COLUMBUS – Columbus city officials are taking advantage of a judge’s ruling to roll out new legislation aimed at curbing gun violence.
“Today, we’re fighting back. The time for talk is over. The time for study is over,” Mayor Andrew Ginther said Wednesday as he and other city leaders unveiled what they termed “common-sense” gun control measures.
A Franklin County judge issued a ruling last week that temporarily prohibits a state law that prevents cities from implementing their own gun control measures from being enforced in Columbus.
The new ordinances would prohibit large-capacity magazines, promote the safe storage of firearms and propose penalties for “straw sales.”
Columbus has witnessed over 1,200 homicides and assaults this year, the vast majority of them committed with firearms, according to statistics from the Columbus Division of Police. The most recent incident occurred hours after the announcement when a man and woman were injured in a shooting on the Northeast Side.
Under the new legislation, gun owners would not be allowed to possess “large-capacity” magazine, defined as those that carry 30 or more rounds of ammunition, city council member Shayla Favor said.
The city will also impose penalties on those who fail to “take due care in storing firearms” and outlaws the practice of “straw sales, when an individual is legally allowed to own a firearm buys one for someone who is not, Favor said.