WASHINGTON – Ohio’s junior senator has signed onto federal legislation that would significantly expand where current and retired law enforcement officers can carry concealed firearms — a move that has drawn strong backing from national police organizations but sharp criticism from gun control advocates who say it creates a privileged class of gun carriers above the law.
Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) joined the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Reform Act, led by Sen. John Kennedy (R-Louisiana), which would broaden the original 2004 LEOSA law to allow qualified active and retired officers to carry concealed weapons in national parks, school zones, publicly accessible federal buildings, and state and private property otherwise open to the public.
“Our law enforcement officers are highly trained and trusted professionals who we rely on to keep our communities safe,” Husted said in a statement. “They put their lives on the line every day to serve and protect, and it’s only right that they have the tools they need to continue that service — whether they are on duty, off duty or retired.”
The Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National Association of Police Organizations all voiced support for the bill, calling it a common-sense fix to legal gaps that have left officers vulnerable to inadvertently violating state and local laws while carrying off-duty.
Critics push back
Opponents of the legislation argue it creates a permanent two-tiered system of gun rights — one for law enforcement and one for everyone else — and raises serious questions about accountability and public safety.
Gun control advocates contend that retired officers, some of whom may have been off the job for decades, should not automatically retain the same carry privileges as active duty personnel simply by completing a qualification with any certified instructor in their state. Under the bill’s updated recertification language, a retired officer could meet their qualification standard through a private firearms instructor rather than their former agency — a threshold critics argue is far too low.
Civil liberties organizations have also raised concerns about the bill’s expansion into school zones, arguing that the presence of more firearms near children — even those carried by trained former officers — increases rather than decreases risk, particularly given research suggesting that more guns in any environment correlates with higher rates of gun incidents.
Some legal scholars have noted that the bill’s broad preemption of state and local law runs counter to conservative principles of federalism, effectively using federal statute to override decisions made by individual states and municipalities about firearms policy within their own borders.
The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee following its introduction in February 2025. No vote has been scheduled.