police officer of the state highway patrol designated under section 5503.09 of the Revised Code, enforcement agent employed under section 5502.14 of the Revised Code, or chief of police of a university or college police department or state university law enforcement officer appointed under section 3345.04 of the Revised Code; any parole or probation officer who carries a firearm in the course of official duties; any employee of the department of natural resources who is a natural resources law enforcement staff officer, park officer, forest officer, preserve officer, wildlife officer, or state watercraft officer who carries a firearm in the course of official duties; the house of representatives sergeant at arms if the house of representatives sergeant at arms has arrest authority pursuant to division (E)(1) of section 101.311 of the Revised Code; any assistant house of representatives sergeant at arms; or any employee of the department of youth services who is designated pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 5139.53 of the Revised Code as being authorized to carry a firearm while on duty as described in that division; or a special police officer employed by a municipal corporation at a municipal airport or other municipal air navigation facility described in division (A)(19) of section 109.71 of the Revised Code.

(2) No person listed in division (A)(1) of this section shall carry a firearm during the course of official duties if the person does not comply with division (A)(1) of this section.

(B) The hours that a sheriff spends attending a firearms requalification program required by division (A) of this section are in addition to the sixteen hours of continuing education that are required by division (E) of section 311.01 of the Revised Code.

(C) As used in this section, "firearm" has the same meaning as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 311.41. (A)(1) Upon receipt of an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun under division (C) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, an application to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun under division (F) of that section, or an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, the sheriff shall conduct a criminal records check and an incompetency check of the applicant to determine whether the applicant fails to meet the criteria described in division (D)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code. The sheriff shall conduct the criminal records check and the incompetency records check required by this division through use of an electronic fingerprint reading device or, if the sheriff does not possess and does not have ready access to the use of an electronic fingerprint reading device, by requesting the bureau of criminal identification and investigation to conduct the checks as described in this division. In

In order to conduct the criminal records check and the incompetency records check, the sheriff shall obtain the fingerprints of not more than four fingers of the applicant by using an electronic fingerprint reading device for the purpose of conducting the criminal records check and the incompetency records check or, if the sheriff does not possess and does not have ready access to the use of an electronic fingerprint reading device, shall obtain from the applicant a completed standard fingerprint impression sheet prescribed pursuant to division (C)(2) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code. The fingerprints so obtained, along with the applicant's social security number, shall be used to conduct the criminal records check and the incompetency records check. If the sheriff does not use an electronic fingerprint reading device to obtain the fingerprints and conduct the records checks, the sheriff shall submit the completed standard fingerprint impression sheet of the applicant, along with the applicant's social security number, to the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and shall request the bureau to conduct the criminal records check and the incompetency records check of the applicant and, if necessary, shall request the superintendent of the bureau to obtain information from the federal bureau of investigation as part of the criminal records check for the applicant. Upon receipt of the request, as part of the criminal records check for the applicant, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall request from the federal bureau of investigation any information the federal bureau has with respect to the applicant and shall review or cause to be reviewed, as described in division (B) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, any information the superintendent receives. If it is not possible to use an electronic fingerprint reading device to conduct an incompetency records check, the sheriff shall submit the completed standard fingerprint impression sheet of the applicant, along with the applicant's social security number, to the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and shall request the bureau to conduct the incompetency records check. The sheriff shall not retain the applicant's fingerprints as part of the application.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this division, if at any time the applicant decides not to continue with the application process, the sheriff immediately shall cease any investigation that is being conducted under division (A)(1) of this section. The sheriff shall not cease that investigation if, at the time of the applicant's decision not to continue with the application process, the sheriff had determined from any of the sheriff's investigations that the applicant then was engaged in activity of a criminal nature.

(B) If a criminal records check and an incompetency records check conducted under division (A) of this section do not indicate that the applicant fails to meet the criteria described in division (D)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, except as otherwise provided in this division, the sheriff shall destroy or cause a designated employee to destroy all records other than the application for a license to carry a concealed handgun, the application to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun, or the affidavit submitted regarding an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun that were made in connection with the criminal records check and incompetency records check within twenty days after conducting the criminal records check and incompetency records check. If an applicant appeals a denial of an application as described in division (D) (2) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or challenges the results of a criminal records check pursuant to section 2923.127 of the Revised Code, records of fingerprints of the applicant shall not be destroyed during the pendency of the appeal or the challenge and review. When an applicant appeals a denial as described in that division, the twenty-day period described in this division commences regarding the fingerprints upon the determination of the appeal. When required as a result of a challenge and review performed pursuant to section 2923.127 of the Revised Code, the source the sheriff used in conducting the criminal records check shall destroy or the chief operating officer of the source shall cause an employee of the source designated by the chief to destroy all records other than the application for a license to carry a concealed handgun, the application to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun, or the affidavit submitted regarding an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun that were made in connection with the criminal records check within twenty days after completion of that challenge and review.

(C) If division (B) of this section applies to a particular criminal records check or incompetency records check, no sheriff, employee of a sheriff designated by the sheriff to destroy records under that division, source the sheriff used in conducting the criminal records check or incompetency records check, or employee of the source designated by the chief operating officer of the source to destroy records under that division shall fail to destroy or cause to be destroyed within the applicable twenty-day period specified in that division all records other than the application for a license to carry a concealed handgun, the application to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun, or the affidavit submitted regarding an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun made in connection with the particular criminal records check or incompetency records check.

(D) Whoever violates division (C) of this section is guilty of failure to destroy records, a misdemeanor of the second degree.

(E) As used in this section, "handgun" has the same meaning as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 311.42.  (A) Each county shall establish in the county treasury a sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance expense fund. The sheriff of that county shall deposit into that fund all fees paid by applicants for the issuance or renewal of a license or duplicate license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and all fees paid by the person seeking a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code. The county shall distribute the fees deposited into the fund in accordance with the specifications prescribed by the Ohio peace officer training commission under division (C) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code.

(B) The sheriff, with the approval of the board of county commissioners, may expend any county portion of the fees deposited into the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance expense fund for any costs incurred by the sheriff in connection with performing any administrative functions related to the issuance of licenses or temporary emergency licenses to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, including, but not limited to, personnel expenses, the costs of mailing notices of the upcoming expiration date of a license to carry a concealed handgun as required pursuant to division (J) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, and the costs of any handgun safety education program that the sheriff chooses to fund.

Sec. 1547.69.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Firearm, "firearm" and "handgun" have the same meanings as in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Unloaded" has the same meaning as in section 2923.16 of the Revised Code.

(B) No person shall knowingly discharge a firearm while in or on a vessel.

(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a vessel in a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger.

(D) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a vessel unless it is unloaded and is carried in one of the following ways:

(1) In a closed package, box, or case;

(2) In plain sight with the action opened or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or that cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.

(E)(1)(a) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (B) of this section that the actor discharged the firearm in self-defense.

(b) The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(1) and (2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code are affirmative defenses to a charge under division (C) or (D) of this section that involves a firearm other than a handgun. It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (C) or (D) of this section of transporting or having a firearm of any type, including a handgun, in a vessel that the actor transported or had the firearm in the vessel for any lawful purpose and while the vessel was on the actor's own property, provided that this affirmative defense is not available unless the actor, prior to arriving at the vessel on the actor's own property, did not transport or possess the firearm in the vessel or in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by this section or division (B) or (C) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code while the vessel was being operated on a waterway that was not on the actor's own property or while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic.

(2) No person who is charged with a violation of division (C) or (D) of this section shall be required to obtain a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.

(F)(1) Divisions (B), (C), and (D) of this section do not apply to the possession or discharge of a United States coast guard approved signaling device required to be carried aboard a vessel under section 1547.251 of the Revised Code when the signaling device is possessed or used for the purpose of giving a visual distress signal. No person shall knowingly transport or possess any signaling device of that nature in or on a vessel in a loaded condition at any time other than immediately prior to the discharge of the signaling device for the purpose of giving a visual distress signal.

(2) For purposes of divisions (C) and (D) of this section, all of the following apply:

(a) A firearm is not "loaded" unless there is live ammunition actually in the firearm. If there is no live ammunition actually in the firearm, the presence near the firearm of ammunition for the firearm does not make the firearm "loaded" for purposes of those divisions, even if the ammunition is accessible or ready at hand to the operator or any passenger in the vessel.

(b) With respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, in addition to the circumstances described in division (F)(2)(a) of this section, the firearm is "unloaded" when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.

(G) No person shall operate or permit to be operated any vessel on the waters in this state in violation of this section.

(H) This section does not apply to officers, agents, or employees of this or any other state or of the United States, or to law enforcement officers, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in a vessel and acting within the scope of their duties, and this. This section does not apply to any person who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided under this provision does not apply to the person. This section does not apply to persons legally engaged in hunting. Divisions (C) and (D) of this section do not apply to a person who transports or possesses a handgun in a vessel and who, at the time of that transportation or possession, is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code, unless the person knowingly is in a place on the vessel described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(I) If a law enforcement officer stops a vessel for a violation of this section or any other law enforcement purpose, if any person on the vessel surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop.

Sec. 2921.13.  (A) No person shall knowingly make a false statement, or knowingly swear or affirm the truth of a false statement previously made, when any of the following applies:

(1) The statement is made in any official proceeding.

(2) The statement is made with purpose to incriminate another.

(3) The statement is made with purpose to mislead a public official in performing the public official's official function.

(4) The statement is made with purpose to secure the payment of unemployment compensation; Ohio works first; prevention, retention, and contingency benefits and services; disability financial assistance; retirement benefits; economic development assistance, as defined in section 9.66 of the Revised Code; or other benefits administered by a governmental agency or paid out of a public treasury.

(5) The statement is made with purpose to secure the issuance by a governmental agency of a license, permit, authorization, certificate, registration, release, or provider agreement.

(6) The statement is sworn or affirmed before a notary public or another person empowered to administer oaths.

(7) The statement is in writing on or in connection with a report or return that is required or authorized by law.

