COLUMBUS — Ohio Democrats have unveiled a slew of bills all dedicated toward combatting gun violence, but Republicans are likely to shoot down most, if not all of them.
House Democratic representatives held an all-day inaugural gun violence prevention summit at the Statehouse on Wednesday, ending with the introduction of five different pieces of gun safety legislation.
Each bill was introduced Wednesday, so none had numbers attached to them yet.
The Democrats named the bills as follows:
* The “Keeping Our Survivors Safe Act” was introduced by state Reps. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) and Munira Abdullahi (D-Columbus). It would prohibit anyone with a domestic violence conviction from owning a firearm. This is a companion bill to the already existing Senate Bill 187.
* “Commonsense Concealed Carry” was introduced by State Reps. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) and Rich Brown (D-Canal Winchester). It would mandate having a concealed carry permit to have a gun in public, meaning basic training and regulations. It would rename the concealed handgun licenses as basic competency licenses. It would also require individuals who are carrying a concealed handgun to notify law enforcement that they are carrying a concealed handgun during a traffic stop. Police have said not having that assurance has been a problem and causes fear for them when conducting traffic stops.
* The “Universal Background Checks Act” was introduced by State Reps. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) and Phil Robinson (D-Solon). It would require a background check for the purchase of a firearm. This would close the loophole of being able to buy guns freely, without a background check, at gun shows.
* Two other pieces of legislation were introduced by State Rep. Darnell T. Brewer (D-Cleveland). One would create a gun violence task force, and the other would declare gun violence as a public health crisis.
“We wanted all Ohioans to know that we are taking action, that we are not sitting on our hands,” state Rep. Jessica Miranda (D-Forest Park) said. “Gun violence is hurting families and creating everlasting traumas that we could instead be preventing through gun safety legislation.”
As gun deaths continue to rise in the state, Isaacsohn said the proposals are coming because the Democrats believe in a better Ohio.
“By limiting access to weapons for people who cannot pass basic background checks, by limiting access to concealed carry permits for people who should not and cannot qualify — we are making our communities safer,” Isaacsohn said.
And although the advocates, victims and law enforcement officers who attended the event all cheered the legislation, state Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) believes this won’t be an easy battle for his colleagues across the aisle.
“They’ve been rejected in the past, they’ll be rejected again,” Williams said.
Williams supports the legislature’s decision in 2022 to pass permitless carry, eliminating the need for CCW permits to carry a gun in public.
“The idea that you have to have a permit to defend yourself outside your home is ridiculous,” he said.
That being said, he does believe there is room for compromise to combat gun violence. He is cosponsoring two of the bills introduced today, the one creating the task force and the other declaring gun violence a public health crisis.
The other bills, he said, are unlawful.
“It’s removing a protected constitutional right that’s enshrined in our bill of rights, both in our state and our federal constitution,” the Republican said.
Williams isn’t alone in thinking that. Each time WCPO’s sister station in Cleveland, WEWS, has asked Senate and House leaders about gun safety legislation — like requiring a lock box to keep guns away from children — they don’t seem interested or oppose the proposal in general.
Isaacsohn said there is nothing unconstitutional about the bills, and he is just trying to prioritize people’s lives.
“These are common-sense approaches,” Isaacsohn said.
House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) acknowledged that getting these bills passed will be “incredibly challenging.”
“But we don’t give up, we don’t give up hope and we don’t give up talking about this because we know that we are on the right side of this issue,” Russo said.
Redistricting reform is the way to get accurate representation in the state, she added.
“There’s a real opportunity to change that this November because we do have to have that structural change to actually get representatives into this body who are going to be with the people and not with the gun industry, not with gun lobby, not with the extremists,” she said.
DeWine and gun laws
Gov. Mike DeWine has said for years that he supports gun safety legislation, yet he has signed every bill loosening firearm restrictions that has hit his desk — even after a mass shooting.
After he skirted Trau’s questions during press conferences, she was able to address the concerns in a one-on-one with the governor in December.
Trau: “Do you feel like you’ve been complicit in signing that?”
Governor DeWine: “I think that, I again am asking this year, for the legislature to look at the bill that we rolled out right after the Oregon District and Dayton tragedy... Basically, what this bill says is, if you have a member of your family — and it’s usually a member of the family who knows something’s going on wrong with that person — our bill would give you the right to go into court. You have to convince the judge, then and only then, would the guns be taken away from that individual. And again, you know, urge the legislature to take action on this.”
Trau: “But you still signed permitless carry.”
Governor DeWine: “Look, I don’t think it creates a real problem. The issue is, what are we gonna do going forward?”