To amend sections 1547.69, 2923.11, 2923.12, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.124, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.128, 2923.1212, 2923.1213, and 2923.16 of the Revised Code to authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun without obtaining a license to the same extent as if the person had obtained such a license, except on liquor permit premises, if the person qualifies for a concealed carry license and is legally permitted to purchase a handgun; to remove the requirements that a concealed carry licensee must be carrying the license in order to carry a concealed handgun, must inform approaching law enforcement officers that the person has a license and is carrying the handgun when the person is carrying a concealed handgun, and must submit a new or renewed competency certification when renewing the license; to eliminate as premises in which a concealed carry licensee may not carry a concealed handgun public or private institutions of higher education, places of worship, day-care centers and homes, and government buildings other than schools, courthouses, law enforcement offices, and correctional facilities; to replace the prohibitions that apply only to a concealed carry licensee who is carrying a handgun in a motor vehicle with a prohibition against a licensee who is in a motor vehicle that is stopped by a law enforcement officer knowingly menacing or threatening an officer with a loaded handgun or knowingly pointing a loaded handgun at an officer; to remove the "in plain sight or secure encasement" criterion that a concealed carry licensee must satisfy to legally possess a handgun in a motor vehicle; and to require a sheriff who issues a renewed concealed carry license to return the expired license to the licensee or destroy it.

Section 1. That sections 1547.69, 2923.11, 2923.12, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.124, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.128, 2923.1212, 2923.1213, and 2923.16 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

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

(1) "Firearm," and "handgun," and "qualifies for a license" 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) The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(C)(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) 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.

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

(H)(1) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(a) An officer, agent, or employee of this or any other state or of the United States, or to a law enforcement officer, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in a vessel and acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;

(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in a vessel, and 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 in division (H)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to the person;

(c) Any person legally engaged in hunting.

(2) 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 qualifies for a license or has 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. 2923.11.  As used in sections 2923.11 to 2923.24 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Deadly weapon" means any instrument, device, or thing capable of inflicting death, and designed or specially adapted for use as a weapon, or possessed, carried, or used as a weapon.

(B)(1) "Firearm" means any deadly weapon capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant. "Firearm" includes an unloaded firearm, and any firearm that is inoperable but that can readily be rendered operable.

(2) When determining whether a firearm is capable of expelling or propelling one or more projectiles by the action of an explosive or combustible propellant, the trier of fact may rely upon circumstantial evidence, including, but not limited to, the representations and actions of the individual exercising control over the firearm.

(C) "Handgun" means any of the following:

(1) Any firearm that has a short stock and is designed to be held and fired by the use of a single hand;

(2) Any combination of parts from which a firearm of a type described in division (C)(1) of this section can be assembled.

(D) "Semi-automatic firearm" means any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a single cartridge and automatically chamber a succeeding cartridge ready to fire, with a single function of the trigger.

(E) "Automatic firearm" means any firearm designed or specially adapted to fire a succession of cartridges with a single function of the trigger. "Automatic firearm" also means any semi-automatic firearm designed or specially adapted to fire more than thirty-one cartridges without reloading, other than a firearm chambering only .22 caliber short, long, or long-rifle cartridges.

(F) "Sawed-off firearm" means a shotgun with a barrel less than eighteen inches long, or a rifle with a barrel less than sixteen inches long, or a shotgun or rifle less than twenty-six inches long overall.

(G) "Zip-gun" means any of the following:

(1) Any firearm of crude and extemporized manufacture;

(2) Any device, including without limitation a starter's pistol, that is not designed as a firearm, but that is specially adapted for use as a firearm;

(3) Any industrial tool, signalling device, or safety device, that is not designed as a firearm, but that as designed is capable of use as such, when possessed, carried, or used as a firearm.

(H) "Explosive device" means any device designed or specially adapted to cause physical harm to persons or property by means of an explosion, and consisting of an explosive substance or agency and a means to detonate it. "Explosive device" includes without limitation any bomb, any explosive demolition device, any blasting cap or detonator containing an explosive charge, and any pressure vessel that has been knowingly tampered with or arranged so as to explode.

(I) "Incendiary device" means any firebomb, and any device designed or specially adapted to cause physical harm to persons or property by means of fire, and consisting of an incendiary substance or agency and a means to ignite it.

(J) "Ballistic knife" means a knife with a detachable blade that is propelled by a spring-operated mechanism.

