new member fostoria oh

[ringmaster82]

hey everybody joined mainly to find out if i am legally allowed to carry my ccw handgun when i fish at our many reservoirs, but no one can give me a straight answer. I've called the police department, and they couldn't think of any way to find out. we have signs that state firearms are prohibited posted at the reservoirs but they are very old, over thirty years old i think. i tried to upload a picture of the sign but I'm not sure how. if someone knows if you can carry a firearm at reservoirs, our knows who i can call to find out that would be appreciated.

[Tourist]

Welcome to the forum.

[stringygerm]

I am not a lawyer, but here is my take. If they are on private property or school property you can not carry there. If the land is owned by the City, County or State of Ohio those signs are not valid because they are in violation of O.R.C. 9.68 which basically states that local government agencies can not make a law about carrying guns (they can about discharging) that is more strict than state law. So if you have an Ohio License to Carry a Concealed Handgun (OLCCH) you can carry concealed there. Without a OLCCH you can open carry there. There are restriction on carrying in buildings on government owned land but I don't think that applies here.

What did I miss or get wrong?

[stringygerm]

Looks like most are owned by the City of Fostoria. Not sure if this link will work but you can find parcel owners for Hancock County here: http://hancock.iviewauditor.com/Map.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[djmac1964]

Welcome!

[Javelin Man]

Welcome, neighbor!

[Webeable]

Hi was just by Fotown

[Dozer1974]

I was night fishing with my son at res 3 one night, I was carrying. An Officer pulled in and flashed me with his light. He then got out and approached me, said he was just checking to make sure I was actually fishing and not some kids messing around. I laughed and said I hadnt "messed around" at the reservoir in 25 yrs! Then I informed him that I was carrying, he asked where the firearm was, I told him it was in a behind the belt holster, he said thats fine, wished me good luck fishing and went on his way. I was curious about it too because it is posted no firearms. But like someone else stated those signs are very old and do not reflect changes made to state law. I wouldnt worry about it.

[stringygerm]

I would like to have read that you informed of carry status before responding about "fooling around", but glad all went well. Also, just because you are in the 'right' does not mean you could not be brought downtown by a LEO who thinks a sign is the law. Finally, the city could have laws on the books about 'park closes at dark', but sounds like that was not an issue. Just reminders about all the things we have to think about when out-and-about.

[BobK]

The other thing to be careful about is not carrying on Army Corps of Engineer lakes/land. Ohio law does not apply, that is federally forbidden.

Here is a list of locations in Ohio in the Huntington District: Ohio Lakes and Reservoirs

There are other districts with Ohio facilities. You'll need to search their site.