Delaware County judge temporarily halts enforcement of Columbus' gun safety laws

A Delaware County judge ruled Tuesday that Columbus cannot enforce city laws restricting guns that went into effect in January while a challenge proceeds in that court.

Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David M. Gormley issued the preliminary injunction in the case, halting enforcement of the gun-related ordinances. The ordinances passed by Columbus City Council in December include a ban on certain firearm magazines of 30 or more bullets and requirements for safe gun storage.

The case challenging the laws was filed against the city by the right-leaning Buckeye Institute in Delaware County Common Pleas Court, despite the fact that only a small portion of Columbus is in Delaware County and the vast majority of city residents live in Franklin County.

Most judges in Franklin County are Democrats. Gormley, like most of Delaware County, is Republican.

David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute, released this statement Tuesday:

“Judge Gormley’s order vindicates and protects our clients’ rights and recognizes that The Buckeye Institute’s clients are likely to succeed in their claims that this ordinance conflicts with state law and violates the right to bear arms as set forth in the Ohio Constitution. In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Gormley recognized that Buckeye’s clients are already being harmed by the enforcement of the gun ordinance, which makes it a criminal offense to possess a 30-round magazine in the city of Columbus and dictates how firearms must be stored.”

Gormley said in his ruling he agrees that the Columbus ordinance conflicts with a state law that makes any local restrictions on guns null and void.

"I conclude that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their claim that the city's ordinance violates the right-to-bear-arms provision in the state constitution," Gormley wrote in his decision.

Past reporting: New case brings third county into Columbus gun restrictions court challenges

Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, who represents the city in legal matters, said the city is "considering all options" in response to the decision.

"​Safe storage and other laws work. They encourage responsible gun ownership and they save lives," Klein said in a statement.

"In the past month alone, we’ve seen instances right here in Columbus where toddlers and kids have found guns laying around that were accidentally discharged causing injury. Just like the court victories we’ve had protecting these laws in Franklin and Fairfield counties, the City will continue to defend its ability to enact and enforce these and similar commonsense gun safety reforms.”

Gormley also ruled Tuesday that the Buckeye Institute's six clients can bring their case anonymously without revealing their names: "Given that Columbus evidently wishes to enforce through criminal penalties its ban on high-capacity magazines, the anonymous plaintiffs' fear of prosecution under the city's new ordinance does appear to be objectively reasonable."

Separate from the Buckeye Institute's suit, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office also is challenging the city's gun laws in the courts.

"I commend Judge Gormley’s finding in favor of the Buckeye Institute in Doe v. Columbus," Yost said in a statement issued Tuesday. "The injunction rightfully puts the city’s heavy-handed ordinances on hold while the merits of this case continue to be argued. The judge’s determination that the ordinances violate state law and likely violate the Ohio Constitution is a welcome decision for all who want to prevent government overreach and protect their constitutional rights."

The legislation passed by Columbus City Council on guns:

• Criminalizes leaving a deadly weapon lying around unsecured in a home where a child could access it. The law is intended to incentivize gun owners to secure guns in a safe, gun case or with a trigger lock.

• Bans large capacity magazines that can hold 30 or more rounds or can be converted to accept that many rounds.

• Prohibits anyone from selling or giving a firearm to another person when there is reasonable cause to believe that person can’t legally possess a firearm.

The city's safe storage law was first put to the test earlier this month when a father pleaded guilty April 4 to two counts of negligent storage of a firearm. The man's child found a loaded gun between the living room couch cushions on Jan. 27 at a West Side apartment and fired the weapon, narrowly missing his face.

Previous reporting with video: Father pleads guilty after young child fires gun in first test of Columbus storage law

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware County judge issues injunction halting Columbus gun safety laws