Cuyahoga Falls man sues Akron over gun prohibition at city park

A gun prohibition on city property during the Akron City Festival on the weekend of Sept. 5 and 6 has prompted a Cuyahoga Falls resident to sue the city.

Thomas Jakupca filed his original civil complaint with the Summit County Clerk of Courts on Sept. 4, one day before the festival began, as an "emergency action for declaratory and injunctive relief," alleging the city of Akron violated Ohio's preemption laws. The lawsuit arises "from the City of Akron's unlawful prohibition on the possession of firearms within the outdoor grounds of the 2026 Akron City Festival at Lock 3 Park — a prohibition that is expressly preempted by, and irreconcilable with, Ohio Revised Code § 9.68."

The festival was held primarily on the grounds of the Summit County Public Library.

Former Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost issued an opinion in July 2025 that political subdivisions, which includes cities such as Akron, are subject to the state preemption laws and cannot prohibit carrying firearms on public grounds.

The Summit County court system failed to act prior to the festival, so Jakupca on Sept. 8 filed an amended complaint "arising from two related unlawful restrictions on the exercise of firearm rights on the outdoor grounds of Lock 3 Park," which is a city-owned, open-air public venue: a blanket prohibition on the possession of firearms posted in connection with the festival and a permanent, standing prohibition on "weapons of any kind" posted on official city of Akron signage at Lock 3 Park, which applies to all visitors at all times, independent of any festival or temporary event.

Jakupca's complaint (Case No. CV-2026-09-3900) points out that both prohibitions violate Ohio's preemption laws. Although the festival has since concluded, his claim for "declaratory relief and for recovery of reasonable expenses arising from both the festival prohibition and the independently permanent park signage preserve the court's jurisdiction and his standing in bringing the case.

The 'passion' behind Jakupca's lawsuit

Jakupca, a 30-year-old family man who works in the financial sector, runs a small passion project called CivX Defense (civxdefense.com) — a USCCA-certified firearms training and tactical preparedness venture.

For him, this lawsuit is not about a political statement or picking a fight with the establishment.

"I am not anti-government. I love this republic and the values that undergird it — equality under the law, individual rights secured by constitutional text, and a judiciary that any citizen can walk into without a law degree and ask for justice," he told Buckeye Firearms Association. "CivX grew out of that same conviction, that personal responsibility and civic preparedness aren't fringe ideas; they're the foundation of a self-governing people."

Rights are not self-executing, he said.

"The General Assembly can write § 9.68. The attorney general can issue an opinion. But if no citizen is willing to use those instruments when a government ignores them, the law becomes decorative — something officials cite when convenient and discard when not," he said. "I was deterred from attending a public festival in my own county — a park funded by public dollars — because a prohibition was posted that has no lawful basis.

"I want future generations to understand that they don't have to accept that quietly," he continued. "Not through outrage or confrontation but through the lawful, peaceful, constitutionally provided mechanisms that generations before us built and preserved. That's what this filing is about."

Residents fighting the legal way

This isn't Jakupca's first time using the civil courts to hold a local government to a standard it agreed to be bound by, he said.

"In 2021, I filed against the Summit County Sheriff's Office when the office was failing to meet the state-mandated 45-day deadline for CHL issuance," he said. "The legal maneuvers didn't produce the court order I sought — I'll be honest about that — but I learned an enormous amount in the process, and shortly after that filing, the sheriff opened a second CHL processing location at the Summit County Title Bureau. Whether or not my filing was a direct cause, I believe it was part of what moved that decision forward. Results aren't always measured in court orders."

He said that experience taught him that the act of filing matters.

"Showing up, insisting that the law be applied — that has value independent of any single outcome," he said. "The framers didn't build the courts for lawyers. They built them for citizens. This time, the legal foundation is considerably stronger. … So I did what free people in a constitutional republic are supposed to do: I filed."

Summit County common pleas Judge Kathryn Michael on Sept. 9 assigned Jakupca's case to the county magistrate for resolution. A summons was sent to the city Sept. 21.

Less than a year ago, a resident in Wilmington called out Cincinnati for its Oktoberfest Zinzinnati gun-free zone, making his case to the state, the county, the city, and even festival organizers. He successfully got the firearms prohibition removed.

Many local festivals and county fairs have enacted firearms bans this summer, including the Summit County Fair, where it knowingly circumvented state law by forcing all fairgoers to enter through a new building, under the assumption that state law doesn't apply to buildings. BFA members and social-media followers have been steadfast in keeping us informed, and we appreciate it.

If these cities and counties wanted our attention, they got it.

BFA executive director Dean Rieck commended Jakupca and said he encourages all Ohio residents to be aware of local leaders' actions — and keep alerting BFA when those actions affect the guaranteed right to keep and bear arms.

"It's remarkable how effective ordinary people can be when they decide to push back against local government," Rieck said. "It may seem intimidating to tell elected officials they're wrong, but it's the only way to protect your liberty. And more often than not, ordinary people win when they're in the right."

Joe D. "Buck" Ruth, a pen name for Scott Hummel, is a longtime small-game hunter and gun owner who spent nearly three decades in the news industry. He is the website and social-media manager for Buckeye Firearms Association.