Tightening background checks for gun buyers and allowing “red flag” protection orders were among six gun violence policy recommendations made Thursday by a bipartisan panel assembled by Gov. John Kasich.
Four other recommendations would put federal restrictions into state law so Ohio law enforcement officials could pursue charges that otherwise would go unprosecuted by federal officials.
The policy proposals come on the heels of a shooting at a Florida high school that left 17 people dead and sparked a national debate about gun control and school safety.
Kasich said he hopes the recommendations pass the GOP-controlled General Assembly as a package.
The proposed policy changes:
- Gun violence protection orders: Allow friends and family members to petition a court to remove firearms from people who pose a threat to themselves or others. A handful of states including Indiana have passed such “red flag” laws.
- Domestic violence: Mirror federal law prohibiting anyone convicted of a domestic violence crime or subject to a domestic violence protection order from buying or owning a firearm.
- Background checks: Enforce requirements that courts submit conviction information to the state’s background check database in a timely manner. A Cincinnati Enquirer investigation found many courts do not routinely update information, which might allow someone to illegally buy a gun.
- “Strawman” purchases: Ban purchases of firearms for third parties, except as a gift. Current state law bans these purchases only if the buyer should have known the third party is prohibited from buying a gun.
- Armor-piercing ammunition: Update Ohio law to mirror federal law banning body armor-piercing bullets, which would allow Ohio officers to pursue charges that federal officials might not.
- Bump stocks: If federal officials ban bump stocks, which increase a weapon’s firing rate, Ohio law should be automatically changed to ban them as well.
Kasich emphasized Thursday that the recommendations were agreed upon by the eight members of Kasich’s gun policy group, which will continue to meet to discuss other measures such as raising the minimum age to buy a firearm.
“No one is interested in some slippery slope and trying to grab everybody’s guns,” Kasich said at a news conference.
The members include several former elected officials: state Rep. Ron Maag, Senate President Tom Niehaus, state Sen. Doug White, Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery and Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, all Republicans and Sen. Nina Turner, a Cleveland Democrat. The other two members are Toby Wagner, chief of law enforcement for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and Jim Tobin of the Catholic Conference of Ohio.
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