(K) "Dangerous ordnance" means any of the following, except as provided in division (L) of this section:

(1) Any automatic or sawed-off firearm, zip-gun, or ballistic knife;

(2) Any explosive device or incendiary device;

(3) Nitroglycerin, nitrocellulose, nitrostarch, PETN, cyclonite, TNT, picric acid, and other high explosives; amatol, tritonal, tetrytol, pentolite, pecretol, cyclotol, and other high explosive compositions; plastic explosives; dynamite, blasting gelatin, gelatin dynamite, sensitized ammonium nitrate, liquid-oxygen blasting explosives, blasting powder, and other blasting agents; and any other explosive substance having sufficient brisance or power to be particularly suitable for use as a military explosive, or for use in mining, quarrying, excavating, or demolitions;

(4) Any firearm, rocket launcher, mortar, artillery piece, grenade, mine, bomb, torpedo, or similar weapon, designed and manufactured for military purposes, and the ammunition for that weapon;

(5) Any firearm muffler or silencer;

(6) Any combination of parts that is intended by the owner for use in converting any firearm or other device into a dangerous ordnance.

(L) "Dangerous ordnance" does not include any of the following:

(1) Any firearm, including a military weapon and the ammunition for that weapon, and regardless of its actual age, that employs a percussion cap or other obsolete ignition system, or that is designed and safe for use only with black powder;

(2) Any pistol, rifle, or shotgun, designed or suitable for sporting purposes, including a military weapon as issued or as modified, and the ammunition for that weapon, unless the firearm is an automatic or sawed-off firearm;

(3) Any cannon or other artillery piece that, regardless of its actual age, is of a type in accepted use prior to 1887, has no mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, or other system for absorbing recoil and returning the tube into battery without displacing the carriage, and is designed and safe for use only with black powder;

(4) Black powder, priming quills, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used to fire a cannon of a type defined in division (L)(3) of this section during displays, celebrations, organized matches or shoots, and target practice, and smokeless and black powder, primers, and percussion caps possessed and lawfully used as a propellant or ignition device in small-arms or small-arms ammunition;

(5) Dangerous ordnance that is inoperable or inert and cannot readily be rendered operable or activated, and that is kept as a trophy, souvenir, curio, or museum piece.

(6) Any device that is expressly excepted from the definition of a destructive device pursuant to the "Gun Control Act of 1968," 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(4), as amended, and regulations issued under that act.

(M) "Explosive" means any chemical compound, mixture, or device, the primary or common purpose of which is to function by explosion. "Explosive" includes all materials that have been classified as division 1.1, division 1.2, division 1.3, or division 1.4 explosives by the United States department of transportation in its regulations and includes, but is not limited to, dynamite, black powder, pellet powders, initiating explosives, blasting caps, electric blasting caps, safety fuses, fuse igniters, squibs, cordeau detonant fuses, instantaneous fuses, and igniter cords and igniters. "Explosive" does not include "fireworks," as defined in section 3743.01 of the Revised Code, or any substance or material otherwise meeting the definition of explosive set forth in this section that is manufactured, sold, possessed, transported, stored, or used in any activity described in section 3743.80 of the Revised Code, provided the activity is conducted in accordance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including, but not limited to, the provisions of section 3743.80 of the Revised Code and the rules of the fire marshal adopted pursuant to section 3737.82 of the Revised Code.

(N) "Qualifies for a license" means not having a license issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code or a temporary emergency license issued under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code but being legally permitted to purchase a firearm under the laws of this state and the United States and meeting all the requirements for a license to carry a concealed handgun under division (D)(1)(a) to (m) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code. A person meets the requirement for a license that is specified in division (D)(1)(l) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code if the person has a competency certification of any type described in division (B)(3) of that section, regardless of when the certification was issued, and the person has read the pamphlet described in division (B)(4) of that section, regardless of whether the person has submitted to another person certifications of the types described in divisions (B)(3) and (4) of that section. For purposes of this division, a period of time specified in division (D)(1) of that section that is measured from the date of application shall be measured from the current date.

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 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 shall do any of the following:

(1) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, 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;

(2) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, 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 the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(3) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose, if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, 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, pocket, or other place in which the person is carrying it, 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 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;

(4) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and if the person is carrying a concealed handgun, knowingly disregard or fail to comply with any lawful order of any law enforcement officer given while the person is stopped, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.

(C)(1) 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 to a law enforcement officer, who is authorized to carry concealed weapons or dangerous ordnance or is authorized to carry handguns and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;

(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry concealed weapons or dangerous ordnance or is authorized to carry handguns, and 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 in division (C)(B)(1)(b) of this section does not apply to the person;

(c) A person's transportation or storage of a firearm, other than a firearm described in divisions (G) to (M) of section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, in a motor vehicle for any lawful purpose if the firearm is not on the actor's person;

(d) A person's storage or possession of a firearm, other than a firearm described in divisions (G) to (M) of section 2923.11 of the Revised Code, in the actor's own home for any lawful purpose.

