Ohio is not a Second Amendment sanctuary state. No law giving Ohio that designation has been enacted, though lawmakers have tried three sessions in a row and a new attempt, House Bill 382, is pending in the legislature. A handful of Ohio counties have passed their own sanctuary resolutions, but those are symbolic statements and do not alter state or federal law.
What a Second Amendment Sanctuary Actually Is
The phrase has no formal legal definition. It describes jurisdictions that declare opposition to gun-control laws they consider unconstitutional and pledge to limit cooperation with enforcement of those laws. The declarations fall into two groups. Some are purely political statements. Others direct local agencies not to spend money or personnel enforcing specific firearms regulations, such as universal background checks, assault weapons bans, or red flag laws (court orders temporarily removing firearms from people deemed dangerous).
At the state level, “Second Amendment Preservation Acts” go further. They try to bar state and local officers from enforcing federal gun regulations the state deems unconstitutional, often backed by financial penalties against agencies that cooperate anyway. These are the versions that have run into serious trouble in court.
The Pending Ohio Bill: House Bill 382
Ohio’s current attempt is House Bill 382, titled the “Second Amendment Protection Act,” reintroduced in July 2025. As of that filing it had 35 legislative supporters. The bill would prohibit state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies to enforce federal firearms laws, impose a $50,000 civil penalty for each violation, and give private citizens the right to sue agencies that violate it. It carves out exceptions for federal task force participation and use of the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.1Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Lawmakers Re-File Bill Restricting Local Law Enforcement From Cooperating With Federal Agencies
HB 382 follows two earlier bills that did not become law. House Bill 62 in 2021 stalled in committee.2WLWT. Bill Would Designate Ohio as Second Amendment Sanctuary State House Bill 51 in 2023 drew sharp opposition from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorney’s Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s office,3Ohio Capital Journal. Opponents Bash Ohio Second Amendment Sanctuary Legislation cleared committee in a substitute form in November 2023,4Ohio House of Representatives. House Committee Passes Second Amendment Preservation Act but the session ended before a floor vote. Gun-safety organizations including Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action rallied at the Statehouse in March 2026 against HB 382 and other firearms-related bills.5ABC6 On Your Side. Gun Safety Advocates Oppose Proposed Gun Bills at Statehouse Rally
Until HB 382 passes both chambers and is signed, nothing in Ohio law restricts cooperation between state agencies and federal firearms enforcement.
Ohio Counties That Have Passed Sanctuary Resolutions
Several Ohio counties adopted their own Second Amendment sanctuary measures beginning in late 2019 and early 2020. Lawrence, Jackson, Vinton, and Clermont counties, along with a township in Perry County, all passed such resolutions.6Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Counties Choosing to Become Second Amendment Sanctuaries
These resolutions are ceremonial. They express support for gun rights but create no new rights, suspend no laws, and give no one legal cover to ignore state or federal firearms regulations. The Vinton County resolution, for instance, voiced concern about legislation or executive orders that “could be interpreted as unconstitutionally infringing the rights of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.”6Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Counties Choosing to Become Second Amendment Sanctuaries If you live in one of these counties, your rights and obligations under Ohio and federal firearms law are exactly the same as anywhere else in the state.
Why These Laws Keep Failing in Court
The track record elsewhere explains both why Ohio’s bills have stalled and what would likely happen to HB 382 if it did pass.
Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, signed in 2021, declared certain federal firearms regulations “invalid” in Missouri, barred state and local officers from enforcing them, and imposed $50,000 fines on agencies that did. The U.S. Department of Justice sued, and in March 2023 U.S. District Judge Brian Wimes ruled the law unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause.7SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Refuses to Reinstate Missouri Second Amendment Law The Eighth Circuit affirmed in August 2024, holding that the whole act was non-severable because it rested on the premise that federal law was invalid.8U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. United States v. Missouri, No. 23-1457 The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Missouri’s appeal in October 2025.9Reuters. U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Missouri Bid to Revive Law Negating Federal Gun Curbs
Kansas passed a similar law in 2013, purporting to exempt firearms made and kept inside the state from federal regulation. Shane Cox, a surplus store owner in Chanute, posted the state statute in his shop next to unregistered silencers he had made and sold. A customer, Jeremy Kettler, bought one. Federal prosecutors charged both men under the National Firearms Act. Judges rejected their reliance on the Kansas law, finding that state officials cannot limit the reach of federal law and that it was unreasonable for the defendants to trust a state legislature’s word on federal authority. Both were convicted, and the Tenth Circuit affirmed in 2018.10Justia. United States v. Cox, Nos. 17-3034 and 17-3035 As convicted felons, they are now permanently barred from legally possessing firearms.11Brennan Center for Justice. Misguided Second Amendment Protection Acts Have the Opposite Effect of Their Name
County-level ordinances have fared no better. In February 2023 the Oregon Court of Appeals voided a Columbia County ordinance that had declared all state and federal gun regulations “null, void and of no effect” within the county, finding it preempted by Oregon’s statewide firearms preemption statute.12Duke Center for Firearms Law. Second Amendment Sanctuaries, Preemption, and Lessons From the Immigration Context
Courts have drawn a consistent line. Under the anti-commandeering doctrine from Printz v. United States (1997), states can decline to use their own resources to enforce federal law.13American Constitution Society. The Rise of Second Amendment Sanctuaries What they cannot do is declare federal law invalid or penalize their own officers for cooperating with federal agencies. That crosses into nullification, and the Supremacy Clause forbids it.14Duke Center for Firearms Law. Second Amendment Sanctuaries HB 382 tries to frame its restrictions as anti-commandeering rather than nullification, with legislative findings asserting that the Supremacy Clause does not extend to firearms restrictions within Ohio.1Ohio Capital Journal. Ohio Lawmakers Re-File Bill Restricting Local Law Enforcement From Cooperating With Federal Agencies Missouri made similar arguments, and every court to hear its case rejected them.
Ohio’s Gun Laws as They Stand Today
Sanctuary status aside, Ohio already has some of the more permissive firearms laws in the country. Since Senate Bill 215 took effect on June 13, 2022, Ohio has allowed constitutional carry: any resident 21 or older who is not legally prohibited from possessing a firearm may carry a concealed handgun without a permit or license. Ohio also recognizes a no-duty-to-retreat rule and the Castle Doctrine in self-defense situations.15Ohio Attorney General. Concealed Carry Laws Manual
Ohio still issues Concealed Handgun Licenses for people who want the reciprocity other states offer license holders and the ability to skip the point-of-sale background check. Concealed carry remains prohibited in certain locations, including courthouses, police stations, school safety zones, and airport security areas.15Ohio Attorney General. Concealed Carry Laws Manual
Federal firearms law applies in Ohio exactly as it does in every other state. Living in a county that has passed a sanctuary resolution does not change that, and even if HB 382 becomes law, the lesson from Kansas is that relying on a state statute to defy federal firearms rules can end with a federal conviction and the loss of your gun rights for life.