Buckeye Reporter

On May 14, 2025, the Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) testified before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee in support of House Bill 5. The bill seeks to restore Second Amendment rights to nonviolent offenders who have completed their sentences and demonstrated a commitment to rehabilitation.

The BFA has collaborated with the bill's sponsors, state Representatives Josh Williams and Bernard Willis, to draft legislation that could pass through both legislative chambers. This was the fifth hearing for the bill, which has been amended since its introduction.

Rob Sexton, Legislative Affairs Director for BFA, addressed the committee: "Mr. Chairman, members of the House Judiciary Committee, I am Rob Sexton... We remain strong proponents of House Bill 5 because it continues to address our top priority for this General Assembly."

Sexton explained that the bill addresses concerns about repeat offenders while also tackling issues related to constitutional rights for low-level offenders. He noted that current laws can leave rehabilitated individuals without self-defense rights in their homes if they are to remain law-abiding.

"The framers of our Constitutions did not envision a lifetime of lost Constitutional protections for low level offenses," Sexton stated. The amended bill proposes a tiered system and timelines for assessing rehabilitation but includes judicial discretion over automatic sealing provisions.

House Bill 5 aims to balance law enforcement priorities with restoring self-defense rights. "We ask this committee to consider the balance struck in this bill... and vote favorably," Sexton urged.