Bb, Pellet, Airsoft Guns

[Farrel]

If a person in ohio is convicted of a crime that triggers a federal firearm disability, but not a state disability can they own a bb, pellet, or airsoft guns?

[Ros]

Linda,

Thanks for asking. I found this information for your review. It covers both State & Federal firearm disability laws. I hope you find the answer:   

Default Re: ohio gun laws for felons

Weapons Disabilities

Guidance for OPOTC-Certified Commanders

State Weapons Disabilities

Ohio Revised Code(“R.C.”) Section 2923.13 creates a state weapons disability for anyone who(1) is a fugitive from justice;(2) is under indictment for or has been convicted of any felony offense of violence;[1](3) 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;(4) is under indictment for or has been convicted of any offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse;(5) has been adjudicated a delinquent child for the commission of an offense that, if committed by an adult, would have been an offense involving the illegal possession, use, sale, administration, distribution, or trafficking in any drug of abuse;(6) is drug dependent, in danger of drug dependence, or a chronic alcoholic; or(7) is under adjudication of mental incompetence, has been adjudicated as a mental defective, has been committed to a mental institution, has been found by a court to be a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order,[2] or is an involuntary patient other than one who is a patient only for purposes of observation.[3] State weapons disabilities can be relieved in one of two ways: by court order or by an unconditional pardon from the Governor. The procedures and effect are quite different, and are summarized as follows:

Court Order: In cases where a state weapons disability stems from indictment, conviction, or adjudication of a felony offense of violence or drug offense under R.C. 2923.13(A)(2) or(3), relief from the disability may be sought pursuant to R.C. 2923.14. This statutory procedure is the exclusive remedy by which a court can remove a state weapons disability.[4] In other words, a court order sealing the record of conviction pursuant to R.C. 2953.32(oftentimes referred to as an “expungement”) is sufficient to relieve a defendant of a weapons disability imposed by R.C. 2923.13. To seek relief of a disability pursuant to R.C. 2923.14, a person must apply to the court of common pleas in the county in which he or she resides at the time of application. This is true even if the weapons disability resulted from adjudication as a delinquent child in juvenile court.[5] The court will then conduct a hearing and determine whether the disability shall be lifted.

As an example, suppose a student’s criminal background check reveals a prior conviction for misdemeanor drug possession under R.C. 2925.11 in the Franklin County Municipal Court, but the student now resides in Hamilton County. The student is prohibited from acquiring, having, carrying or using a firearm as provided in R.C. 2923.13(A)(3). The OPOTC will notify the student and the school commander that an apparent weapons disability exists, which the student must resolve prior to participating in any portion of firearms training in any OPOTC-approved training program. The student would have to apply to the common pleas court in his or her county of residence, in this case Hamilton County, and request a court order to remove the disability pursuant to R.C. 2923.14. After the hearing, if the court granted the student’s request, the student would forward a copy of the court’s journal entry to the OPOTC. The Commission would then issue a letter to the student and school commander indicating that the apparent weapons disability had been resolved, permitting the student to participate in firearms training.

The removal of a weapons disability pursuant to R.C. 2923.14 will have no effect on the underlying conviction or adjudication. A student may, at his or her option, seek to have the record of conviction sealed pursuant to R.C. 2953.32(R.C. 2151.358 if it was a juvenile court adjudication). In such a case, the student would petition the court that presided over the case resulting in the conviction or adjudication(e.g. the Franklin County Municipal Court in the example cited above),which may be different than the court that can remove the weapons disability. The sealing of the record does not remove the student’s conviction or adjudication; it merely prohibits the general public from being able to view it. Accordingly, both the OPOTC and law enforcement agencies acting as prospective employers will still have access to the record of conviction.[6] It should be noted that if the student desires to enroll in peace officer basic training and has a felony conviction, R.C. 109.77(E)(3) prohibits the student from being awarded a peace officer basic training certificate.

