Ohio’s 70th Governor, Mike DeWine is seeking to infringe upon that state’s gun owner’s rights with his sponsorship of Senate Bill 221 in this year’s legislative session. He’s been in one public office or another almost non-stop since 1977 with the exception of a 4 year break between Congress and the AG of Ohio, the position he held prior to being elected Governor in 2019. You would think that serving the people and obeying the Constitution would control his actions. Keep in find this is the same politician facing impeachments calls from members of his own party over his overreaches of power concerning business closings and mandatory wearing of masks.
Ohio Senate Bill 221‘s primary sponsor is Matt Dolan from District 24. Co-sponsors of the bill are Senators Frank Hoagland and Peggy Lehner. The short title of the bill is “Regards firearm protection orders/seller protection certificates” but some are calling it the “STRONG Ohio Bill”
Like so many other things people are trying to sell you, at the surface it sounds great and the bullet points all seem like good things. I’ve included the links to the places where you can see this as well as all of the churches, mayors, and police organizations that have also submitted documents as proponents of this proposed legislation.
If you are in Ohio and care about the second amendment, I encourage you to take a look at them and to also look at the Legal Analysis that was done by the Buckeye Firearms Association. They took the time to look through the more than 200 pages and illustrate the significant issues found within it.
I encourage everyone to keep an eye on their elected officials and the laws and rulings that are in progress or made. Use your voice to offer support when it’s appropriate, but also to make known your opposition to the individuals involved as well as any associated parties. That includes the political parties that the officials belong to.
Contact the officials that represent your interests and tell them why you think they should seek to change provisions within the STRONG Ohio bill that would virtually require background checks for private party sales, eliminate Doctor patient confidentiality, increase possession penalties to the point of being cruel and unusual considering the crime, and strip away gun rights from those who had been committed against their will. The analysis linked above provides the details. In Ohio you can use this page to find and contact your representatives in the legislature.
Lastly support the local and national organizations that are fighting for your rights, and stop supporting either financially or with your votes the persons and parties that seek to remove them.