House Bill 48 passed the Ohio House last November and moved to the Ohio Senate. The Senate held just one hearing for nearly a year, and now, has scheduled two hearings on the bill this week in the Senate Government Oversight & Accountability Committee. Given that this legislation is being taken up during the "lame duck" session, we know Senators are serious about passing the bill.

We still have an opportunity to express opposition to the Senate. Please contact your State Senator using our form to tell them you oppose this bill. See below for more information about the bill.

INFO ON HB 48: HB 48 reduces the offense for unauthorized carrying of a concealed handgun on the premises of an institution of higher education to a minor misdemeanor if the offender produces a valid conceal/carry license within ten days of arrest.

The bill would allow Ohio colleges and universities to develop a policy for allowing conceal/carry of handguns on campus and would grant institutions immunity from liability caused by a conceal/carry licensee bringing a gun on to campus.

The Ohio Conference AAUP consistently has opposed any measures that would open the door for conceal/carry on campuses. In fact, at our Annual Meeting two weekends ago, the assembly passed the following resolution:

Resolution #3 – Opposition to House Bill 48

Whereas the Ohio Conference AAUP has a commitment to the safety and welfare of its members and their students, and to the educational missions of its members' institutions;

Whereas Ohio House Bill 48 would open the door for conceal/carry permit holders to carry their weapons onto public and private college campuses;

Whereas the National AAUP passed a resolution in 2008 which stated:

College and universities closely control firearms and prohibit conceals guns on their campuses because they regard the presence of weapons as incompatible with their educational missions. The Ninety-fourth Annual Meeting of the American Association of University Professors endorses the reliance of colleges and universities on trained and equipped professional law-enforcement personnel to respond to emergency incidents. We call upon state legislative bodies to refrain from interfering with decisions that are properly the responsibility of the academic community.

Be it resolved that the Ohio Conference AAUP opposes Ohio House Bill 48 and other efforts that would allow firearms to be carried onto college campuses.

In addition, see this release from National AAUP: http://www.aaup.org/news/campus-carry-laws.