'Commonsense' Gun Safety Reform Proposed By Ohio Democrats

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio Democrats proposed a package of gun safety reform legislation Monday.

The bills would: require universal background checks on all gun purchases, require safe storage of guns in homes with children, allow Ohio communities to set their own gun laws, implement extreme risk protection orders, and repeal Ohio's newly-implemented Stand Your Ground law.

Extreme-risk protection orders, or red flag laws, bar people from having a gun if they pose a serious threat to themselves or to others.

“My kids were home and my family is still healing from our shared trauma. Tragically, our story is one of many. More than 1,500 people die by gun violence in our state every year. But there are solutions to this senseless violence. And in my case, an extreme risk law very well could have saved two lives,” said Shannon Daniel-Waitas, gun violence survivor.

Minority Leader state Rep. Emilia Strong Sykes, from Akron, said her party is listening to Ohioans, listening to their cries for an end to gun violence and the implementation of "commonsense solutions."

“In the 20 months since Dayton, shootings have gone up, not down. We need reform now to ensure the promise of safety and security for all Ohioans,” Sykes said.

On Aug. 4, 2019, a gunman opened fire in Dayton's crowded Oregon District. He killed nine people and hurt 27 more. In the days following the shooting, crowds chanted, "Do something!" at Gov. Mike DeWine.

The governor spent much of the pandemic lobbying for legislation that he said would reform Ohio's gun laws. He was largely ignored by the Republican-controlled Ohio Statehouse, which instead passed the state's controversial Stand Your Ground law. Despite protests from Democrats, DeWine signed the bill into law in 2021.

“Shoot first is dangerous legislation that makes us all less safe This same law in other states has led to an increase in legally-justified killings of Black people and a double-digit increase in homicides. Ohioans came together and urged us to do something after the Dayton shooting. This is the furthest thing from doing something. In fact, it will lead to more—not less—gun violence,” said Rep. Thomas West, from Canton, who introduced HB 38 to repeal Ohio’s Stand Your Ground law.