(2) Division (A)(2) of this section does not apply to any person who, at the time of the alleged carrying or possession of a handgun, is carrying qualifies for a license or has 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)(C) 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.

(E)(D) No person who is charged with a violation of this section shall be required to obtain a competency certification or 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)(E)(1) Whoever violates this section is guilty of carrying concealed weapons. Except as otherwise provided in this division or division (F)(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 (F)(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 (F)(2) of this section, if 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 competency certification, in the case of a person who qualifies for a license, or 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 (F)(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 (F)(2)(a) nor (b) of this section applies, the offender shall be punished under division (F)(1) of this section.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this division, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (B)(1) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and, in addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for a violation of division (B)(1) of this section, the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. If, at the time of the stop of the offender for a law enforcement purpose that was the basis of the violation, any law enforcement officer involved with the stop had actual knowledge that the offender has been issued a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (B)(1) of this section is a minor misdemeanor, and the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall not be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code.

(4) Carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (B)(2) or (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 (B)(2) or (4) of this section, a felony of the fifth degree. In addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(2) or (4) of this section, the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code.

(5) Carrying concealed weapons in violation of division (B)(3) of this section is a felony of the fifth degree.

(G)(F) 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. If a court orders a law enforcement officer to return a firearm to a person pursuant to the requirement set forth in this division, division (B) of section 2923.163 of the Revised Code applies.

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 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 deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties, a 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 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;

(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry deadly weapons or dangerous ordnance, and 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 in division (D)(1)(b) of this section 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 qualifies for a license or has 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)(6) of section 2923.126 of the Revised Code.

(4) 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 is carrying qualifies for a license or has 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 the driver or passenger in a motor vehicle and is in the school safety zone while immediately in the process of picking up or dropping off a child.

(c) The person is not in violation of section 2923.16 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) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, a judge of a court of record of this state or a magistrate;

(2) A peace officer, officer of a law enforcement agency, or person who is in either of the following categories:

(a) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, 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;

(b) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, a person who is employed in this state, 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 person's duties, and 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 in division (C)(2)(b) of this section does not apply to the person.

(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) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, 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;

(5) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, 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;

(6) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, 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 qualifies for a license or has 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, 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 or person who qualifies for a license 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.

(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) The exemptions described in divisions (C)(1), (2)(a), (2)(b), (4), (5), and (6) of this section do not apply to any judge, magistrate, peace officer, officer of a law enforcement agency, bailiff, deputy bailiff, prosecutor, secret service officer, or other person described in any of those divisions if 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.

(F) 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. 2923.124. As used in sections 2923.124 to 2923.1213 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Application form" means the application form prescribed pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code and includes a copy of that form.

(B) "Competency certification" and "competency certificate" mean a document of the type described in division (B)(3) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Detention facility" has the same meaning as in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code.

(D) "Licensee" means a person to whom a license to carry a concealed handgun has been issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and, except when the context clearly indicates otherwise, includes a person to whom a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun has been issued under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code.

(E) "License fee" or "license renewal fee" means the fee for a license to carry a concealed handgun or the fee to renew that license that is prescribed pursuant to division (C) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code and that is to be paid by an applicant for a license of that type.

(F) "Peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 2935.01 of the Revised Code.

(G) "State correctional institution" has the same meaning as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Valid license" means a license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun that has been issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, that is currently valid, that is not under a suspension under division (A)(1) of section 2923.128 or under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, and that has not been revoked under division (B)(1) of section 2923.128 or under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code.

(I) "Civil protection order" means a protection order issued, or consent agreement approved, under section 2903.214 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code.

(J) "Temporary protection order" means a protection order issued under section 2903.213 or 2919.26 of the Revised Code.

(K) "Protection order issued by a court of another state" has the same meaning as in section 2919.27 of the Revised Code.

(L) "Child day-care center," "type A family day-care home" and "type B family day-care home" have the same meanings as in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code.

(M) "Type C family day-care home" means a family day-care home authorized to provide child care by Sub. H.B. 62 of the 121st general assembly, as amended by Am. Sub. S.B. 160 of the 121st general assembly and Sub. H.B. 407 of the 123rd general assembly.

(N) "Foreign air transportation," "interstate air transportation," and "intrastate air transportation" have the same meanings as in 49 U.S.C. 40102, as now or hereafter amended.

(O) "Commercial motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 4506.25 of the Revised Code.

