DeWine joins gun groups in suing Columbus

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is siding with gun-rights groups suing to overturn local restrictions on firearms enacted in Columbus and Cincinnati.

DeWine, also the Republican candidate for governor, is asking Franklin County and Hamilton County judges to allow him to join the lawsuits filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Thursday.

DeWine’s office is seeking to file amicus or friendof-the-court briefs in the actions brought by Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the Buckeye Firearms Foundation.

The attorney general’s proposed filings contend that both cities’ ordinances violate state law that requires uniform laws throughout Ohio regulating the ownership, possession and purchase of guns, related components and ammunition. The city DeWine measures create a forbidden and “confusing patchwork” of gun restrictions, the filing

states.

Columbus’ ordinance (as well as Cincinnati’s) bans bump-stocks — which effectively convert a semiautomatic rifle to fire as a full automatic — and made carrying a gun while under disability a misdemeanor. Other parts prohibited brandishing imitation firearms in public, selling such items to minors and removing orange barrel plugs meant to distinguish them from real guns, among other changes.

DeWine’s office declined to comment on his filings, which were welcomed by Ohioans for Concealed Carry.

“We are thrilled that the Ohio attorney general’s office sees the need to defend the legislature’s intent and the state of Ohio’s interests in this regard. Their help in defending this critical state law from local politicians who are spending taxpayer money grasping at straws looking for ways to circumvent the rule of law is greatly appreciated,” it said in a Friday email to its members.

City officials described the regulations as a bid to curb gun violence in the wake of mass killings across the nation. In an emailed statement Friday, City Attorney Zach Klein called DeWine’s stance disappointing.

“He’s on the wrong side of history defending bump stocks, but now that he has weighed in, we welcome his support in defending our misdemeanor weapons under disability that punishes domestic violence abusers for possessing weapons. How do you weigh in on one but not the other?”

Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther also issued a statement criticizing DeWine’s actions. “Rather than supporting this out of touch position, Attorney General DeWine should stand with Columbus families.”

As attorney general, DeWine has supported expansion of concealedcarry rights and joined other Republican attorney generals’ lawsuits around the nation in their legal fights to overturn gun restrictions. In the U.S. Senate from 1995 through 2006, he earned an “F” grade from the National Rifle Association for his support for gun-control measures such as a threeday waiting period for sales at gun shows and extending the assault weapons ban, which he now says was ineffective.

DeWine is running for governor against Democrat Richard Cordray, whom DeWine narrowly ousted from the attorney general’s office in 2010.