Hamilton County Sheriff Urges DeWine to Reject Looser Gun Bill SB 214

Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey urged Gov. Mike DeWine on Nov. 13 to reject Senate Bill 214, legislation that would loosen Ohio’s restrictions on short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and firearm suppressors, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

“I am absolutely opposed to any legislation that makes it easier for dangerous weapons to fall into the wrong hands,” McGuffey said at a Nov. 13 press conference, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. “I urge everyone to contact Governor DeWine and oppose this legislation,” she told The Enquirer.

Senate Bill 214 would remove those weapons from Ohio’s definition of “dangerous ordnance,” a classification that also covers items such as nitroglycerin, rocket launchers, grenades and torpedoes, The Enquirer reported. The bill has passed both chambers of the General Assembly and has been sent to the governor.

McGuffey said the change would allow private sellers to sell to private buyers at gun shows, which creates “a great difficulty in knowing who those weapons are being used by,” according to The Enquirer. She also argued that Ohio law already works: “Ohio already provides a lawful pathway for eligible individuals to possess these items,” McGuffey said, in comments reported by The Enquirer.

The sheriff took direct aim at the bill’s central defense. “The Ohio Senate defends this bill by saying that it mirrors the federal legislation surrounding mufflers and suppressors — however, I want to emphasize to everyone that the federal legislation does not include sawed-off shotguns and short-barreled rifles,” McGuffey said, according to The Enquirer.

What we know — and what we’re still waiting on

What is confirmed, from The Cincinnati Enquirer’s reporting: SB 214 passed both the Ohio House and Senate and awaits the governor’s decision; it would remove short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns and suppressors from the dangerous-ordnance definition; and Ohioans would still have to pass a background check and complete the standard firearm purchasing form to buy a suppressor or short-barreled firearm from a licensed dealer. What is not yet known: whether DeWine will sign or veto the bill, and when he will act.

The bill exists because of a mismatch between federal and state law. In October, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced that individuals no longer had to wait for approval, register or pay a $200 tax on short-barreled weapons and suppressors, The Enquirer reported. That federal shift did not override Ohio law, which continued to tie legal possession of certain short-barreled firearms and suppressors to the federal registration requirements the ATF was no longer enforcing.

In October, Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson urged state lawmakers to address the discrepancy, warning that otherwise law-abiding gun owners could unknowingly violate state law, according to The Enquirer. Senate Bill 214 would resolve the conflict by removing the weapons from Ohio’s dangerous-ordnance classification rather than continuing to rely on federal registration, The Enquirer reported.

That puts the decision squarely in DeWine’s hands, with law enforcement on both sides of the argument now on the record: the state’s attorney general pressed lawmakers to fix the state-federal conflict, while the sheriff of Ohio’s third-most-populous county is publicly campaigning for a veto. For Hamilton County residents, the practical effect of the bill would be felt at gun counters and gun shows, where the sheriff says private-sale transfers of these weapons would become harder to trace.

The dispute, as both sides framed it this fall, is narrower than the headlines suggest. Supporters, following Attorney General Wilson’s October warning as reported by The Enquirer, say the bill simply stops Ohio law from punishing people for conduct the federal government no longer regulates. McGuffey’s objection, as she stated it to The Enquirer, is that the state bill reaches further than the federal change — sweeping in sawed-off shotguns and short-barreled rifles that the federal shift never covered — and that it weakens the registration trail investigators use after a crime.

Related coverage: Ohio officials are also debating police technology in the region — see Dayton Nears Hiring Outside Law Firm to Probe Flock Camera Misuse. Another bill on the governor’s desk this month is covered in Ohio Senate Passes Bill Making Nov. 5 Roy Rogers Day, Sends It to DeWine.

What happens next: the bill heads to Gov. Mike DeWine for his consideration, The Enquirer reported. His signature would make the change law; a veto would send the question back to the General Assembly, where lawmakers could attempt an override. McGuffey’s public campaign means the governor’s decision — whenever it comes — will land in the middle of an active, on-the-record fight between two of Ohio’s top law-enforcement voices.

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