(8) The statement is in writing and is made with purpose to induce another to extend credit to or employ the offender, to confer any degree, diploma, certificate of attainment, award of excellence, or honor on the offender, or to extend to or bestow upon the offender any other valuable benefit or distinction, when the person to whom the statement is directed relies upon it to that person's detriment.

(9) The statement is made with purpose to commit or facilitate the commission of a theft offense.

(10) The statement is knowingly made to a probate court in connection with any action, proceeding, or other matter within its jurisdiction, either orally or in a written document, including, but not limited to, an application, petition, complaint, or other pleading, or an inventory, account, or report.

(11) The statement is made on an account, form, record, stamp, label, or other writing that is required by law.

(12) The statement is made in connection with the purchase of a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, and in conjunction with the furnishing to the seller of the firearm of a fictitious or altered driver's or commercial driver's license or permit, a fictitious or altered identification card, or any other document that contains false information about the purchaser's identity.

(13) The statement is made in a document or instrument of writing that purports to be a judgment, lien, or claim of indebtedness and is filed or recorded with the secretary of state, a county recorder, or the clerk of a court of record.

(14) The statement is made with purpose to obtain an Ohio's best Rx program enrollment card under section 5110.09 of the Revised Code or a payment from the department of job and family services under section 5110.17 of the Revised Code.

(15) The statement is made in an application filed with a county sheriff pursuant to section 2923.125 of the Revised Code in order to obtain or renew a license to carry a concealed handgun or is made in an affidavit submitted to a county sheriff to obtain a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code.

(16) The statement is required under section 5743.72 of the Revised Code in connection with the person's purchase of cigarettes or tobacco products in a delivery sale.

(B) No person, in connection with the purchase of a firearm, as defined in section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, shall knowingly furnish to the seller of the firearm a fictitious or altered driver's or commercial driver's license or permit, a fictitious or altered identification card, or any other document that contains false information about the purchaser's identity.

(C) No person, in an attempt to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, shall knowingly present to a sheriff a fictitious or altered document that purports to be certification of the person's competence in handling a handgun as described in division (B)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) It is no defense to a charge under division (A)(6) of this section that the oath or affirmation was administered or taken in an irregular manner.

(2) If a person is charged with a violation of division (A)(15) of this section based upon the person's failure to indicate on the application or affidavit in question that the person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense listed on the application or affidavit or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that would be an offense listed on the application or affidavit if committed by an adult, it is an affirmative defense to the charge that all of the following apply:

(a) The person has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing the offense or act in question, but a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of the records of that conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication pursuant to section 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code.

(b) The person believed that, because of the ordered sealing or expungement described in division (D)(2)(a) of this section, the person was not required to indicate on the application or affidavit that the person has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing the offense or act in question.

(E) If contradictory statements relating to the same fact are made by the offender within the period of the statute of limitations for falsification, it is not necessary for the prosecution to prove which statement was false but only that one or the other was false.

(F)(1) Whoever violates division (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (10), (11), (13), (14), or (16) of this section is guilty of falsification, a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(2) Whoever violates division (A)(9) of this section is guilty of falsification in a theft offense. Except as otherwise provided in this division, falsification in a theft offense is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is five hundred dollars or more and is less than five thousand dollars, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the fifth degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is five thousand dollars or more and is less than one hundred thousand dollars, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the fourth degree. If the value of the property or services stolen is one hundred thousand dollars or more, falsification in a theft offense is a felony of the third degree.

(3) Whoever violates division (A)(12) or (B) of this section is guilty of falsification to purchase a firearm, a felony of the fifth degree.

(4) Whoever violates division (A)(15) or (C) of this section is guilty of falsification to obtain a concealed handgun license, a felony of the fourth degree.

(G) A person who violates this section is liable in a civil action to any person harmed by the violation for injury, death, or loss to person or property incurred as a result of the commission of the offense and for reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and other expenses incurred as a result of prosecuting the civil action commenced under this division. A civil action under this division is not the exclusive remedy of a person who incurs injury, death, or loss to person or property as a result of a violation of this section.

Sec. 2923.12.  (A) No person shall knowingly carry or have, concealed on the person's person or concealed ready at hand, any of the following:

(1) A deadly weapon other than a handgun;

(2) A handgun other than a dangerous ordnance;

(3) A dangerous ordnance.

(B) No person who has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed hangun handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code, who is stopped for a law enforcement purpose, and who is carrying a concealed handgun shall fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the person after the person has been stopped that the person has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun and that the person then is carrying a concealed handgun.

(C)(1) 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 concealed weapons or dangerous ordnance and acting within the scope of their duties. This section does not apply to any person who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided under this provision does not apply to the person.

(2) Division (A)(2) of this section does not apply to any of the following:

(a) An officer, agent, or employee of this or any other state or the United States, or a law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry a handgun and acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;

(b) A person who, at the time of the alleged carrying or possession of a handgun, is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code, unless the person knowingly is in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(D) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A)(1) of this section of carrying or having control of a weapon other than a handgun and other than a dangerous ordnance that the actor was not otherwise prohibited by law from having the weapon and that any of the following applies:

(1) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in or was going to or from the actor's lawful business or occupation, which business or occupation was of a character or was necessarily carried on in a manner or at a time or place as to render the actor particularly susceptible to criminal attack, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(2) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes while the actor was engaged in a lawful activity and had reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the actor, a member of the actor's family, or the actor's home, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(3) The weapon was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for any lawful purpose and while in the actor's own home.

(4) The weapon was being transported in a motor vehicle for any lawful purpose, was not on the actor's person, and, if the weapon was a firearm, was carried in compliance with the applicable requirements of division (C) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code.

(E) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A) of this section of carrying or having control of a handgun other than a dangerous ordnance that the actor was not otherwise prohibited by law from having the handgun and that the handgun was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for any lawful purpose and while in the actor's own home, provided that this affirmative defense is not available unless the actor, prior to arriving at the actor's own home, did not transport or possess the handgun in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic.

(F) No person who is charged with a violation of this section shall be required to obtain a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.

(G)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of carrying concealed weapons. Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (G)(2) of this section, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (A) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (G)(2) of this section, if the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of this section or of any offense of violence, if the weapon involved is a firearm that is either loaded or for which the offender has ammunition ready at hand, or if the weapon involved is dangerous ordnance, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (A) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree. Except as otherwise provided in division (G)(2) of this section, if the weapon involved is a firearm and the violation of this section is committed at premises for which a D permit has been issued under Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code or if the offense is committed aboard an aircraft, or with purpose to carry a concealed weapon aboard an aircraft, regardless of the weapon involved, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (A) of this section is a felony of the third degree.

(2) If a person being arrested for a violation of division (A)(2) of this section promptly produces a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code, and if at the time of the violation the person was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code, the officer shall not arrest the person for a violation of that division. If the person is not able to promptly produce any of those types of license and if the person is not in a place described in that section, the officer may arrest the person for a violation of that division, and the offender shall be punished as follows:

(a) The offender shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor if both of the following apply:

(i) Within ten days after the arrest, the offender presents a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code, which license was valid at the time of the arrest to the law enforcement agency that employs the arresting officer.

(ii) At the time of the arrest, the offender was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(b) The offender shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined five hundred dollars if all of the following apply:

(i) The offender previously had been issued a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code and that was similar in nature to a license issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, and that license expired within the two years immediately preceding the arrest.

(ii) Within forty-five days after the arrest, the offender presents any type of license identified in division (G)(2)(a)(i) of this section to the law enforcement agency that employed the arresting officer, and the offender waives in writing the offender's right to a speedy trial on the charge of the violation that is provided in section 2945.71 of the Revised Code.

(iii) At the time of the commission of the offense, the offender was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(c) If neither division (G)(2)(a) nor (b) of this section applies, the offender shall be punished under division (G)(1) of this section.

(3) Carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (B) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(H) If a law enforcement officer stops a person to question the person regarding a possible violation of this section, for a traffic stop, or for any other law enforcement purpose, if the person surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop.

(I) For purposes of division (G)(1) of this section, all of the following apply:

(1) A firearm is not "loaded" unless there is live ammunition actually in the firearm. If there is no live ammunition actually in the firearm, the presence near the firearm of ammunition for the firearm does not make the firearm "loaded" for purposes of that division, even if the ammunition is accessible or ready at hand to the operator or any passenger in the vessel.

(2) With respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, in addition to the circumstances described in division (I)(1) of this section, the firearm is "unloaded" when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.

Sec. 2923.121.  (A) No person shall possess a firearm in any room in which liquor is being dispensed in premises for which a D permit has been issued under Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code or in an open air arena for which a permit of that nature has been issued.

(B)(1) 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 firearms, and acting within the scope of their duties. This section does not apply to any person who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided under this provision does not apply to the person.

(2) This section does not apply to any room used for the accommodation of guests of a hotel, as defined in section 4301.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) This section does not prohibit any person who is a member of a veteran's organization, as defined in section 2915.01 of the Revised Code, from possessing a rifle in any room in any premises owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of the veteran's organization, if the rifle is not loaded with live ammunition and if the person otherwise is not prohibited by law from having the rifle.

(4) This section does not apply to any person possessing or displaying firearms in any room used to exhibit unloaded firearms for sale or trade in a soldiers' memorial established pursuant to Chapter 345. of the Revised Code, in a convention center, or in any other public meeting place, if the person is an exhibitor, trader, purchaser, or seller of firearms and is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing, trading, purchasing, or selling the firearms.

(C) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this section of illegal possession of a firearm in liquor permit premises that involves the possession of a firearm other than a handgun, that the actor was not otherwise prohibited by law from having the firearm, and that any of the following apply:

(1) The firearm was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes, while the actor was engaged in or was going to or from the actor's lawful business or occupation, which business or occupation was of such character or was necessarily carried on in such manner or at such a time or place as to render the actor particularly susceptible to criminal attack, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(2) The firearm was carried or kept ready at hand by the actor for defensive purposes, while the actor was engaged in a lawful activity, and had reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the actor or a member of the actor's family, or upon the actor's home, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed.

