Ohio governor candidates on the issues: Guns and school safety

The debate will be moderated by News Center 7 anchor James Brown. Questions will be asked by Dayton Daily News Columbus Bureau reporter Laura Bischoff, News Center 7 reporter and WHIO Reports host Jim Otte and University of Dayton assistant political science professor Christopher Devine.

Related: Dayton to host first governor debate at UD

Ahead of the debate, we are taking a look at where DeWine and Cordray stand on key issues such as guns and school safety.

Q: Since the Las Vegas, Parkland and other shootings, Ohio and other states have opened the door to talking about gun control and ways to improve school safety.

What steps do you support taking and why? 

What do you believe would be the most effective approaches to reducing gun violence?

Mike DeWine: Our kids and teachers need to be safe in our schools.

Related: Dayton to host first governor debate at UD

I have a plan to do the following:

First, we will make sure there is a mental health person in every school so that kids don’t harm themselves or others.

Second, we will enhance background checks to keep guns out of the hands of the bad guys.

And third, we will make sure that every school has either a school resource officer, administrator, or teacher who is properly trained who can provide protection until law enforcement arrives.

Richard Cordray: We're facing an epidemic of gun violence.

While horrific mass shootings have captured headlines, the leading incidents of gun violence are the daily homicides and suicides that often escape media attention.

Gang violence and gun battles have taken too many young men from our urban communities. Armed domestic abusers have too many women fearing for their lives.

We cannot stand by and watch, hoping that the situation will get better while the steady horror of gun violence affects our communities, our families, and our schools.

We have proposed concrete, practical solutions that will reduce gun violence and save lives, and that balance the rights of responsible gun owners with the demands of public safety.

We should conduct background checks on all gun sales, raise the purchase age to 21, ban bump stocks and high capacity magazine clips, improve school safety, and have a statewide coordinated approach to address gun violence throughout Ohio.