Credit: Scene Archives
House Bill 228, the first pro-gun legislation introduced after the Sante Fe, Texas, massacre was widely expected to be voted on (and likely passed) this Wednesday, but Ohio legislators have delayed the final vote until after summer break, potentially even after November elections.

If passed into law, HB 228 would shift the burden of offering proof in self-defense cases from the defendant to the prosecutor, remove requirements that K-12 schools, police stations, courthouses, airports and other public sector locations posting gun-free zones signs and reduce certain concealed handgun violations to minor misdemeanors.

“Stand Your Ground,” is enthusiastically supported by pro-gun groups, as it removes the requirement for people to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense.

Not only would HB 228 make Ohio a “Stand Your Ground” state, the bill would also prevents municipalities from passing any local gun control measures. Meaning, Cleveland wouldn’t be able to instill common sense gun laws for the city that didn’t align with the state as a whole.

Gov. John Kasich is in staunch opposition of the bill, saying he planned to veto it if the vote passed through congress. Kasich has proposed his own legislature, hoping to bring common sense ‘Red Flag‘ gun laws to Ohio.

Unfortunately, Republican leaders have already gone on record saying they will not support Kasich’s proposed gun laws, or a ban on bump stocks and armor-piercing ammunition.

Here’s hoping the vote is delayed until after the November election and we’ve got a new congress to make decisions on behalf of what Ohioans really want. 

This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2018.

2 replies on “Ohio’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ Bill Vote Delayed Until After Summer Break, Potentially After Nov. Elections”

  1. Couple of quotes from the article:
    “saying he planned to veto it if the vote passed through ***congress***”? (emphasis mine);
    “we’ve got a new ***congress***”;(again, emphasis mine);
    “Kasich has proposed his own ***legislature***”(same).

    If this represents the state of the author’s and editor’s understanding of USA political institutions, it is no wonder that we are in the position we find ourselves.

  2. Can this magazine and new writer shut off their programmed biased political opinions for even a week?

    If you’re going to keep on the political side of things now, can you at least get some writers who are actually educated or are at least interested in in government and policy rather than this young, angry, person BJ who is clearly driven by mainstream social justice culture.

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