(D) No person who is charged with a violation of this section shall be required to obtain a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.

(E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of illegal possession of a firearm in liquor permit premises, a felony of the fifth degree.

Sec. 2923.1210.  The application for a license to carry a concealed handgun or for the renewal of a license of that nature that is to be used under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code shall conform substantially to the following form:

SECTION II.

Name:

Social Security Number:......................

Current Residence:

Mailing Address (If Different From Above):

SECTION III. THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE TO BE ANSWERED YES OR NO

SECTION IV. YOU MUST COMPLETE THIS SECTION OF THE APPLICATION BY PROVIDING, TO THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE, THE ADDRESS OF EACH PLACE OF RESIDENCE AT WHICH YOU RESIDED AT ANY TIME AFTER YOU ATTAINED EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE AND UNTIL YOU COMMENCED YOUR RESIDENCE AT THE LOCATION IDENTIFIED IN SECTION II OF THIS FORM, AND THE DATES OF RESIDENCE AT EACH OF THOSE ADDRESSES. IF YOU NEED MORE SPACE, COMPLETE AN ADDITIONAL SHEET WITH THE relevant RELEVANT INFORMATION, ATTACH IT TO THE APPLICATION, AND NOTE THE ATTACHMENT AT THE END OF THIS SECTION.

Residence 1:

Residence 2:

Residence 3:

Residence 4:

SECTION V.

AN APPLICANT WHO KNOWINGLY GIVES A FALSE ANSWER TO ANY QUESTION OR SUBMITS FALSE INFORMATION ON, OR A FALSE DOCUMENT WITH THE APPLICATION MAY BE PROSECUTED FOR FALSIFICATION TO OBTAIN A CONCEALED HANDGUN LICENSE, A FELONY OF THE FOURTH DEGREE, IN VIOLATION OF SECTION 2921.13 OF THE OHIO REVISED CODE. AN APPLICANT WHO DOES NOT INDICATE A PRIOR CONVICTION, GUILTY PLEA, OR DELINQUENT CHILD ADJUDICATION ON THE APPLICATION BECAUSE A COURT HAS ORDERED THE SEALING OR EXPUNGEMENT OF THE RECORDS OF THAT CONVICTION, PLEA, OR ADJUDICATION AND WHO IS PROSECUTED FOR A VIOLATION OF THAT SECTION MAY BE ABLE TO ASSERT THE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE SET FORTH IN DIVISION (D)(2) OF THAT SECTION, IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES SPECIFIED IN THAT DIVISION.

(1) I have been furnished, and have read, the pamphlet that explains the Ohio firearms laws, that provides instruction in dispute resolution and explains the Ohio laws related to that matter, and that provides information regarding all aspects of the use of deadly force with a firearm, and I am knowledgeable of the provisions of those laws and of the information on those matters.

(2) I desire a legal means to carry a concealed handgun for defense of myself or a member of my family while engaged in lawful activity.

(3) I have never been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a crime of violence in the state of Ohio or elsewhere. I am of sound mind. I hereby certify that the statements contained herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that if I knowingly make any false statements herein I am subject to penalties prescribed by law. I authorize the sheriff or the sheriff's designee to inspect only those records or documents relevant to information required for this application.

(4) The information contained in this application and all attached documents are true and correct to the best of my knowledge.

Sec. 2923.1213. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Evidence of imminent danger" means any of the following:

(a) A statement sworn by the person seeking to carry a concealed handgun that is made under threat of perjury and that states that the person has reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the person or a member of the person's family, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed;

(b) A written document prepared by a governmental entity or public official describing the facts that give the person seeking to carry a concealed handgun reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the person or a member of the person's family, such as would justify a prudent person in going armed. Written documents of this nature include, but are not limited to, any temporary protection order, civil protection order, protection order issued by another state, or other court order, any court report, and any report filed with or made by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor.

(2) "Prosecutor" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) A person seeking a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall submit to the sheriff of the county in which the person resides all of the following:

(a) Evidence of imminent danger to the person or a member of the person's family;

(b) A sworn affidavit that contains all of the information required to be on the license and attesting that the person is a citizen of the United States; is at least twenty-one years of age; is not a fugitive from justice; is not under indictment for or otherwise charged with an offense identified in division (D)(1)(d) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code; has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense, and has not been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act, identified in division (D)(1)(e) of that section; within three years of the date of the submission, has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense, and has not been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act, identified in division (D)(1)(f) of that section; within five years of the date of the submission, has not been convicted of, pleaded guilty, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing two or more violations identified in division (D)(1)(g) of that section; within ten years of the date of the submission, has not been convicted of, pleaded guilty, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation identified in division (D)(1)(h) of that section; has not been adjudicated as a mental defective, has not been committed to any mental institution, is not under adjudication of mental incompetence, has not been found by a court to be a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order, and is not an involuntary patient other than one who is a patient only for purposes of observation, as described in division (D)(1)(i) of that section; and is not currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a protection order issued by a court of another state, as described in division (D)(1)(j) of that section;

(c) A temporary emergency license fee established by the Ohio peace officer training commission for an amount that does not exceed the actual cost of conducting the criminal background check or thirty dollars;

(d) A set of fingerprints of the applicant provided as described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code through use of an electronic fingerprint reading device or, if the sheriff to whom the application is submitted does not possess and does not have ready access to the use of an electronic fingerprint reading device, on a standard impression sheet prescribed pursuant to division (C)(2) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code. If the fingerprints are provided on a standard impression sheet, the person also shall provide the person's social security number to the sheriff.

(2) A sheriff shall accept the evidence of imminent danger, the sworn affidavit, the fee, and the set of fingerprints required under division (B)(1) of this section at the times and in the manners described in division (I) of this section. Upon receipt of the evidence of imminent danger, the sworn affidavit, the fee, and the set of fingerprints required under division (B)(1) of this section, the sheriff, in the manner specified in section 311.41 of the Revised Code, immediately shall conduct or cause to be conducted the criminal records check and the incompetency records check described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code. Immediately upon receipt of the results of the records checks, the sheriff shall review the information and shall determine whether the criteria set forth in divisions (D)(1)(a) to (j) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code apply regarding the person. In determining for purposes of this division whether the criteria set forth in divisions (D)(1)(e), (f), and (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code apply, the sheriff has the authority specified in division (D)(3) of that section to consider, in the sheriff's discretion, a conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication identified in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code that has been sealed or expunged as not having occurred and to treat the applicant as if the conviction or guilty plea never had occurred. If the sheriff determines that all of criteria set forth in divisions (D)(1)(a) to (j) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code apply regarding the person, the sheriff shall immediately make available through the law enforcement automated data system all information that will be contained on the temporary emergency license for the person if one is issued, and the superintendent of the state highway patrol shall ensure that the system is so configured as to permit the transmission through the system of that information. Upon making that information available through the law enforcement automated data system, the sheriff shall immediately issue to the person a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun.

If the sheriff denies the issuance of a temporary emergency license to the person, the sheriff shall specify the grounds for the denial in a written notice to the person. The person may appeal the denial, or challenge criminal records check results that were the basis of the denial if applicable, in the same manners specified in division (D)(2) of section 2923.125 and in section 2923.127 of the Revised Code, regarding the denial of an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun under that section. If a person who has applied for a temporary emergency license has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense identified in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act or violation identified in any of those divisions, if the sheriff is authorized pursuant to this division and division (D)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code to consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication as not having occurred and to treat the applicant as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred because it has been sealed or expunged, and if the sheriff does not consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication as not having occurred and does not treat the applicant as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred, the sheriff's decision to not so consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication and to not so treat the applicant is appealable as described in this division.

The temporary emergency license under this division shall be in the form, and shall include all of the information, described in divisions (A)(2) and (5) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code, and also shall include a unique combination of identifying letters and numbers in accordance with division (A)(4) of that section.

The temporary emergency license issued under this division is valid for ninety days and may not be renewed. A person who has been issued a temporary emergency license under this division shall not be issued another temporary emergency license unless at least four years has expired since the issuance of the prior temporary emergency license.

(C) A person who holds a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun has the same right to carry a concealed handgun as a person who was issued a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, and any exceptions to the prohibitions contained in section 1547.69 and sections 2923.12 to 2923.16 of the Revised Code for a licensee under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code apply to a licensee under this section. The person is subject to the same restrictions, and to all other procedures, duties, and sanctions, that apply to a person who carries a license issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, other than the license renewal procedures set forth in that section.

(D) A sheriff who issues a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under this section shall not require a person seeking to carry a concealed handgun in accordance with this section to submit a competency certificate as a prerequisite for issuing the license and shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code in regards to the license. The sheriff shall suspend or revoke the license in accordance with section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. In addition to the suspension or revocation procedures set forth in section 2923.128 of the Revised Code, the sheriff may revoke the license upon receiving information, verifiable by public documents, that the person is not eligible to possess a firearm under either the laws of this state or of the United States or that the person committed perjury in obtaining the license; if the sheriff revokes a license under this additional authority, the sheriff shall notify the person, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the person's last known residence address that the license has been revoked and that the person is required to surrender the license at the sheriff's office within ten days of the date on which the notice was mailed. Division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code applies regarding any suspension or revocation of a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun.

(E) A sheriff who issues a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under this section shall retain, for the entire period during which the temporary emergency license is in effect, the evidence of imminent danger that the person submitted to the sheriff and that was the basis for the license, or a copy of that evidence, as appropriate.

(F) If a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this section is lost or is destroyed, the licensee may obtain from the sheriff who issued that license a duplicate license upon the payment of a fee of fifteen dollars and the submission of an affidavit attesting to the loss or destruction of the license. The sheriff, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in section 109.731 of the Revised Code, shall place on the replacement license a combination of identifying numbers different from the combination on the license that is being replaced.