(P) "Motor carrier enforcement unit" has the same meaning as in section 2923.16 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, as provided in division (I) of this section, 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) or (4) 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, 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 as described in division (D)(2)(a) of this section if all of the following apply:

(a) The applicant is legally living in 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. For purposes of division (D)(1)(a) of this section:

(i) If a person is absent from the United States, from this state, or from a particular county in this state in compliance with military or naval orders as an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States and if prior to leaving this state in compliance with those orders the person was legally living in the United States and was a resident of this state, the person, solely by reason of that absence, shall not be considered to have lost the person's status as living in the United States or the person's residence in this state or in the county in which the person was a resident prior to leaving this state in compliance with those orders, without regard to whether or not the person intends to return to this state or to that county, shall not be considered to have acquired a residence in any other state, and shall not be considered to have become a resident of any other state.

(ii) If a person is present in this state in compliance with military or naval orders as an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States for at least forty-five days, the person shall be considered to have been a resident of this state for that period of at least forty-five days, and, if a person is present in a county of this state in compliance with military or naval orders as an active or reserve member of the armed forces of the United States for at least thirty days, the person shall be considered to have been a resident of that county for that period of 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) 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) 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) 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.

(m) The applicant currently is not subject to a suspension imposed under former division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code of a license to carry a concealed handgun, or a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, that previously was issued to the applicant under this section or section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code.

(2)(a) A license to carry a concealed handgun that a sheriff issues under division (D)(1) of this section on or after March 14, 2007, 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 March 14, 2007, 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 legally living in 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 adjudication pursuant to sections 2151.355 to 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code or a court has granted the applicant relief pursuant to section 2923.14 of the Revised Code from the disability imposed pursuant to section 2923.13 of the Revised Code relative to that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication, the sheriff with whom the application was submitted shall not consider the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication in making a determination under division (D)(1) or (F) of this section or, in relation to an application for a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun submitted under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, in making a determination under division (B)(2) of that section.

(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)(1) A licensee who wishes to renew a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this section shall do so not earlier than ninety days before the expiration date of the license or at any time 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 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, and a nonrefundable license renewal fee unless the fee is waived, and one of the following:

(a) If the licensee previously has not renewed a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this section, proof that the licensee at one time had a competency certification of the type described in division (B)(3) of this section. A valid license or any other previously issued license that has not been revoked is prima-facie evidence that the licensee at one time had a competency certification of the type described in division (B)(3) of this section.

(b) If the licensee previously has renewed a license to carry a concealed handgun issued under this section, a renewed competency certification of the type described in division (G)(4) of this section.

(2) A sheriff shall accept a completed renewal application, the license renewal fee, and information specified in division (F)(1) of this section at the times and in the manners described in division (I) of this section. Upon receipt of a completed renewal application, of certification that the applicant has reread the specified pamphlet prepared by the Ohio peace officer training commission, of proof of a prior competency certification for an initial renewal or of a renewed competency certification for a second or subsequent renewal, and of a 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 not required to meet the requirements of division (D)(1)(l) of this section. A renewed license that is renewed on or after March 14, 2007, shall expire five years after the date of issuance, and a renewed license that is renewed prior to March 14, 2007, shall expire four years after the date of issuance. 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. 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) 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 previously 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 previously has received a competency certification or previously has received a renewed competency certification, 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 test that demonstrates that the person is range competent. In these circumstances, the person is not required to attend the course, class, or program or to take the competency examination described in division (G)(2) of this section for the renewed competency certification in order to be eligible to receive a renewed competency certification. A renewed competency certification issued under this division shall be dated and shall attest that the person has demonstrated range competency.

(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) or (2) 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, and shall provide an application form or renewal application and a copy of the pamphlet described in division (B) of section 109.731 of the Revised Code to any person during at least fifteen hours a week. The sheriff shall post notice of the hours during which the sheriff is available to accept or provide the information described in this division.

(J) When a sheriff issues a renewed license, the sheriff shall offer to return the expired license to the licensee. If the licensee does not take the expired license, the sheriff shall destroy it.

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 March 14, 2007, shall expire five years after the date of issuance, and a license that is so issued prior to March 14, 2007, 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 not knowingly disregard or fail to comply with lawful orders of a 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 licensee's hands in plain sight after 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, after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the licensee while stopped and before the officer leaves. Additionally, if a licensee is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle that is stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for the purposes defined in section 5503.04 of the Revised Code and if the licensee is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the commercial motor vehicle at that time, the licensee shall promptly inform the employee of the unit 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.

If a licensee is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and if the licensee is carrying a concealed handgun at the time the officer approaches, the licensee shall promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the licensee while stopped 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; the licensee shall not knowingly disregard or fail to comply with lawful orders of a law enforcement officer given while the licensee is stopped or knowingly fail to keep the licensee's hands in plain sight after 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 (B) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code, after any law enforcement officer begins approaching the licensee while stopped and before the officer leaves.

