Proposed Columbus gun measures should be enacted

As state and federal lawmakers continue to turn deaf ears to resounding cries for safer gun laws, proposed new city regulations offer welcome remedies to close some gaps.

While much of the clamor at the Statehouse and in Washington D.C. stems from last month’s school shootings in Parkland, Florida, there is ample reason for the creative measures put forth on Wednesday by Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, City Attorney Zach Klein and City Council President Shannon Hardin.

Before 14 students and three coaches were gunned down at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Feb. 14, Columbus had a gun problem.

Before two suburban police officers were shot to death trying to respond to a domestic-violence call for help in Westerville on Feb. 10, Columbus had a gun problem.

The justification for the city to act is clear: Of the record number of 143 homicides in Columbus in 2017, 83 percent of the victims were shot to death.

So while public anger and angst stemming from incidents elsewhere have turned up the volume on calls for Congress and the Ohio General Assembly to reduce gun violence, city officials are right to proceed within their limited jurisdiction to do what they can to forestall needless loss of life.

Identifying areas appropriate for city gun laws is no easy matter. The legislature saw to that when it passed a law in 2006 to preempt Columbus and other municipalities from enacting gun regulations that were tougher than state law. The city couldn’t, for example, ban sales or possession of assault-style firearms.

The city attorney is confident, though, that the proposals unveiled this week fall within areas the city has authority to regulate. The proposals include one frequently requested prohibition by those seeking state and federal law changes — a ban on bump stocks or similar accessories to enable semi-automatic weapons to fire even faster.

Other measures offered by Ginther, Klein and Hardin target imitation firearms — many of which are too real-looking to be called toys. They would make it illegal to remove blaze-orange plugs intended to distinguish imitation from real guns and ban sales of fake firearms to minors. In Columbus and other cities in recent years, young people who brandished imitation guns when confronted by police were fatally shot before officers could determine the weapons weren’t lethal.

Some of the recommendations make city code more consistent with federal law, such as adding jail time for offenses committed with firearms when offenders are felons or have previous convictions for domestic violence.

The city-law changes would allow individuals who are dating to seek available protections from dangerous domestic violence situations, stalking and sexual assault; extra jail time would be added for possessing guns while committing such offenses. The city would also allow guns to be seized temporarily while protection orders are in effect or pending the resolution of certain criminal charges.

Commercial guns sales would be prohibited in residential areas and the city would gain authority to close bars that attract violence by defining them as public nuisances.

As with any attempt to regulate gun use, there will be advocates challenging these measures as an affront to the Second Amendment. We see these proposals as reasonable attempts to make Columbus safer.

City Council would be wise to enact these common-sense provisions.