(G) The Ohio peace officer training commission shall prescribe, and shall make available to sheriffs, a standard form to be used under division (B) of this section by a person who applies for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun on the basis of imminent danger of a type described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section.

(H) A sheriff who receives any fees paid by a person under this section shall deposit all fees so paid into the sheriff's concealed handgun license issuance expense fund established under section 311.42 of the Revised Code.

(I) A sheriff shall accept evidence of imminent danger, a sworn affidavit, the fee, and the set of fingerprints specified in division (B)(1) of this section at any time during normal business hours. In no case shall a sheriff require an appointment, or designate a specific period of time, for the submission or acceptance of evidence of imminent danger, a sworn affidavit, the fee, and the set of fingerprints specified in division (B)(1) of this section, or for the provision to any person of a standard form to be used for a person to apply for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun.

Sec. 2923.122.  (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)(1) 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. This section does not apply to any person who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided under this provision does not apply to the person.

(2) 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.

(3) This section does not apply to a person who conveys or attempts to convey a handgun into, or possesses a handgun in, a school safety zone if, at the time of that conveyance, attempted conveyance, or possession of the handgun, all of the following apply:

(a) The person does not enter into a school building or onto school premises and is not at a school activity.

(b) The person is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code.

(c) The person is in the school safety zone in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B).

(d) The person is not knowingly in a place described in division (B)(1) or (B)(3) to (10) 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 a class four suspension of the offender's probationary driver's license, restricted license, driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, or probationary commercial driver's license that then is in effect from the range specified in division (A)(4) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code and shall deny the offender the issuance of any permit or license of that type during the period of the suspension.

If the offender is not a resident of this state, the court shall impose a class four suspension of the nonresident operating privilege of the offender from the range specified in division (A)(4) of section 4510.02 of the Revised Code.

(2) If the offender shows good cause why the court should not suspend 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.

Sec. 2923.123.  (A) No person shall knowingly convey or attempt to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located.

(B) No person shall knowingly possess or have under the person's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located.

(C) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) A judge of a court of record of this state or a magistrate, unless a rule of superintendence or another type of rule adopted by the supreme court pursuant to Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or an applicable local rule of court prohibits all persons from conveying or attempting to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located or from possessing or having under one's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located;

(2) A peace officer, or an officer of a law enforcement agency of another state, a political subdivision of another state, or the United States, who is authorized to carry a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance, who possesses or has under that individual's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance as a requirement of that individual's duties, and who is acting within the scope of that individual's duties at the time of that possession or control, unless a rule of superintendence or another type of rule adopted by the supreme court pursuant to Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or an applicable local rule of court prohibits all persons from conveying or attempting to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located or from possessing or having under one's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located;

(3) A person who conveys, attempts to convey, possesses, or has under the person's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance that is to be used as evidence in a pending criminal or civil action or proceeding;

(4) A bailiff or deputy bailiff of a court of record of this state who is authorized to carry a firearm pursuant to section 109.77 of the Revised Code, who possesses or has under that individual's control a firearm as a requirement of that individual's duties, and who is acting within the scope of that individual's duties at the time of that possession or control, unless a rule of superintendence or another type of rule adopted by the supreme court pursuant to Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or an applicable local rule of court prohibits all persons from conveying or attempting to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located or from possessing or having under one's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located;

(5) A prosecutor, or a secret service officer appointed by a county prosecuting attorney, who is authorized to carry a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in the performance of the individual's duties, who possesses or has under that individual's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance as a requirement of that individual's duties, and who is acting within the scope of that individual's duties at the time of that possession or control, unless a rule of superintendence or another type of rule adopted by the supreme court pursuant to Article IV of the Ohio Constitution or an applicable local rule of court prohibits all persons from conveying or attempting to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located or from possessing or having under one's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located;

(6) A person who conveys or attempts to convey a handgun into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located, who, at the time of the conveyance or attempt, is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code in a category described in division (C)(6)(a) or (b) of this section, and who transfers possession of the handgun to the officer or officer's designee who has charge of the courthouse or building. The officer shall secure the handgun until the licensee person who transferred possession of the handgun is prepared to leave the premises. The exemption described in this division applies only if the officer who has charge of the courthouse or building provides services of the nature described in this division. An officer who has charge of the courthouse or building is not required to offer services of the nature described in this division. The exemption described in this division does not apply if a rule of superintendence or another type of rule adopted by the supreme court pursuant to Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or if an applicable local rule of court prohibits all persons from conveying or attempting to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse or into another building or structure in which a courtroom is located or from possessing or having under one's control a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse or in another building or structure in which a courtroom is located. The exemption described in this division applies in the circumstances described in this division only to a person who is in one or both of the following categories at the time of the conveyance or attempt:

(a) The person is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code.

(b) The person is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, and the appointing authority of the person has not expressly specified that the exemption described in this division does not apply to the person.

(D)(1) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a courthouse is a felony of the fourth degree.

(2) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse. Except as otherwise provided in this division, illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse is a felony of the fifth degree. If the offender previously has been convicted of a violation of division (A) or (B) of this section, illegal possession or control of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a courthouse is a felony of the fourth degree.

(E) As used in this section:

(1) "Magistrate" means an individual who is appointed by a court of record of this state and who has the powers and may perform the functions specified in Civil Rule 53, Criminal Rule 19, or Juvenile Rule 40.

(2) "Peace officer" and "prosecutor" have the same meanings as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2923.125.  (A) Upon the request of a person who wishes to obtain a license to carry a concealed handgun or to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun, a sheriff, at any time during normal business hours, shall provide to the person free of charge an application form and a copy of the pamphlet described in division (B) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code. A sheriff shall accept a completed application form and the fee, items, materials, and information specified in divisions (B)(1) to (5) of this section at the times and in the manners described in division (I) of this section.

(B) An applicant for a license to carry a concealed handgun shall submit a completed application form and all of the following to the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides or to the sheriff of any county adjacent to the county in which the applicant resides:

(1) A nonrefundable license fee prescribed by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to division (C) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code, except that the sheriff shall waive the payment of the license fee in connection with an initial or renewal application for a license that is submitted by an applicant who is a retired peace officer, a retired person described in division (B)(1)(b) of section 109.77 of the Revised Code, or a retired federal law enforcement officer who, prior to retirement, was authorized under federal law to carry a firearm in the course of duty, unless the retired peace officer, person, or federal law enforcement officer retired as the result of a mental disability;

(2) A color photograph of the applicant that was taken within thirty days prior to the date of the application;

(3) One or more of the following competency certifications, each of which shall reflect that, regarding a certification described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), (e), or (f) of this section, within the three years immediately preceding the application the applicant has performed that to which the competency certification relates and that, regarding a certification described in division (B)(3)(d) of this section, the applicant currently is an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States or within the six years immediately preceding the application the honorable discharge or retirement to which the competency certification relates occurred:

(a) An original or photocopy of a certificate of completion of a firearms safety, training, or requalification or firearms safety instructor course, class, or program that was offered by or under the auspices of the national rifle association and that complies with the requirements set forth in division (G) of this section;

(b) An original or photocopy of a certificate of completion of a firearms safety, training, or requalification or firearms safety instructor course, class, or program that satisfies all of the following criteria:

(i) It was open to members of the general public.

(ii) It utilized qualified instructors who were certified by the national rifle association, the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.75 or 109.78 of the Revised Code, or a governmental official or entity of another state.

(iii) It was offered by or under the auspices of a law enforcement agency of this or another state or the United States, a public or private college, university, or other similar postsecondary educational institution located in this or another state, a firearms training school located in this or another state, or another type of public or private entity or organization located in this or another state.

(iv) It complies with the requirements set forth in division (G) of this section.

(c) An original or photocopy of a certificate of completion of a state, county, municipal, or department of natural resources peace officer training school that is approved by the executive director of the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.75 of the Revised Code and that complies with the requirements set forth in division (G) of this section, or the applicant has satisfactorily completed and been issued a certificate of completion of a basic firearms training program, a firearms requalification training program, or another basic training program described in section 109.78 or 109.801 of the Revised Code that complies with the requirements set forth in division (G) of this section;

(d) A document that evidences both of the following:

(i) That the applicant is an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States, was honorably discharged from military service in the active or reserve armed forces of the United States, is a retired trooper of the state highway patrol, or is a retired peace officer or federal law enforcement officer described in division (B)(1) of this section or a retired person described in division (B)(1)(b) of section 109.77 of the Revised Code and division (B)(1) of this section;

(ii) That, through participation in the military service or through the former employment described in division (B)(3)(d)(i) of this section, the applicant acquired experience with handling handguns or other firearms, and the experience so acquired was equivalent to training that the applicant could have acquired in a course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), or (c) of this section.

(e) A certificate or another similar document that evidences satisfactory completion of a firearms training, safety, or requalification or firearms safety instructor course, class, or program that is not otherwise described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section, that was conducted by an instructor who was certified by an official or entity of the government of this or another state or the United States or by the national rifle association, and that complies with the requirements set forth in division (G) of this section;

(f) An affidavit that attests to the applicant's satisfactory completion of a course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section and that is subscribed by the applicant's instructor or an authorized representative of the entity that offered the course, class, or program or under whose auspices the course, class, or program was offered.

(4) A certification by the applicant that the applicant has read the pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.731 of the Revised Code that reviews firearms, dispute resolution, and use of deadly force matters.

(5) A set of fingerprints of the applicant provided as described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code through use of an electronic fingerprint reading device or, if the sheriff to whom the application is submitted does not possess and does not have ready access to the use of such a reading device, on a standard impression sheet prescribed pursuant to division (C)(2) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code.

(C) Upon receipt of an applicant's completed application form, supporting documentation, and, if not waived, license fee, a sheriff, in the manner specified in section 311.41 of the Revised Code, shall conduct or cause to be conducted the criminal records check and the incompetency records check described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code.