(B) A competency certification described in or valid license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code does not authorize the licensee holder of the certification or license 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 competency certification or valid license does not authorize the licensee holder of the certification or license 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 if the licensee's holder's carrying the concealed handgun is 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 premises or open air arena for which a D permit has been issued under Chapter 4303. of the Revised Code if the licensee's holder's carrying the concealed handgun is 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 a government facility of this state or a political subdivision of this state and that is not a building that is used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility for motor vehicles, or rest facility and is not a courthouse or other building or structure in which a courtroom is located that is subject to division (B)(3) of this section;

(10)(6) 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 person who qualifies for a license or who is 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 person who qualifies for a license or who is 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 person who qualifies for a license or who is 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)(a) Except as provided in division (C)(3)(b) of this section, 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. Except as otherwise provided in this division, 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. If a person knowingly violates a posted prohibition of that nature and the posted land or premises primarily was a parking lot or other parking facility, the person is not guilty of criminal trespass in violation of division (A)(4) of section 2911.21 of the Revised Code and instead is subject only to a civil cause of action for trespass based on the violation.

(b) A landlord may not prohibit or restrict a tenant who is a licensee and who on or after the effective date of this amendment September 9, 2008, enters into a rental agreement with the landlord for the use of residential premises, and the tenant's guest while the tenant is present, from lawfully carrying or possessing a handgun on those residential premises.

(c) As used in division (C)(3) of this section:

(i) "Residential premises" has the same meaning as in section 5321.01 of the Revised Code, except "residential premises" does not include a dwelling unit that is owned or operated by a college or university.

(ii) "Landlord," "tenant," and "rental agreement" have the same meanings as in section 5321.01 of the Revised Code.

(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.

(E) 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.

(F)(1) A qualified retired peace officer who possesses a retired peace officer identification card issued pursuant to division (F)(2) of this section and a valid firearms requalification certification issued pursuant to division (F)(3) of this section 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. For purposes of reciprocity with other states, a qualified retired peace officer who possesses a retired peace officer identification card issued pursuant to division (F)(2) of this section and a valid firearms requalification certification issued pursuant to division (F)(3) of this section shall be considered to be a licensee in this state.

(2)(a) Each public agency of this state or of a political subdivision of this state that is served by one or more peace officers shall issue a retired peace officer identification card to any person who retired from service as a peace officer with that agency, if the issuance is in accordance with the agency's policies and procedures and if the person, with respect to the person's service with that agency, satisfies all of the following:

(i) The person retired in good standing from service as a peace officer with the public agency, and the retirement was not for reasons of mental instability.

(ii) Before retiring from service as a peace officer with that agency, the person was authorized to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or prosecution of, or the incarceration of any person for, any violation of law and the person had statutory powers of arrest.

(iii) At the time of the person's retirement as a peace officer with that agency, the person was trained and qualified to carry firearms in the performance of the peace officer's duties.

(iv) Before retiring from service as a peace officer with that agency, the person was regularly employed as a peace officer for an aggregate of fifteen years or more, or, in the alternative, the person retired from service as a peace officer with that agency, after completing any applicable probationary period of that service, due to a service-connected disability, as determined by the agency.

(b) A retired peace officer identification card issued to a person under division (F)(2)(a) of this section shall identify the person by name, contain a photograph of the person, identify the public agency of this state or of the political subdivision of this state from which the person retired as a peace officer and that is issuing the identification card, and specify that the person retired in good standing from service as a peace officer with the issuing public agency and satisfies the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section. In addition to the required content specified in this division, a retired peace officer identification card issued to a person under division (F)(2)(a) of this section may include the firearms requalification certification described in division (F)(3) of this section, and if the identification card includes that certification, the identification card shall serve as the firearms requalification certification for the retired peace officer. If the issuing public agency issues credentials to active law enforcement officers who serve the agency, the agency may comply with division (F)(2)(a) of this section by issuing the same credentials to persons who retired from service as a peace officer with the agency and who satisfy the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section, provided that the credentials so issued to retired peace officers are stamped with the word "RETIRED."

(c) A public agency of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may charge persons who retired from service as a peace officer with the agency a reasonable fee for issuing to the person a retired peace officer identification card pursuant to division (F)(2)(a) of this section.

(3) If a person retired from service as a peace officer with a public agency of this state or of a political subdivision of this state and the person satisfies the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section, the public agency may provide the retired peace officer with the opportunity to attend a firearms requalification program that is approved for purposes of firearms requalification required under section 109.801 of the Revised Code. The retired peace officer may be required to pay the cost of the course.

