To amend sections 3301.12, 5502.63, 5747.08, and 5747.98 and to enact sections 2923.1215, 2923.1216, 3901.97, 5502.621, and 5747.74 of the Revised Code to require secure storage of firearms, to authorize income tax credits, to name this act the Keep Every Home Safe Act, and to make an appropriation.
HB909, titled the Keep Every Home Safe Act, would create a new statutory framework in Ohio focused on firearm secure storage, youth firearm safety, and related public education and incentives. The bill defines when a firearm is considered “securely stored” or “securely held,” and it directs that no person keep a firearm in a manner that is not securely stored or securely held. It also requires law enforcement and prosecutors to document and assess whether a firearm involved in an incident with a minor was securely stored or securely held, and it makes that showing an affirmative defense in prosecutions arising from incidents involving a minor’s discharge, carrying, brandishing, or unlawful possession of a firearm.
The bill also creates several prevention and support programs. It would require the Department of Public Safety to run a public awareness campaign on secure firearm storage and to administer grants for secure storage devices and locking devices, including distribution through nonprofit organizations, hunting-license entities, public safety agencies, and federally licensed firearms dealers. Households affected by incidents involving unsecured firearms and minors would be eligible for free or low-cost mental health services and for secure storage devices, subject to annual caps. In addition, the bill directs the state to publish safe-firearms brochures and posters, including materials for schools, gun dealers, and hunting-license outlets.
HB909 would also amend Ohio income tax law to create a nonrefundable personal income tax credit for purchases of secure storage devices, locking devices, and qualifying firearm safety training, capped at $400 per year. It further adds the secure-storage credit to the state’s credit-ordering statute and authorizes the insurance superintendent to encourage premium discounts or policy credits for homeowners and renters who complete firearm safety training or own secure storage equipment. The bill includes an appropriation of $2 million from the General Revenue Fund for fiscal year 2026 to fund the secure firearm storage initiative.
The bill’s impact on state law would be broad but targeted: it would add new firearm-storage definitions and reporting duties, create a tax credit, authorize insurance guidance, establish grant and outreach programs, and require public reporting on incidents involving minors and firearms. It would also amend education law to ensure school parents receive the firearm-safety brochure. Although the bill states that it does not create a new offense for failing to securely store or securely hold a firearm, it would still shape enforcement, civil liability assessment, and public-health responses around firearm access by minors.
Because the bill was only introduced and has no recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, there is no formal legislative sentiment history yet. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a child-safety and suicide-prevention proposal that tries to balance gun rights with secure-storage incentives rather than imposing a direct criminal storage mandate. Likely points of contention include the scope of the storage requirement, the reporting and liability-assessment duties for incidents involving minors, the use of public funds for device distribution and tax credits, and whether the measure is viewed as a safety initiative or as an indirect regulation of firearm ownership.
HB909 would amend Ohio’s Revised Code to establish new firearm secure-storage standards, reporting and assessment duties for incidents involving minors, a state-funded public awareness and grant program, a tax credit for secure storage devices and firearm safety training, and insurance guidance on related premium discounts. It would also require school-safety brochure distribution and add a $2 million appropriation for the secure firearm storage initiative, affecting firearm owners, law enforcement, prosecutors, schools, insurers, nonprofits, gun dealers, and households with minors.
The bill appears to be presented in a public-safety and youth-prevention frame, emphasizing accidental shootings and youth suicide reduction while explicitly stating it seeks to balance those goals with constitutional firearm rights. No committee transcript or vote data is available, so there is no recorded legislative debate or formal sentiment in the provided history. On its face, the proposal seems designed to attract support from gun-safety and public-health advocates, while likely drawing scrutiny from gun-rights opponents concerned about regulatory burden and enforcement implications.
The main points of contention are likely to center on whether the secure-storage language functions as a de facto mandate, how the affirmative defense and prosecutorial assessment provisions would operate in practice, and whether the reporting requirements could create administrative burdens or privacy concerns. Another likely issue is the use of state funds and tax expenditures to subsidize storage devices and training, including the $2 million appropriation and the proposed insurance and tax incentives. Supporters would likely emphasize child safety, suicide prevention, and voluntary compliance incentives, while critics may argue the bill expands state involvement in firearm ownership and incident review.