(D)(1) Except as provided in division (D)(3), (4), or (5) of this section, within forty-five days after a sheriff's receipt of an applicant's completed application form for a license to carry a concealed handgun, the supporting documentation, and, if not waived, the license fee, a the sheriff shall make available through the law enforcement automated data system in accordance with division (H) of this section the information described in that division and, upon making the information available through the system, shall issue to the applicant a license to carry a concealed handgun that shall expire four years after the date of issuance as described in division (D)(2)(a) of this section if all of the following apply:

(a) The applicant is a citizen of the United States, has been a resident of this state for at least forty-five days, and has been a resident of the county in which the person seeks the license or a county adjacent to the county in which the person seeks the license for at least thirty days.

(b) The applicant is at least twenty-one years of age.

(c) The applicant is not a fugitive from justice.

(d) The applicant is not under indictment for or otherwise charged with a felony; an offense under Chapter 2925., 3719., or 4729. of the Revised Code that involves the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, or distribution of or trafficking in a drug of abuse; a misdemeanor offense of violence; or a violation of section 2903.14 or 2923.1211 of the Revised Code.

(e) The Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(5) of this section, the applicant has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony or an offense under Chapter 2925., 3719., or 4729. of the Revised Code that involves the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, or distribution of or trafficking in a drug of abuse; has not been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that if committed by an adult would be a felony or would be an offense under Chapter 2925., 3719., or 4729. of the Revised Code that involves the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, or distribution of or trafficking in a drug of abuse; and has not been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation of section 2903.13 of the Revised Code when the victim of the violation is a peace officer, regardless of whether the applicant was sentenced under division (C)(3) of that section.

(f) The Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(5) of this section, the applicant, within three years of the date of the application, has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of violence other than a misdemeanor violation of section 2921.33 of the Revised Code or a violation of section 2903.13 of the Revised Code when the victim of the violation is a peace officer, or a misdemeanor violation of section 2923.1211 of the Revised Code; and has not been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that if committed by an adult would be a misdemeanor offense of violence other than a misdemeanor violation of section 2921.33 of the Revised Code or a violation of section 2903.13 of the Revised Code when the victim of the violation is a peace officer or for committing an act that if committed by an adult would be a misdemeanor violation of section 2923.1211 of the Revised Code.

(g) Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(1)(e) of this section, the applicant, within five years of the date of the application, has not been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing two or more violations of section 2903.13 or 2903.14 of the Revised Code.

(h) The Except as otherwise provided in division (D)(5) of this section, the applicant, within ten years of the date of the application, has not been convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or adjudicated a delinquent child for committing a violation of section 2921.33 of the Revised Code.

(i) The applicant has not been adjudicated as a mental defective, has not been committed to any mental institution, is not under adjudication of mental incompetence, has not been found by a court to be a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order, and is not an involuntary patient other than one who is a patient only for purposes of observation. As used in this division, "mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order" and "patient" have the same meanings as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.

(j) The applicant is not currently subject to a civil protection order, a temporary protection order, or a protection order issued by a court of another state.

(k) The applicant certifies that the applicant desires a legal means to carry a concealed handgun for defense of the applicant or a member of the applicant's family while engaged in lawful activity.

(l) The applicant submits a competency certification of the type described in division (B)(3) of this section and submits a certification of the type described in division (B)(4) of this section regarding the applicant's reading of the pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.731 of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) If A license to carry a concealed handgun that a sheriff issues under division (D)(1) of this section on or after the effective date of this amendment shall expire five years after the date of issuance. A license to carry a concealed handgun that a sheriff issued under division (D)(1) of this section prior to the effective date of this amendment shall expire four years after the date of issuance.

If a sheriff issues a license under this section, the sheriff shall place on the license a unique combination of letters and numbers identifying the license in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.731 of the Revised Code.

(b) If a sheriff denies an application under this section because the applicant does not satisfy the criteria described in division (D)(1) of this section, the sheriff shall specify the grounds for the denial in a written notice to the applicant. The applicant may appeal the denial pursuant to section 119.12 of the Revised Code in the county served by the sheriff who denied the application. If the denial was as a result of the criminal records check conducted pursuant to section 311.41 of the Revised Code and if, pursuant to section 2923.127 of the Revised Code, the applicant challenges the criminal records check results using the appropriate challenge and review procedure specified in that section, the time for filing the appeal pursuant to section 119.12 of the Revised Code and this division is tolled during the pendency of the request or the challenge and review. If the court in an appeal under section 119.12 of the Revised Code and this division enters a judgment sustaining the sheriff's refusal to grant to the applicant a license to carry a concealed handgun, the applicant may file a new application beginning one year after the judgment is entered. If the court enters a judgment in favor of the applicant, that judgment shall not restrict the authority of a sheriff to suspend or revoke the license pursuant to section 2923.128 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or to refuse to renew the license for any proper cause that may occur after the date the judgment is entered. In the appeal, the court shall have full power to dispose of all costs.

(3) If the sheriff with whom an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun was filed under this section becomes aware that the applicant has been arrested for or otherwise charged with an offense that would disqualify the applicant from holding the license, the sheriff shall suspend the processing of the application until the disposition of the case arising from the arrest or charge.

(4) If the sheriff determines that the applicant is a citizen of the United States and is a resident of the county in which the applicant seeks the license or of an adjacent county but does not yet meet the residency requirements described in division (D)(1)(a) of this section, the sheriff shall not deny the license because of the residency requirements but shall not issue the license until the applicant meets those residency requirements.

(5) If an applicant has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense identified in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of this section or has been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act or violation identified in any of those divisions, and if a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of the records of that conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication pursuant to section 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code, the sheriff with whom the application was submitted, in the sheriff's discretion, may consider the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred for purposes of division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of this section and treat the applicant for purposes of the particular division as if the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication never had occurred. If the sheriff, pursuant to this division, considers the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred and treats the applicant as if the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication never had occurred, and if all of the other criteria specified in division (D)(1) of this section apply regarding the applicant, the sheriff shall issue to the applicant a license to carry a concealed handgun as described in division (D)(1) of this section.

If a sheriff is authorized pursuant to this division to consider a conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication identified in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of this section as not having occurred and to treat the applicant as if the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication never had occurred, and if the sheriff, in the sheriff's discretion, does not consider the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred and does not treat the applicant as if the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent adjudication never had occurred, the sheriff's decision to not so consider the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication and to not so treat the applicant is appealable pursuant to division (D)(2)(b) of this section. Upon such an appeal, if the court determines that the records of the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication in question have been sealed or expunged pursuant to section 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code, the court, in the court's discretion, may consider the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred for purposes of division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of this section and treat the applicant for purposes of the particular division as if the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication never had occurred.

(E) If a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this section is lost or is destroyed, the licensee may obtain from the sheriff who issued that license a duplicate license upon the payment of a fee of fifteen dollars and the submission of an affidavit attesting to the loss or destruction of the license. The sheriff, in accordance with the procedures prescribed in section 109.731 of the Revised Code, shall place on the replacement license a combination of identifying numbers different from the combination on the license that is being replaced.

(F) A licensee who wishes to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this seciton section shall do so within not earlier than ninety days before the expiration date of the license and not later than thirty days after the expiration date of the license by filing with the sheriff of the county in which the applicant resides or with the sheriff of an adjacent county an application for renewal of the license obtained pursuant to division (D) of this section, a new color photograph of the licensee that was taken within thirty days prior to the date of the renewal application, a certification by the applicant that, subsequent to the issuance of the license, the applicant has reread the pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.731 of the Revised Code that reviews firearms, dispute resolution, and use of deadly force matters, a new set of fingerprints provided in the manner specified in division (D)(4)(B)(5) of this section 2923.125 of the Revised Code regarding initial applications for a license to carry a concealed handgun, and a nonrefundable license renewal fee unless the fee is waived. The licensee also shall submit a competency certification of the type described in division (B)(3) of this section that is not older than six years or a renewed competency certification of the type described in division (G)(4) of this section that is not older than six years. A sheriff shall accept a completed renewal application and the fee, items, materials, and information specified in this division at the times and in the manners described in division (I) of this section.

Upon receipt of a completed renewal application, color photograph, certification that the applicant has reread the specified pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission, new set of fingerprints, competency certification or renewed competency certification, and license renewal fee unless the fee is waived, a sheriff, in the manner specified in section 311.41 of the Revised Code shall conduct or cause to be conducted the criminal records check and the incompetency records check described in section 311.41 of the Revised Code. The sheriff shall renew the license if the sheriff determines that the applicant continues to satisfy the requirements described in division (D)(1) of this section, except that the applicant is required to submit a renewed competency certification only in the circumstances described in division (G)(4) of this section and except that division (D)(5) of this section also applies regarding the renewal application. A renewed license that is renewed on or after the effective date of this amendment shall expire five years after the date of issuance, and a renewed license that is renewed prior to the effective date of this amendment shall expire four years after the date of issuance and. A renewed license is subject to division (E) of this section and sections 2923.126 and 2923.128 of the Revised Code. A sheriff shall comply with divisions (D)(2) to (4) of this section when the circumstances described in those divisions apply to a requested license renewal, and division (D)(5) of this section applies in relation to a requested license renewal. If a sheriff denies the renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun, the applicant may appeal the denial, or challenge the criminal record check results that were the basis of the denial if applicable, in the same manner as specified in division (D)(2)(b) and, if applicable, division (D)(5) of this section and in section 2923.127 of the Revised Code, regarding the denial of a license under this section.

(G)(1) Each course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section shall provide to each person who takes the course, class, or program a copy of the pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission pursuant to section 109.731 of the Revised Code that reviews firearms, dispute resolution, and use of deadly force matters. Each such course, class, or program described in one of those divisions shall include at least twelve hours of training in the safe handling and use of a firearm that shall include all of the following:

(a) At least ten hours of training on the following matters:

(i) The ability to name, explain, and demonstrate the rules for safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition;

(ii) The ability to demonstrate and explain how to handle ammunition in a safe manner;

(iii) The ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attitude necessary to shoot a handgun in a safe manner;

(iv) Gun handling training.

