Haste makes waste. Have you ever been writing something on a computer and made a mistake copying and pasting something from one document into another? Ever wondered what would happen if somebody in government did the same thing? Read on...
In the closing days of the last General Assembly, known as "lame-duck session", the Ohio legislature rushed to get HB228 through. In that rush a copy/paste drafting error occurred. They were trying to make things like
Shockwave
firearms legal but ended up accidentally making huge swaths of long guns illegal!
Come March 28th, that law takes effect potentially impacting hundreds of thousands of Ohioans. We at OFCC won't let that happen.
Before the new legislature was even sworn in back in January we at OFCC were already asking them how to get this error fixed. Timing matters here, since it usually takes 90 days for any newly passed bill to take effect. In order to ensure that there would be no "gap" between HB228 taking effect and a potential fix taking effect we sought to have an "emergency clause" inserted. That makes it a heavy lift, since emergency legislation requires a 2/3 majority in both the Ohio House and Senate. Heavy lifting for our freedom is our business.
Just a few hours ago this bill hadn't been assigned a number, and by 2:30pm Tuesday it will have had it's first "informal" hearing before the Government Oversight And Reform Committee. Similar legislation is expected to be introduced in the Ohio House later today.
SB53 is a very short bill that only fixes the drafting error made in lame-duck session. It safeguards us. It isn't even a partisan bill because the issue isn't about guns but about whether a copy/paste drafting error should fundamentally alter the clear intent of the legislature. No legislator on any side of the issue or aisle should stand for such an error being able to harm hundreds of thousands of Ohioans.
We will track this bill closely and keep you updated.