If a retired peace officer who satisfies the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section attends a firearms requalification program that is approved for purposes of firearms requalification required under section 109.801 of the Revised Code, the retired peace officer's successful completion of the firearms requalification program requalifies the retired peace officer for purposes of division (F) of this section for five years from the date on which the program was successfully completed, and the requalification is valid during that five-year period. If a retired peace officer who satisfies the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section satisfactorily completes such a firearms requalification program, the retired peace officer shall be issued a firearms requalification certification that identifies the retired peace officer by name, identifies the entity that taught the program, specifies that the retired peace officer successfully completed the program, specifies the date on which the course was successfully completed, and specifies that the requalification is valid for five years from that date of successful completion. The firearms requalification certification for a retired peace officer may be included in the retired peace officer identification card issued to the retired peace officer under division (F)(2) of this section.

A retired peace officer who attends a firearms requalification program that is approved for purposes of firearms requalification required under section 109.801 of the Revised Code may be required to pay the cost of the program.

(G) As used in this section:

(1) "Qualified retired peace officer" means a person who satisfies all of the following:

(a) The person satisfies the criteria set forth in divisions (F)(2)(a)(i) to (v) of this section.

(b) The person is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance.

(c) The person is not prohibited by federal law from receiving firearms.

(2) "Retired peace officer identification card" means an identification card that is issued pursuant to division (F)(2) of this section to a person who is a retired peace officer.

(3) "Government facility of this state or a political subdivision of this state" means any of the following:

(a) A building or part of a building that is owned or leased by the government of this state or a political subdivision of this state and where employees of the government of this state or the political subdivision regularly are present for the purpose of performing their official duties as employees of the state or political subdivision;

(b) The office of a deputy registrar serving pursuant to Chapter 4503. of the Revised Code that is used to perform deputy registrar functions.

Sec. 2923.128. (A)(1)(a) 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)(2) of this section upon becoming aware of the arrest, charge, or protection order. Upon suspending the license or temporary emergency license, the sheriff also shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(b) A suspension under division (A)(1)(a) 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)(a) 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.

(2)(a) If a licensee holding a valid license issued under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code is convicted of or pleads guilty to a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(1), (2), or (4) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division (E)(3), (4), or (6) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, except as provided in division (A)(2)(c) of this section and subject to division (C) of this section, 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 conviction or guilty plea. Upon suspending the license or temporary emergency license, the sheriff also shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(b) A suspension under division (A)(2)(a) of this section shall be considered as beginning on the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to the offense described in that division, irrespective of when the sheriff notifies the licensee under division (A)(3) of this section. If the suspension is imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(1) or (2) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division (E)(3) or (4) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, it shall end on the date that is one year after the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to that violation. If the suspension is imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (B)(4) of section 2923.12 of the Revised Code or of division (E)(6) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code, it shall end on the date that is two years after the date that the licensee is convicted of or pleads guilty to that violation. If the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and the license remains valid after the suspension ends as described in this division, when the suspension ends, the sheriff shall return the license to the licensee. If the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and the license expires before the suspension ends as described in this division, or if the licensee's license was issued under section 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, the licensee is not eligible to apply for a new license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code or to renew the license under section 2923.125 of the Revised Code until after the suspension ends as described in this division.

(c) The license of a licensee who is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of division (B)(1) of section 2923.12 or division (E)(3) of section 2923.16 of the Revised Code shall not be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2)(a) of this section if, at the time of the stop of the licensee for a law enforcement purpose, for a traffic stop, or for a purpose defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code that was the basis of the violation, any law enforcement officer involved with the stop or the employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit who made the stop had actual knowledge of the licensee's status as a licensee.

(3) Upon becoming aware of an arrest, charge, or protection order described in division (A)(1)(a) of this section with respect to a licensee who was issued a license under section 2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code, or a conviction of or plea of guilty to a misdemeanor offense described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section with respect to a licensee who was issued a license under either section and with respect to which division (A)(2)(c) of this section does not apply, subject to division (C) of this section, 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. If the suspension is pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, the notice shall identify the date on which the suspension ends.

(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) Subject to division (C) 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) Subject to division (C) 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 residency requirements described in division (D)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code and currently does not meet the 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, subject to division (C) of this section, 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, 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. Upon revoking the license or temporary emergency license, the sheriff also shall comply with division (H) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code.

(C) 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 or becomes aware 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 an offense identified in division (A)(2)(a) or (B)(1)(c) of this section, the sheriff shall not consider that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication as having occurred for purposes of divisions (A)(2), (A)(3), (B)(1), and (B)(2) of this section if a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of the records of that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication pursuant to sections 2151.355 to 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code or a court has granted the licensee relief pursuant to section 2923.14 of the Revised Code from the disability imposed pursuant to section 2923.13 of the Revised Code relative to that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication.