(b) At least two hours of training that consists of range time and live-fire training.

(2) To satisfactorily complete the course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section, the applicant shall pass a competency examination that shall include both of the following:

(a) A written section on the ability to name and explain the rules for the safe handling of a handgun and proper storage practices for handguns and ammunition;

(b) A physical demonstration of competence in the use of a handgun and in the rules for safe handling and storage of a handgun and a physical demonstration of the attitude necessary to shoot a handgun in a safe manner.

(3) The competency certification described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section shall be dated and shall attest that the course, class, or program the applicant successfully completed met the requirements described in division (G)(1) of this section and that the applicant passed the competency examination described in division (G)(2) of this section.

(4) A person who has received a competency certification as described in division (B)(3) of this section, or who previously has received a renewed competency certification as described in this division, may obtain a renewed competency certification pursuant to this division. If the person has received a competency certification within the preceding six years, or previously has received a renewed competency certification within the preceding six years, the person may obtain a renewed competency certification from an entity that offers a course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section by passing a competency examination of the type described in division (G)(2) of this section. In these circumstances, the person is not required to attend the course, class, or program in order to be eligible to take the competency examination for the renewed competency certification. If more than six years has elapsed since the person last received a competency certification or a renewed competency certification, in order for the person to obtain a renewed competency certification, the person shall both satisfactorily complete a course, class, or program described in division (B)(3)(a), (b), (c), or (e) of this section and pass a competency examination of the type described in division (G)(2) of this section. A renewed competency certification issued under this division shall be dated and shall attest that the applicant passed the competency examination of the type described in division (G)(2) of this section and, if applicable, that the person successfully completed a course, class, or program that met the requirements described in division (G)(1) of this section.

(H) Upon deciding to issue a license, deciding to issue a replacement license, or deciding to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to this section, and before actually issuing or renewing the license, the sheriff shall make available through the law enforcement automated data system all information contained on the license. If the license subsequently is suspended under division (A)(1) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code, revoked pursuant to division (B)(1) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code, or lost or destroyed, the sheriff also shall make available through the law enforcement automated data system a notation of that fact. The superintendent of the state highway patrol shall ensure that the law enforcement automated data system is so configured as to permit the transmission through the system of the information specified in this division.

(I) A sheriff shall accept a completed application form or renewal application, and the fee, items, materials, and information specified in divisions (B)(1) to (5) or division (F) of this section, whichever is applicable, at any time during normal business hours. In no case shall a sheriff require an appointment, or designate a specific period of time, for the submission or acceptance of completed application forms or renewal applications or the fee, items, materials, and information specified in divisions (B)(1) to (5) or division (F) of this section, whichever is applicable, or for the provision to any person of an application form or renewal application and a copy of the pamphlet described in division (B) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code.

(J) If a sheriff issues a license or renews a license to carry a concealed handgun pursuant to this section, not later than sixty days before the expiration date of the license, the sheriff shall notify the licensee, in writing, of the upcoming expiration of the license. The notice required by this division shall be sent to the licensee by regular mail at the licensee's last known residence address. The notice shall inform the licensee of the expiration date of the license, of the procedure for renewing the license, and of the fact that the license must be renewed not later than thirty days after the specified expiration date and that that thirty-day period is a grace period during which the license remains valid. The duty imposed by this division applies regarding all licenses to carry a concealed handgun issued or renewed under this section prior to, on, or after the effective date of this amendment.

Sec. 2923.126.  (A) A license to carry a concealed handgun that is issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code on or after the effective date of this amendment shall expire five years after the date of issuance, and a license that is so issued prior to the effective date of this amendment shall expire four years after the date of issuance. A licensee who has been issued a license under that section shall be granted a grace period of thirty days after the licensee's license expires during which the licensee's license remains valid. Except as provided in divisions (B) and (C) of this section, a licensee who has been issued a license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code may carry a concealed handgun anywhere in this state if the licensee also carries a valid license and valid identification when the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed handgun. The licensee shall give notice of any change in the licensee's residence address to the sheriff who issued the license within forty-five days after that change.

If a licensee is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as the result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose and if the licensee is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle at that time, the licensee shall promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the licensee has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun and that the licensee currently possesses or has a loaded handgun; the licensee shall comply with lawful orders of a law enforcement officer given while the motor vehicle is stopped, shall remain in the motor vehicle while stopped, and shall keep the licensee's hands in plain sight while any law enforcement officer begins approaching the licensee while stopped and before the officer leaves, unless directed otherwise by a law enforcement officer; and the licensee shall not knowingly remove, attempt to remove, grasp, or hold the loaded handgun or knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the licensee's hands or fingers, in any manner in violation of division (E) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, while any law enforcement officer begins approaching the licensee while stopped and before the officer leaves. If a law enforcement officer otherwise approaches a person who has been stopped for a law enforcement purpose, if the person is a licensee, and if the licensee is carrying a concealed handgun at the time the officer approaches, the licensee shall promptly inform the officer that the licensee has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun and that the licensee currently is carrying a concealed handgun.

(B) A valid license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun in any manner prohibited under division (B) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or in any manner prohibited under section 2923.16 of the Revised Code. A valid license does not authorize the licensee to carry a concealed handgun into any of the following places:

(1) A police station, sheriff's office, or state highway patrol station, premises controlled by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, a state correctional institution, jail, workhouse, or other detention facility, an airport passenger terminal, or an institution that is maintained, operated, managed, and governed pursuant to division (A) of section 5119.02 of the Revised Code or division (A)(1) of section 5123.03 of the Revised Code;

(2) A school safety zone, in violation of section 2923.122 of the Revised Code;

(3) A courthouse or another building or structure in which a courtroom is located, in violation of section 2923.123 of the Revised Code;

(4) Any room or open air arena in which liquor is being dispensed in premises for which a D permit has been issued under Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code, in violation of section 2923.121 of the Revised Code;

(5) Any premises owned or leased by any public or private college, university, or other institution of higher education, unless the handgun is in a locked motor vehicle or the licensee is in the immediate process of placing the handgun in a locked motor vehicle;

(6) Any church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship, unless the church, synagogue, mosque, or other place of worship posts or permits otherwise;

(7) A child day-care center, a type A family day-care home, a type B family day-care home, or a type C family day-care home, except that this division does not prohibit a licensee who resides in a type A family day-care home, a type B family day-care home, or a type C family day-care home from carrying a concealed handgun at any time in any part of the home that is not dedicated or used for day-care purposes, or from carrying a concealed handgun in a part of the home that is dedicated or used for day-care purposes at any time during which no children, other than children of that licensee, are in the home;

(8) An aircraft that is in, or intended for operation in, foreign air transportation, interstate air transportation, intrastate air transportation, or the transportation of mail by aircraft;

(9) Any building that is owned by this state or any political subdivision of this state, and all portions of any building that is not owned by any governmental entity listed in this division but that is leased by such a governmental entity listed in this division;

(10) A place in which federal law prohibits the carrying of handguns.

(C)(1) Nothing in this section shall negate or restrict a rule, policy, or practice of a private employer that is not a private college, university, or other institution of higher education concerning or prohibiting the presence of firearms on the private employer's premises or property, including motor vehicles owned by the private employer. Nothing in this section shall require a private employer of that nature to adopt a rule, policy, or practice concerning or prohibiting the presence of firearms on the private employer's premises or property, including motor vehicles owned by the private employer.

(2)(a) A private employer shall be immune from liability in a civil action for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly was caused by or related to a licensee bringing a handgun onto the premises or property of the private employer, including motor vehicles owned by the private employer, unless the private employer acted with malicious purpose. A private employer is immune from liability in a civil action for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly was caused by or related to the private employer's decision to permit a licensee to bring, or prohibit a licensee from bringing, a handgun onto the premises or property of the private employer. As used in this division, "private employer" includes a private college, university, or other institution of higher education.

(b) A political subdivision shall be immune from liability in a civil action, to the extent and in the manner provided in Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code, for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly was caused by or related to a licensee bringing a handgun onto any premises or property owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of the political subdivision. As used in this division, "political subdivision" has the same meaning as in section 2744.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) The owner or person in control of private land or premises, and a private person or entity leasing land or premises owned by the state, the United States, or a political subdivision of the state or the United States, may post a sign in a conspicuous location on that land or on those premises prohibiting persons from carrying firearms or concealed firearms on or onto that land or those premises. A person who knowingly violates a posted prohibition of that nature is guilty of criminal trespass in violation of division (A)(4) of section 2911.21 of the Revised Code and is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(D) A person who holds a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued pursuant to the law of another state that is recognized by the attorney general pursuant to a reciprocity agreement entered into pursuant to section 109.69 of the Revised Code has the same right to carry a concealed handgun in this state as a person who was issued a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and is subject to the same restrictions that apply to a person who carries a license issued under that section.

A peace officer has the same right to carry a concealed handgun in this state as a person who was issued a license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code. For purposes of reciprocity with other states, a peace officer shall be considered to be a licensee in this state.

Sec. 2923.127. (A) If a sheriff denies an application for a license to carry a concealed handgun, denies the renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun, or denies an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun as a result of the criminal records check conducted pursuant to section 311.41 of the Revised Code and if the applicant believes the denial was based on incorrect information reported by the source the sheriff used in conducting the criminal records check, the applicant may challenge the criminal records check results using whichever of the following is applicable:

(1) If the bureau of criminal identification and investigation performed the criminal records check, by using the bureau's existing challenge and review procedures;

(2) If division (A)(1) of this section does not apply, by using the sheriff's existing challenge and review procedure of the sheriff who denied the application or, if the sheriff does not have a challenge and review procedure, by using the challenge and review procedure prescribed by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation pursuant to division (B) of this section.

(B) The bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall prescribe a challenge and review procedure for applicants to use to challenge criminal records checks under division (A)(2) of this section in counties in which the sheriff with whom the application for a license to carry a concealed handgun or for the renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun was filed or with whom the application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun was submitted does not have an existing challenge and review procedure.

