As Introduced
136th General Assembly
Regular Session S. B. No. 98
2025-2026
Senators Craig, Weinstein
A B I L L
To amend sections 2923.13 and 2923.14 of the
Revised Code to prohibit a person who is charged
with or has been convicted of first degree
misdemeanor domestic violence from possessing a
firearm or dangerous ordnance.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 2923.13 and 2923.14 of the
Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2923.13. (A) Unless relieved from disability under
operation of law or legal process, no person shall knowingly
acquire, have, carry, or use any firearm or dangerous ordnance,
if any of the following apply:
(1) The person is a fugitive from justice.
(2) The person is under indictment for or has been
convicted of any felony offense of violence or has been
adjudicated a delinquent child for the commission of an offense
that, if committed by an adult, would have been a felony offense
of violence.
(3) The person is under indictment for or has been
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As Introduced
convicted of any felony offense involving the illegal
possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or
trafficking in any drug of abuse or has been adjudicated a
delinquent child for the commission of an offense that, if
committed by an adult, would have been a felony offense
involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration,
distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse.
(4) The person has a drug dependency, is in danger of drug
dependence, or has chronic alcoholism.
(5) The person is under adjudication of mental
incompetence, has been committed to a mental institution, has
been found by a court to be a person with a mental illness
subject to court order, or is an involuntary patient other than
one who is a patient only for purposes of observation. As used
in this division, "person with a mental illness subject to court
order" and "patient" have the same meanings as in section
5122.01 of the Revised Code.
(6) The person is charged with or has been convicted of a
violation of section 2919.25 of the Revised Code that is a
misdemeanor of the first degree.
(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of having
weapons while under disability, a felony of the third degree.
(C) For the purposes of this section, "under operation of
law or legal process" shall not itself include mere completion,
termination, or expiration of a sentence imposed as a result of
a criminal conviction.
Sec. 2923.14. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in
division (A)(2) of this section, any person who is prohibited
from acquiring, having, carrying, or using firearms may apply to
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the court of common pleas in the county in which the person
resides for relief from such prohibition.
(2) Division (A)(1) of this section does not apply to a
person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a
violation of section 2923.132 of the Revised Code or to a person
who, two or more times, has been convicted of or pleaded guilty
to a felony and a specification of the type described in section
2941.141, 2941.144, 2941.145, 2941.146, 2941.1412, or 2941.1424
of the Revised Code.
(B) The application shall recite the following:
(1) All indictments, convictions, or adjudications upon
which the applicant's disability is based, the sentence imposed
and served, and any release granted under a community control
sanction, post-release control sanction, or parole, any partial
or conditional pardon granted, or other disposition of each
case, or, if the disability is based upon a factor other than an
indictment, a conviction, or an adjudication, the factor upon
which the disability is based and all details related to that
factor;
(2) Facts showing the applicant to be a fit subject for
relief under this section.
(C) A copy of the application shall be served on the
county prosecutor. The county prosecutor shall cause the matter
to be investigated and shall raise before the court any
objections to granting relief that the investigation reveals.
(D) Upon hearing, the court may grant the applicant relief
pursuant to this section, if all of the following apply:
(1) One of the following applies:
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(a) If the disability is based upon an indictment, a
conviction, or an adjudication, the applicant has been fully
discharged from imprisonment, community control, post-release
control, and parole, or, if the applicant is under indictment,
has been released on bail or recognizance.
(b) If the disability is based upon a factor other than an
indictment, a conviction, or an adjudication, that factor no
longer is applicable to the applicant.
(2) The applicant has led a law-abiding life since
discharge or release, and appears likely to continue to do so.
(3) The applicant is not otherwise prohibited by law from
acquiring, having, or using firearms.
(E) Costs of the proceeding shall be charged as in other
civil cases, and taxed to the applicant.
(F) Relief from disability granted pursuant to this
section restores the applicant to all civil firearm rights to
the full extent enjoyed by any citizen, and is subject to the
following conditions:
(1) Applies only with respect to indictments, convictions,
or adjudications, or to the other factor, recited in the
application as the basis for the applicant's disability;
(2) Applies only with respect to firearms lawfully
acquired, possessed, carried, or used by the applicant;
(3) May be revoked by the court at any time for good cause
shown and upon notice to the applicant;
(4) Is automatically void upon commission by the applicant
of any offense set forth in division (A)(2) or, (3), or (6) of
section 2923.13 of the Revised Code, or upon the applicant's
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becoming one of the class of persons named in division (A)(1),
(4), or (5) of that section.
(G) As used in this section:
(1) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as
in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Post-release control" and "post-release control
sanction" have the same meanings as in section 2967.01 of the
Revised Code.
Section 2. That existing sections 2923.13 and 2923.14 of
the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
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