LEGISLATION
who might be a danger. Many mass shooters are never reported.
Connor Betts, the 24-year-old gunman in Dayton, had composed lists of people he wanted to kill or rape, according to the FBI. Ohio does not have a red flag law, but since the shooting last Sunday that killed nine in Dayton’s Oregon District and injured dozens, Gov. Mike Dewine, a Republican, has renewed his efforts to get one passed.
Under Dewine’s plan, a household member or police officer could petition a judge to grant an order temporarily seizing the guns of people shown to be at imminent risk of harming themselves or others. A later order could commit the person to mental health treatment.
Dewine’s proposal would require a hearing within three days of the filing of a petition and, he says, provide due process by allowing the person whose guns are targeted for seizure to receive notice of, and attend, the hearing.
Minority legislative Democrats, meanwhile, would allow judges to issue secret orders to permit police to seize guns without notice.
Even if Ohio had passed a red flag law years ago, though, it might not have thwarted Betts’ rampage. Red flag restraining orders typically last no more than a year, unless they are renewed; an order issued when he made threats in high school several years ago could well have expired by this year.
Federal law has long prohibited the mentally ill from owning firearms. But that restriction does not come into play unless a person was committed to a psychiatric facility, or a judge has ruled that the person is mentally ill. The state red flag laws have a lower threshold, generally requiring only that a judge find that a person presents a significant threat to himself or others.
Proposals to ban or curb ownership of assault weapons — military-style semiautomatic rifles with detachable ammunition magazines and other features like a pistol grip or a telescoping stock — face steep opposition from Republicans in Congress, even though those are the weapons used in almost all of the deadliest mass shootings.
But many lawmakers in both parties have voiced support for red flag legislation, which is seen as having a better chance of passing than a weapons ban.
The National Rifle Association has opposed red flag laws in states. But a statement this past week from NRA spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen seemed more open to the concept, saying that any red flag laws “at a minimum must include strong due process protections, require treatment and include penalties against those who make frivolous claims.”
Dispatch Reporter Randy Ludlow contributed to this story.