(D) As used in this section, "motor carrier enforcement unit" has the same meaning as in section 2923.16 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2923.1212.  (A) The following persons, boards, and entities, or designees, shall post in the following locations a sign that contains a statement in substantially the following form: "Unless otherwise authorized by law, pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code, no person shall knowingly possess, have under the person's control, convey, or attempt to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance onto these premises.":

(1) The director of public safety or the person or board charged with the erection, maintenance, or repair of police stations, municipal jails, and the municipal courthouse and courtrooms in a conspicuous location at all police stations, municipal jails, and municipal courthouses and courtrooms;

(2) The sheriff or sheriff's designee who has charge of the sheriff's office in a conspicuous location in that office;

(3) The superintendent of the state highway patrol or the superintendent's designee in a conspicuous location at all state highway patrol stations;

(4) Each sheriff, chief of police, or person in charge of every county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or other local or state correctional institution or detention facility within the state, or that person's designee, in a conspicuous location at that facility under that person's charge;

(5) The board of trustees of a regional airport authority, chief administrative officer of an airport facility, or other person in charge of an airport facility in a conspicuous location at each airport facility under that person's control;

(6) The officer or officer's designee who has charge of a courthouse or the building or structure in which a courtroom is located in a conspicuous location in that building or structure;

(7) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation or the superintendent's designee in a conspicuous location in all premises controlled by that bureau;

(8) The owner, administrator, or operator of 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;

(9) The officer of this state or of a political subdivision of this state, or the officer's designee, who has charge of a building that is a government facility of this state or the political subdivision of this state, as defined in section 2923.126 of the Revised Code, and that is not a building that is used primarily as a shelter, restroom, parking facility for motor vehicles, or rest facility and is not a courthouse or other building or structure in which a courtroom is located that is subject to division (B)(3) of that section.

(B) The following boards, bodies, and persons, or designees, shall post in the following locations a sign that contains a statement in substantially the following form: "Unless otherwise authorized by law, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code section 2923.122, no person shall knowingly possess, have under the person's control, convey, or attempt to convey a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance into a school safety zone.":

(1) A board of education of a city, local, exempted village, or joint vocational school district or that board's designee in a conspicuous location in each building and on each parcel of real property owned or controlled by the board;

(2) A governing body of a school for which the state board of education prescribes minimum standards under section 3301.07 of the Revised Code or that body's designee in a conspicuous location in each building and on each parcel of real property owned or controlled by the school;

(3) The principal or chief administrative officer of a nonpublic school in a conspicuous location on property owned or controlled by that nonpublic school.

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 legally living in 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 and to which division (B)(3) of this section does not apply; 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 and to which division (B)(3) of this section does not apply; 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 and to which division (B)(3) of this section does not apply; 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; and is not currently subject to a suspension imposed under division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code of a license to carry a concealed handgun, or a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun, that previously was issued to the person;

(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) and (m) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code apply regarding the person. If the sheriff determines that all of criteria set forth in divisions (D)(1)(a) to (j) and (m) 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.

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.

(3) If a person seeking a temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun 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, and if a court has ordered the sealing or expungement of the records of that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication pursuant to sections 2151.355 to 2151.358 or sections 2953.31 to 2953.36 of the Revised Code or a court has granted the applicant relief pursuant to section 2923.14 of the Revised Code from the disability imposed pursuant to section 2923.13 of the Revised Code relative to that conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication, the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication shall not be relevant for purposes of the sworn affidavit described in division (B)(1)(b) of this section, and the person may complete, and swear to the truth of, the affidavit as if the conviction, guilty plea, or adjudication never had occurred.

(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. 2923.16.  (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 the person may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States, the firearm is unloaded, and the firearm 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) If the firearm is at least twenty-four inches in overall length as measured from the muzzle to the part of the stock furthest from the muzzle and if the barrel is at least eighteen inches in length, either 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, a listed controlled substance, or a listed metabolite of a controlled substance 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 qualifies for a license or has been issued a valid 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 one of the following applies:

(a) The loaded handgun is in a holster on the person's person.

(b) The loaded handgun is in a closed case, bag, box, or other container that is in plain sight and that has a lid, a cover, or a closing mechanism with a zipper, snap, or buckle, which lid, cover, or closing mechanism must be opened for a person to gain access to the handgun.

(c) The loaded handgun is securely encased by being stored in a closed glove compartment or vehicle console or in a case 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, case, bag, box, container, or glove compartment, 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 or is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle that is stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for the purposes defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code, and if the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle in any manner, fail to do any of the following that is applicable:

(a) If the person is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose, 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;

(b) If the person is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for any of the defined purposes, fail to promptly inform the employee of the unit 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 commercial 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 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 the failure is pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law enforcement officer;

(5) If the person, who 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 and who 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, case, bag, box, container, or glove compartment, 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 shall, while stopped, knowingly brandish the loaded handgun in a menacing manner while a law enforcement officer is approaching the vehicle or in a law enforcement officer's presence, knowingly threaten a law enforcement officer with the loaded handgun, knowingly point the loaded handgun at a law enforcement officer, or otherwise knowingly cause a law enforcement officer to believe that the person will cause or attempt to cause physical harm to a law enforcement officer with the handgun, unless the person removes, attempts to remove, grasps, holds, or has contact with the loaded handgun engages in the conduct pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by the law enforcement officer;

(6) 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, including, but not limited to, a specific order to the person to keep the person's hands in plain sight.

