Proposed legislation in Ohio aims to increase penalties for repeat offenders while automatically expunging some Ohioans’ criminal records.
Proponents say House Bill 5, the Repeat Offender Act, would increase penalties and institute mandatory prison sentences for repeat offenders while protecting Second Amendment rights. However, critics say the devil is in the details and could result in unintended consequences.
The proposal would modify penalties for the offense of having weapons under disability and increase the mandatory prison term for some firearms. It would also create a repeat offender classification, modify who may receive relief and require a sentencing court to automatically seal records of misdemeanors and fourth- and fifth-degree felonies after five years.
“With this legislation, we will continue to fight for the Second Amendment right of citizens to keep and bear arms, while simultaneously removing guns from the hands of violent felons,” state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Twp., said in prepared testimony to the Ohio House Judiciary Committee. “This bill will get those offenders off of the street by increasing penalties and requiring mandatory prison time for repeat offenders.
“Without changing any gun laws that would affect law-abiding gun owners, this bill increases the penalties for possession of a gun while ‘under disability’ for violent felons and creates a new firearm specification for repeatedly being in possession of an illegal firearm,” Williams added.
In testimony, Alex M. Certo, a legal fellow at The Buckeye Institute, lauded lawmakers for their “commitment to prudent, commonsense criminal justice policies and reforms.”
Certo noted that House Bill 5 continues a commitment to criminal justice reform by automating the record-sealing process for some offenses and ensuring victim participation. Certo said the proposal also strikes a balance between restoring firearms rights to those who show that they deserve them and punishing repeat offenders who threaten public safety.
“More criminal justice reforms are needed, but House Bill 5 takes solid steps in the right direction,” Certo said in prepared testimony.
However, Mike Weinman, director of governmental affairs for the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio, called on lawmakers to table the measure and not advance it.
“The bill is purported to address career criminals with a firearm,” Weinman said in prepared testimony. “However, so many records are being sealed and expunged under HB 5 that the FOP is forced to oppose the bill. Under HB 5, will there be any career criminals?
“Some examples of a fifth-degree felony include violating a protection order, receiving stolen property, trafficking in illegal drugs, and breaking and entering,” Weinman added. “Fourth-degree felonies include vehicle theft, promoting prostitution, and disrupting public services. The bill lowers weapons under disability for a first offense to a fourth-degree felony from a third-degree felony-the third-degree felony kicks in for the second weapons under disability offense.”
Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who is running for governor next year, said Ohio’s “weapons under disability” statute has warranted an update since it came into existence “many years ago.”
“Currently, an offender must first be found guilty of a qualifying offense by a judge or jury of his peers prior to losing his right to own a firearm,” Yost said. “They then get to commit a second offense before facing a felony of the third degree. They can continue to accumulate these charges until push comes to shove, and a judge finally puts the repeat violent offender behind bars.
“Under House Bill 5, prosecutors and judges will be given additional tools to accompany an escalation in the criminal penalty for offenders who continue to defy the law and illegally possess a firearm,” Yost added. “Violent crime has long plagued our metropolitan hubs and it is time for law and order to take them back.”
