Introduction
Over 3.1 million Ohio residents experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. Fortunately, many victims survive these traumatic events; however, Ohio reported 386 intimate partner violence related homicides from 2011 to 2015. Although Ohio doesn’t report the mechanism of death, evidence suggests firearms are a significant contributing factor. An abuser’s access to firearms can determine a victim’s chances of survival; domestic violence firearm prohibitions and removal laws save lives.
Ohio does not prohibit purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition by persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence and does not explicitly prohibit purchase or possession of firearms or ammunition by persons subject to domestic violence protection orders, though domestic violence protection order forms note that the respondent shall not possess, use, carry, or obtain any deadly weapon at any time while the order remains in effect. Ohio does not explicitly require removal of firearms from persons subject to domestic violence protection orders; however, the domestic violence protection order forms contain a box judges may check that states that the respondent shall turn over all deadly weapons in the respondent’s possession to law enforcement.
