COLUMBUS – Governor Mike DeWine has signed Ohio’s “stand your ground” bill into law, eliminating an individual’s duty to retreat before using force.
The measure expands the right of a person to defend themselves with deadly force from their home and car to any place they lawfully have the right to be.
As soon as the bill was signed, opponents registered their displeasure at what they called “Shoot First” legislation.
“Only cowards would pass and sign a bill that has been proven to disproportionately harm Black people. Only cowards would support a bill that allows people to shoot first and ask questions later. The blood of the lives lost from the signing and passage of this bill rest solely on those who supported it,” House Minority Leader Emilia Strong Sykes (D-Akron) said in a statement.
The Republican governor’s decision followed months of his declaring that any new gun legislation should include his own proposals for toughening background checks and boosting penalties for felons committing new crimes with guns, measures he has pushed since the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton that killed nine and wounded more than two dozen.
“While campaigning for Governor, I expressed my support for removing the ambiguity in Ohio’s self-defense law, and Senate Bill 175 accomplishes this goal. That is why I have signed this bill today. I am very disappointed, however, that the legislature did not include in this bill the essential provisions that I proposed to make it harder for dangerous criminals to illegally possess and use guns.” -Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio)
DeWine wants national and state background check systems to include information on criminal convictions, active protection orders and open warrants, which alert law enforcement if they are dealing with a wanted or potentially dangerous offender and informs retailers when someone prohibited from possessing a gun tries to buy one.