‘It’s the world we live in’:
Ohio GOP again faced with calls to enact gun reforms
COLUMBUS, OHIO >> Prompted to act by the bloodshed in Dayton, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a package of measures Tuesday that he says will address mass shootings, declaring, “We can come together to do these things to save lives.”
Yet members of DeWine’s own party have repeatedly blocked gun-control measures in the Legislature, leaving the fate of his proposals uncertain. Even the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and the school massacre in Parkland, Florida, could not move Ohio Republicans to act on most elements of a guncontrol package proposed last year by then-Gov. John Kasich, also a Republican.
Republican lawmakers sought to expand gun-owner protections in a bill Kasich ultimately vetoed.
DeWine’s proposals include requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales in Ohio, allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats, increasing community support to identify mental health risks, expanding use of the state’s school safety tip line and beefing up social media monitoring.
“We know there’s going to be some violence; it’s the world we live in,” the governor said. “But I can tell you this: If we do these things, it will matter. If we do these things, it will make us safer.”
DeWine invited some Ohio gun-rights advocates to his news conference, while guncontrol advocates stood outside in the hall. That led some to wonder how tough any of the proposals ultimately will be.
“He’s in there talking about gun control when he knows darn well it’s never going to pass,” said Kelly Weber, 40, an elementary school teacher from Gahanna, a Columbus suburb. “So he’s doing it to appease people. He doesn’t care about gun safety.”
It’s unclear whether any of DeWine’s proposed changes would have done anything to prevent the Dayton shooting, which left nine dead and 37 injured. Betts had no apparent criminal record as an adult, and police said there was nothing in his background that would have prevented him from buying a gun.
For the reforms to work, mental health concerns would have to be reported by parents, classmates, educators or law enforcement, then authorities would need to do something with that information, DeWine said.