Sec. 2923.128. (A)(1) If a licensee holding a valid license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code is arrested for or otherwise charged with an offense described in division (D)(1)(d) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or with a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or becomes subject to a temporary protection order or to a protection order issued by a court of another state that is substantially equivalent to a temporary protection order, the sheriff who issued the license or temporary emergency license shall suspend it and shall comply with division (A)(3) of this section upon becoming aware of the arrest, charge, or protection order.

(2) A suspension under division (A)(1) of this section shall be considered as beginning on the date that the licensee is arrested for or otherwise charged with an offense described in that division or on the date the appropriate court issued the protection order described in that division, irrespective of when the sheriff notifies the licensee under division (A)(3) of this section. The suspension shall end on the date on which the charges are dismissed or the licensee is found not guilty of the offense described in division (A)(1) of this section or, subject to division (B) of this section, on the date the appropriate court terminates the protection order described in that division. If the suspension so ends, the sheriff shall return the license or temporary emergency license to the licensee.

(3) Upon becoming aware of an arrest, charge, or protection order described in division (A)(1) of this section with respect to a licensee who was issued a license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, the sheriff who issued the licensee's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall notify the licensee, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the licensee's last known residence address that the license or temporary emergency license has been suspended and that the licensee is required to surrender the license or temporary emergency license at the sheriff's office within ten days of the date on which the notice was mailed.

(B)(1) A sheriff who issues a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun to a licensee under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code shall revoke the license or temporary emergency license in accordance with division (B)(2) of this section upon becoming aware that the licensee satisfies any of the following:

(a) The licensee is under twenty-one years of age.

(b) At Subject to division (B)(3) of this section, at the time of the issuance of the license or temporary emergency license, the licensee did not satisfy the eligibility requirements of division (D)(1)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(c) On Subject to division (B)(3) of this section, on or after the date on which the license or temporary emergency license was issued, the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or an offense described in division (D)(1)(e), (f), (g), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(d) On or after the date on which the license or temporary emergency license was issued, the licensee becomes subject to a civil protection order or to a protection order issued by a court of another state that is substantially equivalent to a civil protection order.

(e) The licensee knowingly carries a concealed handgun into a place that the licensee knows is an unauthorized place specified in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(f) On or after the date on which the license or temporary emergency license was issued, the licensee is adjudicated as a mental defective or is committed to a mental institution.

(g) At the time of the issuance of the license or temporary emergency license, the licensee did not meet the citizenship and residency requirements described in division (D)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and currently does not meet the citizenship or residency requirements described in that division.

(h) Regarding a license issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, the competency certificate the licensee submitted was forged or otherwise was fraudulent.

(2) Upon becoming aware of any circumstance listed in division (B)(1) of this section that applies to a particular licensee who was issued a license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, the sheriff who issued the license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun to the licensee shall notify the licensee, by certified mail, return receipt requested, at the licensee's last known residence address that the license or temporary emergency license is subject to revocation and that the licensee may come to the sheriff's office and contest the sheriff's proposed revocation within fourteen days of the date on which the notice was mailed. After the fourteen-day period and after consideration of any information that the licensee provides during that period, if the sheriff determines on the basis of the information of which the sheriff is aware that the licensee is described in division (B)(1) of this section and no longer satisfies the requirements described in division (D)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code that are applicable to the licensee's type of license, subject to division (B)(3) of this section, the sheriff shall revoke the license or temporary emergency license, notify the licensee of that fact, and require the licensee to surrender the license or temporary emergency license.

(3) If a sheriff who issues a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun to a licensee under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code becomes aware that, at the time of the issuance of the license or temporary emergency license, the licensee had been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense identified in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or had been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act or violation identified in any of those divisions and thus did not satisfy the eligibility requirements of the particular division, or that, on or after the date on which the license or temporary emergency license was issued, the licensee has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or an offense described in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, and if a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of the records of that conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication pursuant to section 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code, the sheriff, in the sheriff's discretion, may consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication as not having occurred for purposes of division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of this section and treat the licensee for purposes of the particular division as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred. If the sheriff, pursuant to this division, considers the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred and treats the licensee as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred, the sheriff is not required pursuant to divisions (B)(1) and (2) of this section to revoke the license or temporary emergency license based on that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication.

If a sheriff is authorized pursuant to this division to consider a conviction of or plea of guilty to a violation of section 2923.15 of the Revised Code or a conviction of, plea of guilty to, or delinquent child adjudication for committing an act or violation described in division (D)(1)(e), (f), or (h) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code as not having occurred and to treat the licensee as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred, and if the sheriff, in the sheriff's discretion, does not consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication as not having occurred and does not treat the licensee as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred, the licensee may contest the sheriff's decision to not so consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication and to not so treat the licensee pursuant to division (B)(2) of this section. If the licensee so contests the sheriff's decision, the sheriff, in the sheriff's discretion, may consider the conviction, guilty plea, or delinquent child adjudication as not having occurred for purposes of division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of this section and treat the licensee for purposes of that division as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred.

Sec. 2923.129. (A)(1) If a sheriff, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, the employees of the bureau, the Ohio peace officer training commission, or the employees of the commission make a good faith effort in performing the duties imposed upon the sheriff, the superintendent, the bureau's employees, the commission, or the commission's employees by sections 109.731, 311.41, and 2923.124 to 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, in addition to the personal immunity provided by section 9.86 of the Revised Code or division (A)(6) of section 2744.03 of the Revised Code and the governmental immunity of sections 2744.02 and 2744.03 of the Revised Code and in addition to any other immunity possessed by the bureau, the commission, and their employees, the sheriff, the sheriff's office, the county in which the sheriff has jurisdiction, the bureau, the superintendent of the bureau, the bureau's employees, the commission, and the commission's employees are immune from liability in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property that allegedly was caused by or related to any of the following:

(a) The issuance, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a license to carry a concealed handgun or the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun;

(b) The failure to issue, renew, suspend, or revoke a license to carry a concealed handgun or the failure to issue, suspend, or revoke a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun;

(c) Any action or misconduct with a handgun committed by a licensee.

(2) Any action of a sheriff relating to the issuance, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a license to carry a concealed handgun or the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be considered to be a governmental function for purposes of Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code.

(3) An entity that or instructor who provides a competency certification of a type described in division (B)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code is immune from civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed for any death or any injury or loss to person or property that is caused by or related to a person to whom the entity or instructor has issued the competency certificate if all of the following apply:

(a) The alleged liability of the entity or instructor relates to the training provided in the course, class, or program covered by the competency certificate.

(b) The entity or instructor makes a good faith effort in determining whether the person has satisfactorily completed the course, class, or program and makes a good faith effort in assessing the person in the competency examination conducted pursuant to division (G)(2) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(c) The entity or instructor did not issue the competency certificate with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.

(4) An entity that or instructor who provides a renewed competency certification of a type described in division (G)(4) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code is immune from civil liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed for any death or any injury or loss to person or property that is caused by or related to a person to whom the entity or instructor has issued the renewed competency certificate if all of the following apply:

(a) The entity or instructor makes a good faith effort in assessing the person in the competency examination conducted pursuant to division (G)(2) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(b) The entity or instructor did not issue the renewed competency certificate with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.

(5) A law enforcement agency that employs a peace officer is immune from liability in a civil action to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act of that peace officer if the act occurred while the peace officer carried a concealed handgun and was off duty and if the act allegedly involved the peace officer's use of the concealed handgun. Sections 9.86 and 9.87, and Chapter 2744., of the Revised Code apply to any civil action involving a peace officer's use of a concealed handgun in the performance of the peace officer's official duties while the peace officer is off duty.

(B)(1) Notwithstanding section 149.43 of the Revised Code, except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, the records that a sheriff keeps relative to the issuance, renewal, suspension, or revocation of a license to carry a concealed handgun or the issuance, suspension, or revocation of a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, including, but not limited to, completed applications for the issuance or renewal of a license, completed affidavits submitted regarding an application for a temporary emergency license, reports of criminal records checks and incompetency records checks under section 311.41 of the Revised Code, notices of the upcoming expiration date of a license, and applicants' social security numbers and fingerprints that are obtained under division (A) of section 311.41 of the Revised Code, are confidential and are not public records. Except as provided in division (B)(2) of this section, no person shall release or otherwise disseminate records that are confidential under this division unless required to do so pursuant to a court order.

(2)(a) Upon a written request made to a sheriff and signed by a journalist on or after the effective date of this section April 8, 2004, except as provided in division (B)(2)(b) of this section, the sheriff shall disclose to the journalist the name, county of residence, and date of birth of each person to whom the sheriff has issued a license or replacement license to carry a concealed handgun, renewed a license to carry a concealed handgun, or issued a temporary emergency license or replacement temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code. The request shall include the journalist's name and title, shall include the name and address of the journalist's employer, and shall state that disclosure of the information sought would be in the public interest.

(b) A sheriff who is required pursuant to division (B)(2)(a) of this section to disclose to a journalist the name, county of residence, and date of birth of persons to whom the sheriff has issued a license or replacement license to carry a concealed handgun, renewed a license to carry a concealed handgun, or issued a temporary emergency license or replacement temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code shall not disclose the name, county of residence, or date of birth of a particular person to whom the sheriff has issued any such license or replacement license if, at any time prior to the journalist's making of the request described in division (B)(2)(a) of this section, that person has filed with the sheriff either a statement sworn by the person that is made under threat of perjury and that states that the person has reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the person or a member of the person's family if the information is disclosed to a journalist or the general public or a written document prepared by a governmental entity or public official describing the facts that give the person reasonable cause to fear a criminal attack upon the person or a member of the person's family if the information is disclosed to a journalist or the general public. Written documents of the nature described in this division include, but are not limited to, any temporary protection order, civil protection order, protection order issued by a court of another state, or other court order, any court report, and any report filed with or made by a law enforcement agency or prosecutor.

