Ok, this is the part of the vehicle transport law that applies to license holders.(E) No person who has been issued a license or temporary
emergency license to carry a concealed handgun under section
2923.125 or 2923.1213 of the Revised Code shall do any of the
following:
Here it says you cannot transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor vehicle unless it is carried/stored according to the three methods noted. No mention of the vehicles location or whether it is being operated.(1) Knowingly transport or have a loaded handgun in a motor
vehicle unless the loaded handgun either is in a holster and in
plain sight on the person's person or it is securely encased by
being stored in a closed, locked glove compartment or in a case
that is in plain sight and that is locked;
And here is where it says you can't touch or remove it unless an LEO tells you to, or if it is not being operated on a street, highway, or public property.(2) If the person is transporting or has a loaded handgun in
a motor vehicle in a manner authorized under division (E)(1) of
this section, knowingly remove or attempt to remove the loaded
handgun from the holster, glove compartment, or case, knowingly
grasp or hold the loaded handgun, or knowingly have contact with
the loaded handgun by touching it with the person's hands or
fingers while the motor vehicle is being operated on a street,
highway, or public property unless the person removes, attempts to
remove, grasps, holds, or has the contact with the loaded handgun
pursuant to and in accordance with directions given by a law
enforcement officer;
But wait, there's more! Earlier in the statutes it says:
This is the old law that is still in effect that keeps non-license holders from carrying loaded. Until you read Section G, which has the excemptions.(B) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded
firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is
accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the
vehicle.
(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in
a motor vehicle, unless it is unloaded and is carried in one of
the following ways:
(1) In a closed package, box, or case;
(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the
vehicle;
(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for
the purpose;
(4) In plain sight with the action open or the weapon
stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will
not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.
This is the part that lets anyone, regardless of license status, have a loaded firearm in a vehicle on their own property.(2) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under division
(B) or (C) of this section of improperly handling firearms in a
motor vehicle that the actor transported or had the firearm in the
motor vehicle for any lawful purpose and while the motor vehicle
was on the actor's own property, provided that this affirmative
defense is not available unless the person, prior to arriving at
the actor's own property, did not transport or possess the firearm
in a motor vehicle in a manner prohibited by division (B) or (C)
of this section while the motor vehicle was being operated on a
street, highway, or other public or private property used by the
public for vehicular traffic.
In summary, it is my understanding that all vehicle carry rules apply, regardless of operational status of the vehicle, unless you are on your own property. So, the locked case must remain in plain sight in a public parking lot, but not in your driveway. And, you can conceal your firearm while driving on your own property.
