Ohio legislative leaders noncommittal on DeWine gun bill in 2020

DeWine gun

Gov. Mike DeWine speaks in Columbus in October about his revisions to his package of gun-reform proposals, including voluntary background checks between private sellers. State legislative leaders on Tuesday were noncommittal on Tuesday when asked about DeWine's proposals. (Jeremy Pelzer, cleveland.com)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Six months after a mass shooting in Dayton prompted Gov. Mike DeWine to pursue a gun-safety plan, Ohio’s legislative leaders are making no commitment toward any specific course of action on the subject in 2020.

Legislative leaders were asked about the topic on Tuesday in Columbus as part of a forum organized by the Associated Press of Ohio.

Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat who supports increased gun control measures, said the signals she’s received from Republican legislative leaders have led her to conclude they will take no serious action on the issue.

“I’m not hopeful there’s going to be anything substantial that will happen,” Sykes said.

DeWine’s “STRONG Ohio” gun-safety plan calls for voluntary background checks for private gun sales instead of near-universal background checks, as he initially proposed in the aftermath of the Dayton shooting. In place of a “red-flag” law allowing authorities to confiscate guns from those deemed a threat, his plan would allow involuntary hospitalizations for drug and alcohol abuse.

The Republican-controlled state Senate currently is debating DeWine’s plan via a bill sponsored by Sen. Matt Dolan, a Chagrin Falls Republican. The legislation last received a committee hearing on Dec. 3.

But House Republicans have introduced a competing bill, House Bill 354, which among other things aims to improve the state’s existing background checks system on gun purchases and expand the number of crimes that would disqualify someone from buying a gun.

House Speaker Larry Householder, who represents a rural district east of Columbus, said Tuesday the gun debate falls along demographic lines.

Householder, a powerful Republican, is a key figure in deciding whether DeWine’s gun plan, or anything in it, will advance.

People in his district and communities like it view guns as not only a right, but part of their way of life, Householder said.

“We have to protect ourselves. So how do you balance this with taking someone’s right away?… I’m of the belief that the biggest gun lobby we have in the state of Ohio are the millions upon millions of Ohioans who lawfully own firearms for sport and protection. I don’t so much worry about the NRA or anyone else,” he said.

But, he said he’s come to believe that mass shootings disproportionately are committed by white males in suburban areas.

“There might be something there, and we’ve got to find out what it is,” Householder said. “Whether it’s all the testing we do in the schools or whatever it is, there’s something there that causes white suburban males to seem to be the issue as far as mass shootings are concerned.”

Senate President Larry Obhof, a Medina Republican, called himself a “staunch defender of the Second Amendment."

He said less controversial aspects of the governor’s plan, such as increasing criminal penalties for gun-related offenses, or trying to increase the state’s capacity to house people with mental illnesses, have been taken up recently by the legislature through other bills.

“I can’t guarantee one way or the other that any of them will get any particular votes. That’s up to the members to decide which are the right policies," he said. “But we’re certainly having a full and fair discussion of the issues, and we certainly are vetting them as fully as possible.”

DeWine has continued to stump for his STRONG Ohio bill, calling it a top priority for 2020. But his administration lost one way to pressure state lawmakers to act on the legislation last December, when a group pursuing a state constitutional amendment requiring universal background checks on gun purchases announced it wouldn’t be able to collect the signatures needed to place the issue on the November ballot.

Sykes said she doesn’t think any of the proposals, if they pass, will do anything to curb gun violence in Akron and other similar communities.

“We really had an opportunity and a groundswell of activity by people who were excited to tackle the issue in a meaningful way,” she said. “And unfortunately, we’ve gone down the path of vilifying people with mental illnesses and scapegoating them, and that’s unfair and unacceptable.”

When DeWine was asked Tuesday how he planned to ensure his gun-reform package passes the legislature, the governor — as he has before — expressed optimism that legislators will pass it.

“I’m not reading the [legislature’s] reception as being a bad reception. You know some of these things take time,” DeWine said. “But, you know, this is a priority. This is important.”

Cleveland.com reporter Jeremy Pelzer contributed to this story

Read other recent Ohio state news

Path cleared for top GOP state lawmaker’s re-election after Democratic opponent disqualified

Ohio Republican legislative candidates enter 2020 with strong cash lead over Democrats

DeWine administration releases updated Lake Erie phosphorus reduction plan

Ohio health officials ‘stand ready’ as they await coronavirus testing results

Ohio lawmakers pursuing pension oversight bills

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.