Brandishing a Weapon in Ohio

[S&W645]

Any forceable felony in Florida also Navy. I did find several bills that would have covered it in Ohio but they never seemed to have been passed.

[kelcarry]

Just another point. If you brandish your firearm, just remember that you have now put the other guy in imminent danger and you can get killed. It works both ways.
Ohio or not and as TREO said, if you present your firearm not as a brandishing, but as a precursor to using it within the next second or two, you better have a darn good reason and maybe witnesses that can attest to your imminent danger and ability to actually back down before you fire.

[Big_Guy_4]

Thank you all for your good responses.

1. "Go to the A. G. site for Ohio." (I have. No real answer.)

2. "Spending the money on a lawyer will probably not give me a specific answer." (I am afraid I agree. They hate to be tied down.)

3. "It is a gray area." (Like so much else in the CCW law)

4. "Don't even brandish unless you meet the three criteria for lethal defense in Ohio." (Solid logic.)

5. "Be the first to call police with your version of events." (Great opinion!)

I am 60, disabled and can no longer run from a bad situation like I use to (ran two marathons back in the day). I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to carry to protect myself and my wife in Ohio and will do all I can to preserve that right.

God bless all!

[Deserteagle]

4. "Don't even brandish unless you meet the three criteria for lethal defense in Ohio." (Solid logic.)

Very solid indeed.

Be careful with advice on this subject from this forum. Many people think waving guns around is okay. The rest of us will not pull out a deadly weapon until we are justified in using a deadly weapon as many others have stated. Disclaimer- Doesn't mean you have to use it.

[kelcarry]

Thank you all for your good responses.

1. "Go to the A. G. site for Ohio." (I have. No real answer.)

2. "Spending the money on a lawyer will probably not give me a specific answer." (I am afraid I agree. They hate to be tied down.)

3. "It is a gray area." (Like so much else in the CCW law)

4. "Don't even brandish unless you meet the three criteria for lethal defense in Ohio." (Solid logic.)

5. "Be the first to call police with your version of events." (Great opinion!)

I am 60, disabled and can no longer run from a bad situation like I use to (ran two marathons back in the day). I am grateful for the opportunity to be able to carry to protect myself and my wife in Ohio and will do all I can to preserve that right.

God bless all!

Being disabled, IMO, means diddly squat unless you presume you are in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury--those are the words that count. Further to my previous reply, being disabled is another reason to be more careful with brandishing--as I said, you brandish and the other guy is much better at this "gun stuff" than you and certainly more mobile than you, you can die for doing it.

[Treo]

Being disabled, IMO, means diddly squat unless you presume you are in imminent danger of death or great bodily injury--those are the words that count. Further to my previous reply, being disabled is another reason to be more careful with brandishing--as I said, you brandish and the other guy is much better at this "gun stuff" than you and certainly more mobile than you, you can die for doing it.

I disagree, being disabled changes the circumstance. I am fairly active and in good shape it would be a lot harder for me to claim fear of my life over an unarmed attacker than a disabled person.

[kelcarry]

Hey Treo: I am not saying that being disabled does not give you, perhaps, more of a reason but it still must rise to the level of imminent danger. Just being in a wheelchair or one arm etal does not give you a license to think further out of the box when it comes to imminent danger. There is a limit in this argument and it is not open-ended approval for the disabled. I think we are saying the same thing--I am just taking it to that level where "anything goes" if you are disabled seems to be creeping into the conversation, which is not the way this whole "imminent danger"/"brandishing" is suppose to be legally acceptable.

[Big_Guy_4]

You guys are right, of course. A disability does not give you a legal authority or excuse.

My point in bringing up the disability thing is to help frame the reason why I acquired a CCW in the first place. With a cane and inability to run or even walk fast, the likely hood of my being able to successfully retreat from a dangerous situation is improbable if the antagonist persists.

I have found that a visible disability and advanced age makes you a target unlike when I was younger and in great shape. My difficulty in retreating will probably mean I have to deal with whatever threats confront me as much as I try to avoid them. I also can't imagine actually taking a life and was hoping for some way to simply warn off an attacker without causing harm.

[Rhino]

In Ohio, what is the law regarding a CCW holder drawing his weapon but not firing to discourage a progressively threatening situation in public?

If done in accordance with self defense, it would be one of the concealed carry and/or castle doctrine statutes, possibly combined with some others. But I'm sensing you're asking about it being done improperly since you use the term, "brandishing". That would very likely fall under section 2917.31 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), Inducing Panic. You can read it here:

Lawriter - ORC - 2917.31 Inducing panic.

As to when and how that statute may or may not be applied, or how any others might also come into play, not even an attorney could answer that question with absolute certainty because no two situations are ever exactly alike. An attorney might be able to give you probabilities based on hypotheticals or based on an ongoing case, but there are never any guarantees.

[Rhino]

I disagree, being disabled changes the circumstance.

As far as Ohio goes, that is quite true, and I suspect that's why Big_Guy_4 made the comment. Ohio has a 'duty to retreat' written into their self defense law. Besides the obvious fact that being disabled means less physical threat is required to constitute a danger to life and limb, it also affects the ability to meet the requirement to retreat from the threat as required by Ohio law. I'm disabled too. What would be merely damaging to most other people could easily be life threatening to me. That affects both my right and my ability for self defense. And since I am no longer physically able to run, the duty to retreat when not in my home or in my vehicle under Ohio law is much less stringent, because the avenues of retreat are far more limited for me than they are for most other people. So yes, being disabled can change the circumstances quite a bit.