An Ohio appeals court has ruled that state safety officials cannot force security professionals to undergo double the training just to carry a different type of handgun.
The Second District Court of Appeals on Friday reversed a lower court’s decision that had supported the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) in a licensing dispute with Charles Henry, a private security business owner. The case centered on a simple but impactful question: Is a handgun a handgun, regardless of whether it’s a revolver or a semiautomatic?
Henry, who owns Sentry Security Solutions, LLC, held a firearm bearer notation for a semiautomatic handgun after completing the state-mandated 20-hour training course. However, when he attempted to renew his license with an additional designation for a revolver, the Private Investigator and Security Guard Services (PISGS) section of the ODPS denied the request.
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State officials argued that under administrative rules, Henry needed to complete a separate 20-hour course specifically for the revolver. Henry challenged this, noting that the actual Ohio statute (R.C. 4749.10) only requires 20 hours of training in “handgun use.”
“The statute requires only 20 hours of training in ‘handgun use,’ and by statute, both semiautomatic handguns and revolvers are handguns,” Presiding Judge Ronald C. Lewis wrote in the court’s opinion.
During administrative hearings, evidence revealed that the training, written exams, and firing range requirements for both weapon types are nearly identical. Despite this, the state had been using a letter-coding system to restrict licenses based on the specific weapon used during a qualification course.
The court found that the Ohio Department of Public Safety overstepped its authority by adding requirements that weren’t in the law passed by the legislature. Judge Lewis noted that while there are mechanical differences between the two types of firearms, the law defines both as handguns.
“It is unreasonable to require a class A licensee, such as Henry, to complete an additional 20 hours of the same training he has already completed,” the court stated.
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The ruling clarifies that once a licensed security professional completes the 20-hour handgun training program, they meet the statutory requirement for a firearm bearer notation, regardless of whether they choose to carry a revolver or a semiautomatic pistol.
The court concluded that if the General Assembly wanted to require separate 20-hour blocks of training for every sub-type of handgun, it would have written the law that way. Since it didn’t, the Department of Public Safety cannot invent those rules on its own.
Attorneys Ryan Thomas represented Henry, while William Kovaleski represented the Ohio Department of Public Safety. The judgment of the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court was officially reversed, and the mandate was sent back to the trial court for further action.
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