“It’ll matter. It’ll make a big difference. Our bill will get tougher on those who have committed a crime with a gun, people who have absolutely no right to have a gun, it’ll get tougher on those who are found carrying a weapon if they’re legally prohibited from doing so,” DeWine said of Senate Bill 221, which has been pending in the Ohio Senate for 10 months.
The governor incorporated his call for action on his gun package with his regular coronavirus press briefing.
“Murders overall are up in Ohio,” he said. “The majority of victims are African American. We know from law enforcement that many of Ohio’s shootings are committed with handguns that are stolen or illegally obtained and used by convicted criminals who have no legal right to have them.”
“By our unofficial tally, we counted a total of 56 people shot across Ohio – 17 of them killed – from Friday, Aug. 14 through today,” DeWine said.
The governor has called on the state’s lawmakers multiple times to review the Strong Ohio bill, which calls for stricter penalties for convicted felons who violate gun laws and would create a state-run voluntary background check system for private gun sales.
In the days after the Oregon District shooting in Dayton in August 2019, DeWine promised to tackled the issue, but the bill has fail to make progress in the General Assembly.
On the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting, he called on lawmakers once again to take a look at the legislation.
“Enough is enough,” he also said then.
About the Authors
