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Ohio bill would shield dealers, police who accept voluntary firearm storage
Summary
Sen. Koehler introduced S.B. 273, the "Keep Them Safe Act," to authorize voluntary firearm storage with federally licensed dealers or law enforcement and to provide civil immunity for those entities except in cases of malicious withholding.
Senator Koehler introduced Senate Bill 273 in the Ohio General Assembly, titled the Keep Them Safe Act, to create a statutory framework for the voluntary storage of firearms with federally licensed firearms dealers or with law enforcement agencies and to grant limited civil immunity to those entities for harms related to that storage. The measure defines who may request storage, directs the attorney general to provide application forms and guidance, and preserves exceptions to return when state or federal law would prohibit it.
The bill would let any person who holds legal title to a firearm or who has authority from the title holder place a firearm in storage with a federally licensed firearms dealer or with a law enforcement agency "upon application and agreement." The attorney general is instructed to publish a standardized application form and proposed model policies and procedures on the attorney general's website to assist dealers and agencies.
Under the proposal, a federally licensed firearms dealer that accepts a firearm for storage must comply with applicable federal laws on acquisition, transfer and disposition, cited in the bill as 18 U.S.C. 921 et seq. and 26 U.S.C. 53 et seq. The dealer may set its own policies for accepting and returning firearms and must provide those policies to a person placing a firearm in storage. Both dealers and law enforcement agencies are barred from returning a firearm if doing so would violate state or federal law.
The bill explicitly says neither a federally licensed firearms dealer nor a law enforcement agency is required to accept firearms for storage and that neither is required to provide storage free of charge. It also authorizes law enforcement agencies to adopt their own policies governing the return of stored firearms.
S.B. 273 offers civil immunity to a federally licensed firearms dealer for any injury, death or property loss allegedly caused by the acceptance, storage or return of a firearm, except where the dealer "acts with malicious purpose or intent to withhold the return of the firearm without legal cause." The bill similarly references immunity for law enforcement agencies and political subdivisions to the extent provided by Chapter 2744 of the Revised Code.
If a court finds that a dealer or law enforcement agency withheld a firearm without legal cause after a demand for return, the bill requires the court to award reasonable costs and attorney fees to the person who sought the court order, in addition to any other relief the court grants.
The act defines "legal cause" to include any legal authority that would prohibit receiving or possessing a firearm, and it cites, as examples, disability under section 2923.13 of the Revised Code and disqualifications under 18 U.S.C. 922(g). The bill also cross-references the meaning of "federally licensed firearms dealer" to section 5502.63 of the Revised Code and defines "law enforcement agency" to include police departments, sheriff's offices and the State Highway Patrol.
The bill is introduced as drafted; the text is labeled "As Introduced" in the bill packet and does not indicate whether it has received committee referral or a vote. It would become known as the Keep Them Safe Act if enacted.
