Cleveland Judge Overturns Major Parts of Anti-Gun Legislation

Last April, a motion filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, sought to block implementation of a package of gun control laws that included rules for gun owners to have to report any and all private gun sales, along with all guns lost or stolen to local authorities and forced firearms offenders living within the Ohio city’s limits to register their place of residence and other personal information.

These laws caused the organization Ohioans For Concealed Carry to file suit against the City of Cleveland, arguing that the rulings were in violation of state preemption laws, citing a 2010 case decided in the Ohio Supreme Court that cities could not pass gun laws in excess of those maintained by the state.

These issues were in a stalemate, at least until Monday, when Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland-Saffold knocked out several of Cleveland’s firearms ordinances. Following the ruling, the city’s law that no person could fire a gun within 500 feet of any park, playground or recreation center owned by the city was deemed invalid. Strickland-Saffold also ruled that Cleveland’s seizure and confiscation ordinance allowing police to collect weapons from those suspected of drinking or threatening a disturbance violated state carry laws.

The Ohioans For Concealed Carry are taking the ruling as a win.

“We warned Cleveland when they first considered these ordinances that we’d be challenging them in court and that some of these were blatantly unconstitutional,” noted Ohioans For Concealed Carry in a statement. “Still, the anti-gun city administration got cover from the court on several of their ridiculous anti-freedom planks. OFCC is meeting with its legal team to consider the possibility of elevating these issues to the 8th District Court of Appeals.”