COLUMBUS, Ohio – As a lame-duck session gets underway at the Statehouse, lawmakers are considering several bills that would revamp the Ohio’s gun laws.
A Senate committee held a hearing Wednesday on a measure that would allowing a person to use lethal force without question if they feel their life is being threatened. Twenty-two states have adopted similar legislation, known as “stand-your-ground” laws.
Stand-your-ground laws were controversial in the wake of the jury verdict acquitting George Zimmerman of charges stemming from the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida. Then-Attorney General Eric Holder criticized the laws.
Supporters say the measure allows people to better defend themselves.
But Toby Hoover with the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence says the laws turn every gun-owner into an amateur police officer.
“Do we really want to put our safety in the hands of five percent of the people, who are acting like law enforcement when they’re not?”
Other bills heard yesterday include one allowing investigators with the attorney general’s office to carry a firearm, another which allows the use of a noise suppressor for game-bird hunters and one which would remove the criminal penalty for a permit-holder who carries a weapon onto private property.
Hoover warns it effectively takes away a person’s right to not allow weapons on their property.
The same bill loosens residency requirements and the hours needed for a firearms certification course.
Supporters of the measures say they are aimed at making improvements to Ohio’s concealed-carry rules.