The controversial “stand your ground” law that expands the instances in which licensed gun owners can use lethal force in self-defense won approval by an Ohio House committee Tuesday.
The controversial “stand your ground” law that expands the instances in which licensed gun owners can use lethal force in self-defense won approval by an Ohio House committee Tuesday.
House Bill 228 was sent to the full House on a 7-3 party-line vote.
It is unclear when the bill be considered, but what is clear is Gov. John Kasich is not a fan of the legislation.
Kasich has said he would not sign the bill and is expected to veto it if it were to reach his desk. The long-time gun rights advocate has had an about face on firearms, calling for “common sense” gun-reform legislation following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.
The bill is the first pro-gun rights measure heard in the Statehouse since the latest mass school shooting in Sante Fe, Texas, that killed 10 people.
It would shift the burden of proof in self-defense cases from the defendant to the prosecutor. Several groups, including the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association, oppose the proposal.
"If someone is threatening your life, you have to prove that somehow you reached out in a very understanding and sensitive way and attempted to make peace,” said Rep. Ron Young, R-Leroy.
“I would think that’s difficult to do when someone is holding a gun on you threatening your life. So its seems to be the bill is reasonable in that regard."
Committee Chairman Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson, said the panel did not rush through deliberations on the bill, even though some members wanted more gun rights provisions.
“There were many people in this room today that felt that bill didn’t go far enough. But there were also a lot of people here and on the committee that felt it goes too far. So to me this was a very thoughtful, deliberate approach to compromise,” she said.
Rep. Paul Zeltwanger, R-Mason, wanted to add an amendment, supported by the Ohio Gun Owners Association, that he says would have solidified the stand-your-ground component of the law. At the last second it was not added because Roegner said it would not have been fair to the committee to not give members time to review it.
The bill also gets rid of current requirements mandating that K-12 schools, police stations, courthouses, airports and other public sector locations post signs declaring themselves as gun-free zones. Additionally, it reduces certain concealed handgun violations to minor misdemeanors.
“The gun-free school zones are important ways to remind everyone that schools are a sacred, safe places,” said Rep. Adam Miller, D-Columbus. “Getting rid of the signage that warns folks of gun free zones is a bad idea.”
Another provision specifies that any local firearms regulation that interferes with Second Amendment rights is superseded by state law, and that anyone affected by a local gun ordinance can challenge it in court. That apparently means ordinances recently passed by city councils in Columbus and Cincinnati to restrict guns would be undone by this law.
Rep. David Leland, D-Columbus, objected.
“I think the best government is the government that’s local, that’s closest to the people at hand,” Leland said. “Issues that happen in Cleveland are not the same as issues that happen in Chillicothe.”
The committee also had initial hearing on two other bills that would expand gun rights. House Bill 622 would allow judges and magistrates across the state to carry a concealed weapon in the courtroom. Senate Bill 208 would allow a law enforcement officer to carry a weapon on premises open to the public, regardless of if they are on or off duty.
Owen Daugherty is a staff writer for The Columbus Dispatch.