Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) said he's open to discussing two high-profile gun laws when the General Assembly returns next year, the "Stand Your Ground" bill and the "red flag law." These two issues caused a rift among members of the House and Senate, along with Gov. John Kasich.
The "Stand Your Ground" bill was moving through the Legislature before a Senate committee stripped the language from HB228. The measure, which is highly sought after by pro-gun groups, would make it easier to use lethal force in self-defense by eliminating the "duty to retreat" in life threatening situations.
Sen. Bill Coley (R-West Chester), who chaired the committee that stripped the "Stand Your Ground" language, seemed to suggest that the provision did not have enough votes to pass the chamber or for a successful veto override.
Somewhat surprisingly, Obhof said he’d also like to take a closer look at the “red flag law,” which allows a court to take firearms away from a person who poses a threat to themselves or others. This was part of Kasich's "common sense" gun regulations package.
In his veto message of HB228, the pro-gun self-defense bill, Kasich said he was unhappy about the General Assembly's unwillingness to move the "red flag law this year."
But Obhof said Kasich's version is flawed.
“I think that the majority of us didn’t think that it accounted for due process properly of that it allowed right to counsel maybe in all the circumstances where it should,” said Obhof.
Governor-elect Mike DeWine has said he supports "Stand Your Ground" and he would possibly sign a "red flag law" under certain conditions.
Copyright 2018 The Statehouse News Bureau
