By Jim Siegel, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein says a wide-ranging gun bill under consideration in the Ohio House would block the city from passing “common sense” ordinances, including one aimed at keeping guns away from those convicted of domestic violence.
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Much of the focus on House Bill 228 has been on “stand your ground” provisions that would eliminate the duty to retreat before using lethal force, and shifts the burden of proof for self-defense to the prosecutor.
Gov. John Kasich said in February that he would not sign a “stand your ground” bill, and Klein said he also opposes it. Klein also is concerned about another provision that expands the list of firearm regulations that only the state may enact, including manufacturing, taxation, reporting the theft of guns, and ammunition.
“At best, this legislation muddies the waters of what we’re trying to do in Columbus to make our neighborhoods safer, and to protect families by getting guns out of the hands of criminals with violent, dangerous backgrounds who illegally possess them. At worst, one could view this as an outright ban on what we’re trying to do.” -Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein
Columbus officials recently proposed 11 gun-related ordinances. But House Bill 228 would specify that any local firearm regulation that interferes with a right to bear arms is preempted by state law, and anyone impacted by a local gun ordinance can file a lawsuit.
Klein on Tuesday called the bill “another attack on home rule,” blocking the ability of city officials to make neighborhoods safer.
For example, Klein said, the city is considering a prohibition of firearm possession for those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence, same as under federal law. State law, however, does not have such a prohibition.
The proposal, Klein said, “allows us to prosecute those individuals who have a violent and criminally dangerous background, like a domestic violence conviction, who currently possesses a weapon, and ensure that person goes to jail for a minimum of six months.”
The change, “will clean up our neighborhoods and make our communities safer,” Klein said. “That is about as common sense as it gets.”
If the bill passes, Columbus will be out front challenging it as an unconstitutional violation of home rule, Klein said.
A House committee on Tuesday also heard from Tess Stuber, a Bexley High School student who spoke on behalf of March for Our Lives Ohio, urging lawmakers to reject the bill. She said “stand your ground” laws increase homicide rates and further increase racial injustice when determining if a shooting is justified.
“We are the future of this nation with the intent to protect ourselves in our communities,” Stuber told lawmakers. “If you choose not to protect us then we will vote for representatives that will. We are the 4 million new voters in this nation and we will vote for our lives.”