In a case closely watched by domestic violence groups, the Ohio Supreme Court on June 2 said a man with a criminal history of domestic violence can petition a state court to get his gun rights restored.
Justice Pat DeWine authored the 6-1 majority opinion. Justice Jennifer Brunner dissented.
A man convicted of domestic violence 20 years ago lost his gun rights under state and federal laws. In 2023, Patrick Heffley tried to get his rights restored through the state courts.
The trial court denied the restoration request, noting that Heffley is blocked by federal law from possession of firearms because he was convicted of a felony domestic violence charge.
The state and federal laws put Heffley in a bind: he can’t get his gun rights back until the federal prohibition is removed and he can’t get the federal prohibition removed until the state restores his rights.
Heffley lost in the trial court, won a reversal in the appellate court and the Allen County prosecutor appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The Ohio Supreme Court said state law gives the court the discretionary authority to restore Heffley’s gun rights if he has led a law-abiding life and appears likely to continue to do so.
Heffley was convicted of fourth-degree felony domestic violence in 2006 and served a year in prison. He had two misdemeanor domestic violence convictions in 2000 and 2004.
Under federal law, people lose their gun rights when they’re convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence or subject to a protection order. State law is silent on this – something domestic violence advocates would like to see changed.
In her dissenting opinion, Brunner warned that the decision “undermines the public trust, creates a result that is more likely to cause continued harm to victims, and sets the stage for more serious repeat crimes to occur.”
In its most recent report released in October, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network documented a 38% increase in fatalities involving intimate partners and 84% of the fatalities involved firearms.
The Heffley case is one of multiple gun rights cases pending or recently decided by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The court heard arguments in October on the constitutionality of a state law that prohibits people carrying guns in bars from drinking alcohol. The court typically issues decisions six to nine months after oral arguments.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@usatodayco.com and @lbischoff on X.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Supreme Court says people convicted of domestic violence can get guns back
Reporting by Laura A. Bischoff, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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