(F)(1) Divisions (A), (B), and (C), and (E) of this section do 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, when authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in motor vehicles and acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, or employee's duties;

(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry or have loaded or accessible firearms in motor vehicles, and 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 in division (F)(1)(b) of this section 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) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person if all of the following apply:

(a) The person possesses a valid electric-powered all-purpose vehicle permit issued under section 1533.103 of the Revised Code by the chief of the division of wildlife.

(b) The person discharges a firearm at a wild quadruped or game bird as defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code during the open hunting season for the applicable wild quadruped or game bird.

(c) The person discharges a firearm from a stationary electric-powered all-purpose vehicle as defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code or a motor vehicle that is parked on a road that is owned or administered by the division of wildlife, provided that the road is identified by an electric-powered all-purpose vehicle sign.

(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, a highway, or other public or private property that is 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.

(4) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a person who discharges a firearm in self-defense while in or on a motor vehicle.

(5) 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)(4)(F)(5)(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)(4)(F)(5)(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.

(5)(6) 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 both of the following apply:

(a) The person transporting or possessing the handgun is carrying qualifies for a license or has 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) One of the following applies:

(i) The handgun is in a holster on the person's person.

(ii) The handgun is in a closed case, bag, box, or other container that is in plain sight and that has a lid, a cover, or a closing mechanism with a zipper, snap, or buckle, which lid, cover, or closing mechanism must be opened for a person to gain access to the handgun.

(iii) The handgun is securely encased by being stored in a closed glove compartment or vehicle console or in a case that is locked.

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

(a) The person possesses a valid electric-powered all-purpose vehicle permit issued under section 1533.103 of the Revised Code by the chief of the division of wildlife.

(b) The person is on or in an electric-powered all-purpose vehicle as defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code or a motor vehicle during the open hunting season for a wild quadruped or game bird.

(c) The person is on or in an electric-powered all-purpose vehicle as defined in section 1531.01 of the Revised Code or a motor vehicle that is parked on a road that is owned or administered by the division of wildlife, provided that the road is identified by an electric-powered all-purpose vehicle sign.

(G)(1) The affirmative defenses authorized in divisions (D)(1) and (2) division (C) 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, immediately 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.

(H) No person who is charged with a violation of division (B), (C), or (D) of this section shall be required to obtain a competency certification or 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 or, if the loaded handgun is concealed on the person's person, a felony of the fourth degree. Except as otherwise provided in this division, a violation of division (E)(3) of this section is a misdemeanor of the first degree, and, in addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for the violation, the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. If at the time of the stop of the offender for a traffic stop, for another law enforcement purpose, or for a purpose defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code that was the basis of the violation any law enforcement officer involved with the stop or the employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit who made the stop had actual knowledge of the offender's status as a licensee, a violation of division (E)(3) of this section is a minor misdemeanor, and the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall not be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. 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) or (6) 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) or (6) of this section, a felony of the fifth degree. In addition to any other penalty or sanction imposed for a misdemeanor violation of division (E)(4) or (6) of this section, the offender's license or temporary emergency license to carry a concealed handgun shall be suspended pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2923.128 of the Revised Code. 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. If a court orders a law enforcement officer to return a firearm to a person pursuant to the requirement set forth in this division, division (B) of section 2923.163 of the Revised Code applies.

(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 any of the following:

(a) No ammunition is in the firearm in question, and no ammunition is loaded into a magazine or speed loader that may be used with the firearm in question and that is located anywhere within the vehicle in question, without regard to where ammunition otherwise is located within the vehicle in question.

(b) 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.

(6) "Commercial motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in division (A) of section 4506.25 of the Revised Code.

(7) "Motor carrier enforcement unit" means the motor carrier enforcement unit in the department of public safety, division of state highway patrol, that is created by section 5503.34 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 1547.69, 2923.11, 2923.12, 2923.122, 2923.123, 2923.124, 2923.125, 2923.126, 2923.128, 2923.1212, 2923.1213, and 2923.16 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  Section 2923.16 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Sub. S.B. 184 and Sub. S.B. 209 of the 127th General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composite is the resulting version of the section in effect prior to the effective date of the section as presented in this act.