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Witnesses, lawmakers debate procedural fixes and record-sealing in proposed Ohio gun-rights restoration bill
Summary
At a House Judiciary Committee second hearing on House Bill 5, proponents described the measure as a narrow, technical fix to restore firearms rights for some people with low-level felony convictions; legislators pressed witnesses on public-safety evidence, record-sealing and how the bill would interact with concealed-carry and federal law.
Rob Sexton, a Buckeye Firearms Association spokesman, and attorney Derek DeBross testified at a second hearing of the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 5, which backers said would streamline restoration of firearms rights for people with low-level felony convictions who have been law-abiding for five years.
Sexton said the bill “provides a clear pathway for those who have paid their debt and live clean for 5 years or more to see their rights restored,” telling the committee the measure strikes “an appropriate balance” between punishing repeat violent offenders and restoring rights to rehabilitated people. He added the bill offers a procedural fix for applicants who no longer reside in Ohio, allowing petitions in either the county of conviction or the county of current residence when the petitioner lives out of…
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