DeWine set to list plans today
Proposals to deal with gun violence, mental health; Trump to visit.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is set to announce proposals today to deal with gun violence and mental health in the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting in Dayton.
On Monday, President Donald Trump also addressed the shooting saying that Congress must enact so-called “red flag laws,” which bar those deemed a risk to safety from owning firearms.
President Trump is set to visit Dayton on Wednesday, according to a notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration. Details of the visit
have not been released.
Nine victims and one shooter died and more than 30 people were injured in the attack that occurred early Sunday in the Oregon District.
DeWine will host a 9 a.m. press conference today at the Statehouse to discuss his proposals.
Focus on red flag laws
DeWine has been talking for months with Republican legislative leaders about a “red-flag” law to remove guns, under court order, from a person found to be dangerous, but no bill has surfaced.
But during a vigil held Sunday night in the Oregon District, some in the crowd chanted “Do Something” while DeWine was speaking.
State senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, on Monday said that the Ohio Senate has “talked numerous times with the governor about a ‘red flag’ provision and what that could look like ... It’s an issue we can look at and might be able to work through.”
Obhof said lawmakers had concern about a “red flag” law unsuccessfully sought last year by then-Gov. John Kasich, feeling it lacked due process and the right to confront the accuser. DeWine also said ensuring due process is a priority in any bill he may seek.
Prior to the vigil, the firstyear Republican governor had said “everything is on the table” in terms of potential gun-policy changes after the Dayton slayings on early Sunday in which police quickly shot and killed the assailant. He said any changes must be constitutional and “respect the Second Amendment.”
Asked about other changes, such as a limit on magazine capacity — the Dayton shooter had a 100-shot magazine — Obhof said, “We’ re happy to sit down with the governor and talk about it.”
President Trump on Monday called for federal laws that would limit a person’s access to firearms if they’re deemed a threat to the public.
In a 10-minute address from the White House with Vice President Mike Pence at his side, Trump condemned white supremacy and the internet in the aftermath of the shootings, but also backed so-called “red flag laws,” which bar those deemed a risk to public safety from possessing firearms.
“We must make sure that those judged a grave risk to public safety do not have access to firearms,” Trump said. Trump said he was directing the Department of Justice to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty “and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively and without years of needless delay.”
“Our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacism,” Trump said. “Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger — not the gun.”
Terry Russell, executive director of NAMI Ohio, hopes DeWine and the state will invest in making mental health services more readily available in hopes of identifying and treating would-be shooters.
“The statistics clearly show the vast majority of people with mental illness do not commit violence or break the law,” Russell said. “However, it is clear, that without treatment, a very small percentage of the severely mentally ill are at greater risk of violent behavior.”
People who notice friends or relatives with violent obsessions must steer them to immediate and long-term treatment, Russell said.
“If somebody doesn’t recognize it, then when we end up with what we had over the weekend,” he said of the Dayton shooter and his killing-fueled thoughts.
Congress is split
The U.S. House in February passed two bills aimed at strengthening the background check requirements to own guns. The first measure would bar most person-to-person firearm transfers unless a background check could be conducted. The bill aimed to eliminate what gun control advocates have called a loophole that enables people to buy firearms without a background check at gun shows or as a private sale.
That bill passed 240-190, with all Ohio Republicans opposing it and all Ohio Democrats supporting it. In all, eight House Republicans joined Democrats to back that bill.
The House also in February, by a 228-198 vote, passed a bill that would require firearms dealers to wait at least 10 days to receive a response from the background check system before going ahead with the sale. Currently, dealers can sell the firearm if they haven’t received a response within three days. All Ohio Republicans opposed the measure while all Ohio Democrats supported it.
Both bills await action in the Senate, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejecting Democratic calls to put those measures to a vote.
Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he also supports “red flag laws,” adding that Trump “was right to speak out forcefully against hate, bigotry and the white supremacist ideology.”
“I agree with him that there is more we can to do try and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and both parties should work together toward this goal,” he said, adding “I will continue to support common-sense reforms to our gun laws that don’t infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, said President Trump’s visit draws attention to the issue.
“I think what’s important about the president coming is he begins to focus on this as a national issue. He’s not just coming because of healing, which I think is very important. The president is saying what happened here in our city is a national issue. It’s not just a local issue. It’s that there needs to be a national response,” Turner said. “And that focus, that attention from the president I think gives us some impetus to hopefully come together in a bipartisan fashion and address this.”
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, applauded Trump’s public condemnation of racism, bigotry and white supremacy. Still, he added, “he must lead by example and end his hate speech that emboldens white nationalists and instead work to bring the country together.”
On Monday, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, D-Columbus, renewed the call for universal background checks, calling also for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
But, the Dayton native said, “Trump’s statement today focused more on violent media, video games, and the need for a ‘red flag law.”
“This is not enough to keep firearms out of the hands of individuals who are a danger to themselves and others.”
After the Oct. 1, 2017, mass murder of 58 people at a concert in Las Vegas, Trump signed an executive order banning bump stocks, which effectively convert a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic weapon.
While Trump did not mention background checks in his speech, he did call to reform mental health policies and stop the glorification of violence through video games in addition to backing “red flag” laws.
Local state lawmakers seek changes
Dayton-area state lawmakers are awaiting DeWine’s announcement today on plans, but most say it is time to act on gun control changes of some kind.
State Rep. Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, said that he’s “sick of the dog and pony show” when it comes to the gun control debate.
Addressing gun violence, Strahorn said, will require a more “comprehensive” approach than has been considered in the past. Strahorn, who is himself a gun owner, said he would support some form of red flag laws but said legislation should include a composite of things, including addressing issues of poverty and education.
”I’m not prepared to say we need to ban everything or that we need to ban assault weapons,” Strahorn said. “But, there’s some reasonable things we can do.”
Creating red flag laws in Ohio seems like “one of the most obvious things” to do, said State Sen. Peggy Lehner, R-Kettering.
”People say it’s not guns, it’s people, it’s mental illness. Well, it seems to me the red flag law is a nice intersection between the mental health argument and guns,” Lehner said. “It’s saying people who have mental health issues shouldn’t be allowed to carry guns. It’s pretty simple.”
Legislation in the statehouse may gain traction after the Dayton shooting, Lehner said. It’s important, Lehner said, to take action sooner rather than later.
Lehner plans to support red flag proposals already introduced in the statehouse. But she said she will introduce her own bill if previously proposed legislation doesn’t gain support.
”I’m always perplexed ... any conversation about maybe it’s time to do some law changes is met with: ‘it’s not the time now, we shouldn’t do that today, we should take today to mourn,’” Lehner said. “Let’s talk about it right now.”
While Lehner supports proposals to create red flag laws, State Rep. Niraj Antani, R-Miamisburg, is hesitant to support them.
Antani takes issue with the fact that under red flag laws, a court can take away someone’s guns without first having a hearing. That “due process” needs to happen first, before someone’s firearms are confiscated, Antani said.
“I think obviously there has been and will continue to be a lot of discussion around these issues,” Antani said. “I think that the concept in general, if it protects due process, might work but protecting the due process is very important.”
Antani said he would be open to law changes that would address gun control, mental health and violence. But, he said that more needs to be known before he can make a determination about exactly what type of legislation he would support.
State Sen. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, said his caucus needs to discuss some of the specific ideas.
”We need to take a look at the whole red flag laws and the background checking system,” Huffman said. “I think there’s a lot of possibilities.” Huffman represents Ohio’s 5th Senate District, which includes most of Dayton. Randy Ludlow of The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report. Contact this reporter at 937225-7419 or email Max.Filby@ coxinc.com.