COLUMBUS – Ohio has joined 48 other states which offer protection for victims of dating violence.
Gov. John Kasich on Thursday signed the bill into law.
“We all seek justice, don’t we, and maybe this is just one more step in the area of justice with a long way to go,” Kasich said before signing the legislation, which allows victims of dating violence to obtain civil protective orders against their attacker.
Kasich says that, if proposed changes to Ohio’s gun laws are approved, it would be illegal for the attacker to purchase or possess a gun after being served with the protection order.
Previously, Ohio law only recognized domestic violence as violence occurring between spouses, people cohabiting, those with a common child, or between family members.
The new law, which takers effect in early July, recognizes individuals in dating relationships under Ohio’s existing definition, leaving Georgia as the only state where victims of dating violence are unable to obtain civil protective orders.