The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gunset Training Group or its affiliates.
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Author’s note: this is part 13 in a series of educational posts I am going to write about State of Ohio and federal weapon and firearm laws. Part 1 can be found here. There is a list of the previous articles at the bottom (or side, depending on your device) of the page. This post does not offer legal advice. I am not a lawyer. I am a Certified Firearm Specialist through the International Firearm Specialist Academy and the State of Ohio certifies me to teach Ohio’s weapon laws in the Basic Police Academy. I’ve spent quite a bit of time studying federal law and Ohio’s laws in 30 years on the job. More than anything, this series of posts is an attempt to educate people on portions of the law and to show them where they can find the laws so that they can educate themselves further. Please consult with an attorney who specializes in firearms and weapons law if you have questions that require a legal opinion. If you are a law enforcement officer, check with your jurisdiction’s legal counsel for guidance. And remember, not all attorneys are created equal. And keep in mind that laws, interpretations of laws and definitions change. So what was current at the time I published this article may have changed over time.
I’m not going to spend time talking about Ohio Revised Code 2923.124 through .129 other than to say two things – first, these sections deal with concealed handgun licenses and duties of licensed individuals. I’ve covered the really important parts of the duties section in other articles. If you want to know how to deal with license issues (issuance, denials, revocations and suspensions), these are the sections that apply and you can look for the information there. But, I’d suggest getting a good weapon law attorney if you’re denied, revoked or suspended. Second, those sections have some information on immunity from liability. I’ll talk more about liability later in the article. On to dealing with anti-2A employers.
The are many businesses that prohibit weapons in the workplace. Some of you probably work for one of them. When Ohio’s concealed handgun license law took effect, private businesses were legally allowed to prohibit their employees from carrying their pistols anywhere on business property and in business vehicles. Violation of these rules could (and did) cost people their jobs. Take, for example, the case of Gary Plona. In 2006 (2 years after the CCW law went into effect), Mr. Plona was a UPS employee. UPS policy prohibited employees from having firearms on company property. Through an interesting series of events (click the link above to read about it), UPS found out Mr. Plona had an unloaded .22 pistol in his car and fired him. Mr. Plona sued UPS, saying that company policy violated his right to bear arms under Article 1, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution. To make a long story short, Mr. Plona lost the case and his job.
Fast forward a few years to 2017. Cases like Mr. Plona’s finally caused the Legislature to address the issue in Senate Bill 199 and House Bill 49, which gave us Ohio Revised Code 2923.1210. 1210 did several things. First, it prohibits employers from banning employees who have a CHL or are a qualifying adult from having firearms in their vehicles under these circumstances:
- The vehicle is otherwise parked where it is allowed to park
- The firearm and all ammo stay in the vehicle with the employee, or if the employee exits the vehicle, the gun and all ammo are locked up within the trunk, glove box, or other enclosed compartment or container within or on the person’s privately owned motor vehicle
Second, 1210 puts the employer on notice that violating this statute gives the employee the right to sue them civilly.
And third, it actually provides the business a measure of immunity from liability for anything bad that happens with the employee’s firearm (unless the business was somehow involved in a nefarious purpose).
While we’re talking about immunity take a look at the picture above. This is from 2923.126(C)(2)(a). It’s another section of the law that grants immunity to employers/businesses who allow legally armed people to carry into/on their property.
The last thing I want to talk about in this article deals with immunity from civil suits that a victim has if they are sued by the suspect or his estate after the victim defended themselves. Watch the video above and then come back.
As you saw in the video, the family was very upset their loved one was killed when he tried to rob the Dollar General. Let’s say they were to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Dollar General employee who shot the suspect in self defense. What happens? Well, this is when you would want to talk to a lawyer about Ohio Revised Code 2307.60. 2307.60 became law in 2008, four years after Ohio implemented the Concealed Handgun License laws. 2307.60 does a couple of things. It codifies a victim’s right to sue the offender who injured them civilly, whether or not a criminal charge is filed. But more importantly for this discussion, 2307.60 provides a measure of protection to victims of crime by statutorily prohibiting an offender (or his estate if the suspect is killed) from successfully suing the victim in certain situations.
Reading the statute can make your eyes glaze over, so let me simplify it for you. If a bad guy tries to rob/assault/kill you, you defend yourself and in the course of defending yourself the bad guy is injured or killed you are immune from liability as long as certain conditions are met.
First, the offenders conduct had to be the “proximate cause” of the offender’s injury or death. What does that mean? Well, if you sit as a juror in a civil case that goes to trial, before you deliberate the judge will read you this definition of “proximate cause” from the Ohio Jury Instructions (OJI):
“(Proximate) (Direct) cause’ is an act or failure to act that in the natural and continuous sequence directly produced the (injury) (death) (damages) and without which the (injury)(death) (damages) would not have occurred.”
Proximate cause is easy in most self-defense cases – offender threatened me with a knife, I defended myself, drew my pistol and shot him, causing injury or death. If the offender had not threatened me with a knife, he would not have been injured or killed.
Second, the offender must have been in the process of committing/attempting to commit a felony, or committing/attempting to commit a misdemeanor crime of violence. The offender need not be criminally charged (since they may be dead), their conduct just needs to meet the elements of one of these offenses.
Third, the offender’s conduct could also be directed against a third party or the victim’s residence.
And fourth, this immunity only applies if the offender, their representative or their estate sues you. If the person suing you was an innocent bystander (meaning you shot at the offender, missed and struck some person standing behind them), the immunity does not apply.
This last part of the law would have come into play had this Eastern Market (Detroit area) self-defense shooting happened in Ohio. The victim legally used deadly force to defend himself and shot his would-be attacker. However, after going through the attacker’s head the bullet struck another, innocent, man in the head. One bullet killed both men. Under Ohio law, the innocent man’s family would be able to sue the victim. And who knows what the outcome of a trial would be.
I cannot stress this enough, if you are going to carry a gun for self-defense you have to have a plan for legal issues that arise. Skip buying the next gun on your list and spend that money on a consultation visit with a good attorney. It will be worth every penny in the long run.