To amend section 109.52 and to enact sections 109.5731 and 2923.171 of the Revised Code to prohibit a person from knowingly acquiring, possessing, carrying, or using an assault weapon and to require the Attorney General to prepare for the establishment of a firearm and ammunition transactions database.

Section 1. That section 109.52 be amended and sections 109.5731 and 2923.171 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 109.52.  The bureau of criminal identification and investigation may operate and maintain a criminal analysis laboratory and mobile units thereof, create a staff of investigators and technicians skilled in the solution and control of crimes and criminal activity, keep statistics and other necessary data, maintain a firearm and ammunition transactions database, assist in the prevention of crime, and engage in such other activities as will aid law enforcement officers in solving crimes and controlling criminal activity.

Sec. 109.5731. The attorney general shall prepare for the establishment and operation of a firearm and ammunition transactions database that will be maintained by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation. The attorney general shall establish the database in conformity with the requirements of any act that is enacted by the general assembly.

Sec. 2923.171.  (A) No person shall knowingly possess or acquire any assault weapon.

(B) Division (A) of this section does not apply to:

(1) Officers, agents, or employees of this or any other state or the United States, members of the armed forces of the United States or the organized militia of this or any other state, and law enforcement officers to the extent that the officer, agent, employee, or member is authorized to possess or acquire an assault weapon and is acting within the scope of the officer's, agent's, employee's, or member's duties;

(2) A manufacturer or importer of assault weapons that is licensed as a licensed manufacturer or licensed importer under the "Gun Control Act of 1968," 82 Stat. 1213, 18 U.S.C. 1921 et seq., and any amendments or additions thereto or reenactments thereof;

(3) Carriers, warehouses, and others engaged in the business of transporting or storing firearms for hire, with respect to assault weapons lawfully transported or stored in the usual course of their business and in compliance with the laws of this state and applicable federal law.

(C) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is guilty of unlawful possession of an assault weapon, a felony of the fifth degree.

(D) As used in this section, "assault weapon" means an automatic firearm that has not been rendered permanently inoperable, a semi-automatic firearm capable of accepting a detachable magazine with the capacity to accept ten or more cartridges, and a semi-automatic firearm with a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept ten or more cartridges.

Section 2.  That existing section 109.52 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.