A Cleveland, Ohio, gun control package was struck down by the Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals Thursday. The package of 11 laws, passed by the City Council in 2015 after a spate of criminal violence, contained several onerous provisions, such as a stricter definition of “automatic weapons”; a prohibition against firing a gun within 500 feet of a park, playground or recreation center; the requirement that private individuals report the sale of firearms to the city (thus creating a de facto firearms registry); and more.
The gun control package was challenged almost immediately after its passage by Ohioans for Concealed Carry, who claimed the laws violated state pre-emption. The appellate judges agreed, striking all but two of the laws.
“The city may not enact ordinances that conflict with Ohio’s firearm ownership possession laws, which are intended to provide uniformity throughout the state,” Judge Sean Gallagher wrote in the panel’s opinion. “If individuals on either side of the divide are unhappy with the law as written, the remedy lies with the Ohio legislature.”
