Pink Rose Society

Guns and Firearms Policy in Ohio

Ohio's elected branches responded to a mass shooting in one of its own cities by loosening gun law and stripping cities of the power to set stricter local rules. Heading into 2026, the only real checks left on that trajectory are the governor's veto and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Five years of deregulation

  • Stand Your Ground (SB 175, 2021) removed the duty to retreat anywhere a person is lawfully present.
  • Permitless carry (SB 215, 2022) let qualifying adults carry concealed with no permit and no training, and repealed the duty to tell police you are armed.
  • Arming teachers (HB 99, 2022) capped required training for armed school staff at 24 hours — passed specifically to override a 2021 Ohio Supreme Court ruling that the Madison district had armed staff with too little training.

The reform that didn't happen

After the August 2019 Dayton mass shooting, crowds chanted "Do something!" at Mike DeWine. He proposed near-universal background checks and a "red flag" protection order — then dropped both from the bill that followed, which never passed. Ohio produced no statewide gun-safety law; it enacted Stand Your Ground and permitless carry instead.

The city fights — now the live question

Ohio's preemption law bars cities from regulating firearms. When Columbus passed a magazine limit and a negligent-storage rule in 2022, a court let them take effect. On April 1, 2026 the Ohio Supreme Court ruled 5–2 (with Jennifer Brunner dissenting) that the case can be appealed, sending the merits back to a lower court. Whether any Ohio city can regulate guns at all is therefore still undecided — and turns on the court's composition.

Why it matters in 2026

  • Ohio Supreme Court. The two seats on the ballot shape the eventual merits ruling on local gun ordinances — the single most consequential lever here.
  • Governor. Vivek Ramaswamy would sign essentially any deregulation the Ohio General Assembly sends; Amy Acton would restore the veto (though a supermajority can override) (Ohio 2026 Governor Race).
  • Attorney General. The office defends preemption in the Columbus and Cincinnati cases; the Faber–Kulewicz race decides who argues it.
  • Legislature. GOP supermajorities keep every safety bill stalled and every deregulation bill moving.

Sources