What is Dangerous Ordnance?

Our gun attorneys are routinely contacted with requests from potential clients wishing to obtain what is referred to under Ohio Law as "dangerous ordnance". So what exactly is "dangerous ordnance"? In its essence dangerous ordnance under Ohio Law is any suppressor, machine gun, sawed off firearm, zip gun, ballistic knife or explosive. Generally under Ohio law it is illegal to possess these items, however, there are exceptions to this rule. In particular there are two exceptions relevant to the average citizen. The first is if the person registers the item on the National Firearms Act ("NFA") registry under federal law. The second is if the person obtains a license from their county sheriff known as a form BSSA-1. What one needs to keep in mind is that these items are HIGHLY regulated under BOTH federal and state law however. As such, if the item is a regulated item under both state and federal law the item must be registered under the NFA registry in order for legal possession. There are, however, a few instances where an item is not a federally regulated item and is, therefore, only considered dangerous ordnance by state law. Specifically, machine guns defined as any semi-automatic firearm capable of firing more than 31 cartridges without reloading. Practically speaking this means if one wishes to possess a large capacity magazine in Ohio all they need is the license from their sheriff (the BSSA-1). With regards to the traditional items considered dangerous ordnance or Class III, Title II firearms there are many mechanisms our office can assist the client with in the purchasing process. Specifically our office routinely drafts what is commonly known as a "gun trust". This unique trust has many benefits from avoiding particular federal requirements to allowing the owner to have multiple owners of the trust allowed to possess such a weapon not. If you are in the market to expand a gun collection into Title II, Class III weaponry the gun lawyers at Barney DeBrosse, LLC can help. Please call to schedule a consultation.