This is true even if the record of conviction has been sealed.[7] In such case, the student’s only recourse is to seek an unconditional pardon from the Governor, as discussed below. Governor’s Pardon: Section 11, Article III of the Ohio Constitution gives the Governor of Ohio the authority to grant pardons. “An unconditional pardon relieves the person to whom it is granted of all disabilities arising out of the conviction or convictions from which it is granted.”[8] Thus, an unconditional pardon will not only relieve a state weapons disability, it removes all consequences of the underlying conviction. As indicated above, R.C. 109.77(E)(3) disqualifies a student who has a felony conviction from becoming a peace officer; an unconditional pardon is necessary to remove this disqualification. As an example, suppose the criminal background check of a student intending to enroll in peace officer basic training reveals a prior conviction for Felonious Assault under R.C. 2903.11, a felony offense of violence as defined in R.C. 2901.01(A)(9). Such a conviction creates both a state and a federal weapons disability(see Federal Weapons Disabilities below). The student could apply to the common pleas court in his or her county of residence to remove the state weapons disability pursuant to R.C. 2923.14. However, R.C. 109.77(E)(3) would still disqualify the student, as a convicted felon, from obtaining a peace officer basic training certificate. Thus, to be eligible for training, the student would have to obtain an unconditional pardon from the Governor, which would also resolve the state weapons disability. Upon receiving a copy of the Governor’s warrant, the Commission would notify the student and school commander that the state weapons disability and/or disqualifying felony conviction had been resolved, permitting the student to enroll and/or participate in basic training.

Federal Weapons Disabilities

Section 922(g), Title 18, of the United States Code(“U.S.C.”) creates a federal weapons disability for anyone who(1) is under indictment for, or has been convicted in any court of, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;(2) is a fugitive from justice;(3) is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance;(4) has been adjudicated as a mental defective or has been committed to any mental institution;(5) being an alien, is illegally or unlawfully in the United States;(6) has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions;(7) having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his citizenship;(8) is subject to a court order restraining such person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of such person or child of such intimate partner or person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; or(9) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. It should be noted that in many respects, federal weapons disabilities are very similar to Ohio’s. Perhaps the most significant difference is that federal law imposes a weapons disability for misdemeanor domestic violence convictions, which are defined at 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33). As a general rule, relief from federal weapons disabilities can be sought from the United States Attorney General pursuant to 18U.S.C. 925(c). However, in cases of a state misdemeanor domestic violence conviction, the federal statutory definition of “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” excludes any conviction that “has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored.”[9] In other words, an order from an Ohio court sealing the record of conviction pursuant to R.C. 2953.32, while it does not technically “relieve” the federal disability [which only the United States Attorney General can do pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 925(c)], it does exclude the domestic violence conviction from being considered as a “conviction” that would trigger a federal weapons disability. Similarly, conviction of a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year”(i.e. a felony conviction in Ohio) does not count as a “conviction” if it has been “expunged, or set aside or [if the] person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored.”[10] Thus, in effect, an expungement from an Ohio state court does remove the federal domestic violence and felony conviction weapons disabilities. Alternatively, an unconditional pardon yields the same result.

As an example of a federal weapons disability, suppose a student’s criminal background check reveals a prior conviction for misdemeanor Domestic Violence under R.C. 2919.25. Such a conviction does not create a state weapons disability under R.C. 2923.13. However, a federal weapons disability is imposed by 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9). The student would need to petition the court in which he or she was convicted of the domestic violence offense for an order sealing the record of conviction pursuant to R.C. 2953.32. Such an order would exclude the conviction from the federal statutory definition of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, and hence the federal weapons disability would no longer apply. The student would need to forward a copy of the court’s order sealing the record of conviction to the OPOTC. The Commission would then notify the student and school commander that the disability had been resolved. As an alternative to the expungement under R.C. 2953.32, the student could petition the Governor for an unconditional pardon. As previously mentioned, since Ohio law does not recognize a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction as an offense that would trigger a state weapons disability under R.C. 2923.13, an application to the common pleas court pursuant to R.C. 2923.14 is not necessary.

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[1] R.C. 2901.01(A)(9)

[2] R.C. 5122.01(B)

[3] R.C. 2923.13(A)

[4] State v. Hendren, 9thDist. No. 22464, 2005-Ohio-2814