A person may file a statement or written document of the type described in this division at the time of the person's application for a license or for renewal of a license to carry a concealed handgun, at the time of the person's submission of the materials required to request a replacement license to carry a concealed handgun, or at the time of the person's submission of the materials required to request a temporary emergency license or a replacement temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, whichever is applicable, or at any time after the person has been issued the license, replacement license, renewal license, temporary emergency license, or replacement temporary emergency license.

(c) As used in division (B)(2) of this section, "journalist" means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for the general public.

(C) Each sheriff shall report to the Ohio peace officer training commission the number of licenses to carry a concealed handgun that the sheriff issued, renewed, suspended, revoked, or denied during the previous quarter of the calendar year, the number of applications for those licenses for which processing was suspended in accordance with division (D)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code during the previous quarter of the calendar year, and the number of temporary emergency licenses to carry a concealed handgun that the sheriff issued, suspended, revoked, or denied during the previous quarter of the calendar year. The sheriff shall not include in the report the name or any other identifying information of an applicant or licensee. The sheriff shall report that information in a manner that permits the commission to maintain the statistics described in division (D) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code and to timely prepare the statistical report described in that division. The information that is received by the commission under this division is a public record kept by the commission for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(D) Law enforcement agencies may use the information a sheriff makes available through the use of the law enforcement automated data system pursuant to division (H) of section 2923.125 or division (B)(2) or (D) of section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code for law enforcement purposes only. The information is confidential and is not a public record. A person who releases or otherwise disseminates this information obtained through the law enforcement automated data system in a manner not described in this division is guilty of a violation of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code.

(E) Whoever violates division (B) of this section is guilty of illegal release of confidential concealed handgun license records, a felony of the fifth degree. In addition to any penalties imposed under Chapter 2929. of the Revised Code for a violation of division (B) of this section or a violation of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code described in division (D) of this section, if the offender is a sheriff, an employee of a sheriff, or any other public officer or employee, and if the violation was willful and deliberate, the offender shall be subject to a civil fine of one thousand dollars. Any person who is harmed by a violation of division (B) or (C) of this section or a violation of section 2913.04 of the Revised Code described in division (D) of this section has a private cause of action against the offender for any injury, death, or loss to person or property that is a proximate result of the violation and may recover court costs and attorney's fees related to the action.

Sec. 2923.16.  (A) No person shall knowingly discharge a firearm while in or on a motor vehicle.

(B) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle.

(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless it is unloaded and is carried in one of the following ways:

(1) In a closed package, box, or case;

(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle;

(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose;

(4) In plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.

(D) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession, any of the following applies:

(1) The person is under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or a combination of them.

(2) The person's whole blood, blood serum or plasma, breath, or urine contains a concentration of alcohol prohibited for persons operating a vehicle, as specified in division (A) of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the person at the time of the transportation or possession as described in this division is the operator of or a passenger in the motor vehicle.

(E) No person who has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code shall do any of the following:

(1) Knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle unless the loaded handgun either is in a holster and in plain sight on the person's person or it is securely encased by being stored in a closed, locked glove compartment or in a case that is in plain sight and that is locked;

(2) If the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle in a manner authorized under division (E)(1) of this section, knowingly remove or attempt to remove the loaded handgun from the holster, glove compartment, or case, knowingly grasp or hold the loaded handgun, or knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers while the motor vehicle is being operated on a street, highway, or public property unless the person removes, attempts to remove, grasps, holds, or has the contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(3) If the person is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose and if the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle in any manner, fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the vehicle while stopped that the person has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun and that the person then possesses or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle.

(4) If the person is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose and if the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle in any manner, knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the motor vehicle is stopped, knowingly fail to remain in the motor vehicle while stopped, or knowingly fail to keep the person's hands in plain sight at any time after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the person while stopped and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless, regarding a failure to remain in the motor vehicle or to keep the person's hands in plain sight, the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(5) If the person is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose, if the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle in a manner authorized under division (E)(1) of this section, and if the person is approached by any law enforcement officer while stopped, knowingly remove or attempt to remove the loaded handgun from the holster, glove compartment, or case, knowingly grasp or hold the loaded handgun, or knowingly have contact with the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or fingers in the motor vehicle at any time after the law enforcement officer begins approaching and before the law enforcement officer leaves, unless the person removes, attempts to remove, grasps, holds, or has contact with the loaded handgun pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer.

(F)(1) 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, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in motor vehicles and acting within the scope of their duties. This section does not apply to any person who is subject to and in compliance with the requirements of section 109.801 of the Revised Code, unless the appointing authority of the person has expressly specified that the exemption provided under this provision does not apply to the person.

(2) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person if all of the following circumstances apply:

(a) The person discharges a firearm from a motor vehicle at a coyote or groundhog, the discharge is not during the deer gun hunting season as set by the chief of the division of wildlife of the department of natural resources, and the discharge at the coyote or groundhog, but for the operation of this section, is lawful.

(b) The motor vehicle from which the person discharges the firearm is on real property that is located in an unincorporated area of a township and that either is zoned for agriculture or is used for agriculture.

(c) The person owns the real property described in division (F)(2)(b) of this section, is the spouse or a child of another person who owns that real property, is a tenant of another person who owns that real property, or is the spouse or a child of a tenant of another person who owns that real property.

(d) The person does not discharge the firearm in any of the following manners:

(i) While under the influence of alcohol, a drug of abuse, or alcohol and a drug of abuse;

(ii) In the direction of a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic or parking;

(iii) At or into an occupied structure that is a permanent or temporary habitation;

(iv) In the commission of any violation of law, including, but not limited to, a felony that includes, as an essential element, purposely or knowingly causing or attempting to cause the death of or physical harm to another and that was committed by discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle.

(3) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a person if all of the following circumstances apply:

(a) At the time of the alleged violation of either of those divisions, the person is the operator of or a passenger in a motor vehicle.

(b) The motor vehicle is on real property that is located in an unincorporated area of a township and that either is zoned for agriculture or is used for agriculture.

(c) The person owns the real property described in division (D)(3)(b) of this section, is the spouse or a child of another person who owns that real property, is a tenant of another person who owns that real property, or is the spouse or a child of a tenant of another person who owns that real property.

(d) The person, prior to arriving at the real property described in division (D)(3)(b) of this section, did not transport or possess a firearm in the motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C) of this section while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic or parking.

(4) Divisions (B) and (C) of this section do not apply to a person who transports or possesses a handgun in a motor vehicle if, at the time of that transportation or possession, all of the following apply:

(a) The person transporting or possessing the handgun is carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the person under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code.

(b) The person transporting or possessing the handgun is not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(c) Either the handgun is in a holster and in plain sight on the person's person or the handgun is securely encased by being stored in a closed, locked glove compartment or in a case that is in plain sight and that is locked.

(5) For purposes of divisions (B), (C), (D), and (E) of this section, all of the following apply:

(a) A firearm is not "loaded" unless there is live ammunition actually in the firearm. If there is no live ammunition actually in the firearm, the presence near the firearm of ammunition for the firearm does not make the firearm "loaded" for purposes of those divisions, even if the ammunition is accessible or ready at hand to the operator or any passenger in the motor vehicle.

(b) With respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, in addition to the circumstances described in division (F)(5)(a) of this section, the firearm is "unloaded" when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.

(G)(1) The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(1)and (2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code are affirmative defenses to a charge under division (B) or (C) of this section that involves a firearm other than a handgun.

(2) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (B) or (C) of this section of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle that the actor transported or had the firearm in the motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and while the motor vehicle was on the actor's own property, provided that this affirmative defense is not available unless the person, prior to arriving at the actor's own property, did not transport or possess the firearm in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C) of this section while the motor vehicle was being operated on a street, highway, or other public or private property used by the public for vehicular traffic.

(3) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division (A) of this section that the actor discharged the firearm in self-defense.

(H) No person who is charged with a violation of division (B), (C), or (D) of this section shall be required to obtain a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code as a condition for the dismissal of the charge.

(I) Whoever violates this section is guilty of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle. Violation of division (A) of this section is a felony of the fourth degree. Violation of division (C) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A violation of division (D) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree. A violation of division (E)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the fourth degree. A violation of division (E)(1), (2), or (5) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree. A violation of division (E)(4) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of division (E)(4) of this section, a felony of the fifth degree. A violation of division (B) of this section is whichever of the following is applicable:

(1) If, at the time of the transportation or possession in violation of division (B) of this section, the offender was carrying a valid license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun issued to the offender under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or a license to carry a concealed handgun that was issued by another state with which the attorney general has entered into a reciprocity agreement under section 109.69 of the Revised Code and the offender was not knowingly in a place described in division (B) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code, the violation is a misdemeanor of the first degree or, if the offender previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a violation of division (B) of this section, a felony of the fourth degree.

(2) If division (I)(1) of this section does not apply, a felony of the fourth degree.

(J) If a law enforcement officer stops a motor vehicle for a traffic stop or any other purpose, if any person in the motor vehicle surrenders a firearm to the officer, either voluntarily or pursuant to a request or demand of the officer, and if the officer does not charge the person with a violation of this section or arrest the person for any offense, the person is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm, and the firearm is not contraband, the officer shall return the firearm to the person at the termination of the stop.

(K) As used in this section:

(1) "Motor vehicle," "street," and "highway" have the same meanings as in section 4511.01 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Occupied structure" has the same meaning as in section 2909.01 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Agriculture" has the same meaning as in section 519.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Tenant" has the same meaning as in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Unloaded" means, with respect to a firearm employing a percussion cap, flintlock, or other obsolete ignition system, when the weapon is uncapped or when the priming charge is removed from the pan.

Section 2. That existing sections 109.71, 109.731, 109.801, 311.41, 311.42, 1547.69, 2921.13, 2923.12, 2923.121, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.127, 2923.128, 2923.129, 2923.1210, 2923.1213, and 2923.16 and section 109.542 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.