A Letter To the Editor of the Akron Beacon Journal
As the Akron Beacon Journal illustrated on May 26 ("Gun bills introduced by Ohio legislators"), gun bills introduced by Republican legislators to increase gun access or offer safe haven from federal or other ordinances regularly receive hearings and often result in passage.
Gun bills introduced by Republicans include …
House Bill 62, House Bill 89, House Bill 99, House Bill 227, House Bill 297, House Bill 325, House Bill 383, House Bill 455, House Bill 505, House Bill 617, plus Senate Bill 185, Senate Bill 215, and Senate Bill 293
Ohio gun laws introduced by Republicans would …
Prohibit anyone from enforcing "any federal acts, laws, executive orders, administrative orders, court orders, rules, regulations, statutes, or ordinances infringing on the right to keep and bear arms,
Remove a requirement that certain concealed carry permit holders "promptly" notify law enforcement that they are armed when stopped,
Lower the minimum training for school personnel who carry guns from about 728 hours to 18 hours of general training and two hours of handgun training,
Declare firearm stores and ranges are "essential" and cannot be closed (It also bans police from confiscating weapons.),
Prohibit any laws that would require fees or liability insurance to own a gun,
Permit Ohio residents 21 and older to carry concealed firearms they legally own without training or permits,
Prohibit any laws that would require fees or liability insurance to own a gun,
Allow concealed carry permit holders or qualified military members to avoid charges for carrying a firearm into a prohibited place if they left upon request.
Gun bills introduced to protect our safety e.g., with background checks, red flag laws, etc., never see the light of day on the floor of either chamber. This is the result of super-majorities in the Ohio House and Senate, the leaders of which wield the power in deciding which bills get pursued.
Senate President Matt Huffman admitted such in the Beacon’s May 22 profile, “Meet Matt Huffman, The man who really runs Ohio.” Huffman agreed that with supermajorities in both chambers, “We can kind of do what we want.”
We have a primary for Statehouse offices on Aug. 2. If you care about the unwillingness of representatives to address gun safety or any other issue you care about, please carefully review the candidates running for office and vote. It’s time to say “enough,” and to do so with the power you have: Your vote.
Jackie Derrow, Akron (Letter To the Editor)
(Matt Huffman. “Letters to the editor: Use your vote to send message to Ohio lawmakers on gun safety.” Akron Beacon Journal. June 1, 2022.)
According to ballotpedia, Ohio has a Republican trifecta and a Republican triplex. The Republican Party controls the offices of governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and both chambers of the state legislature.
A state government trifecta is a term to describe when one political party holds majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office. A state government triplex is a term to describe when one political party holds the following three positions in a state's government: governor, attorney general, and secretary of state.
What's Really Going On?
Gerrymandering has left Democrats powerless in Ohio since 2011.
Marilou Johanek, veteran Ohio print and broadcast journalist, writes in Ohio Capital Journal …
“The party that egregiously engineered district boundaries to give Republicans absolute power in the legislature and outsized dominance in the congressional delegation isn’t about to give voters an inch to interfere with a good thing. That’s the bottom line with politicians who have all the leverage in state government. To them, a voter with an equal voice in a district is a threat. Gerrymandering removes that threat because it draws way more majority party voters into a district than minority party voters. You know the story.”
(Marilou Johanek. “Gerrymandering leads to extreme laws most Ohioans don’t want.” Ohio Capital Journal. February 15, 2022.)
Fault for the gerrymandered mess in Ohio lays directly at the feet of Statehouse Republicans who are watching their unconstitutional handiwork play out exactly as planned.
The party that egregiously engineered district boundaries to give Republicans absolute power in the legislature and outsized dominance in the congressional delegation isn’t about to give voters an inch to interfere with a good thing. That’s the bottom line with politicians who have all the leverage in state government. To them, a voter with an equal voice in a district is a threat. Gerrymandering removes that threat because it draws way more majority party voters into a district than minority party voters. You know the story.
And, the state supreme court’s response? Nary a judicial slap on the wrist. The court’s majority did its share of chastising and handwringing over what the Republican commissioners pulled, but that's all. But that’s all. The court acknowledged that the partisan players on the commission “engaged in a stunning rebuke of the rule of law” and then threw its hands up as an institution and let Republicans control all the political levers in the state.
Democracy cannot survive government by dictate, but that’s where we are in Ohio.
Just look at the legislation moving through the governmental system: it underscores the danger posed by politicians insulated from public account despite overwhelming testimony in opposition from law enforcement officials to public safety advocates.
Johanek says …
“A handful of persistent gun lobbying groups, including the NRA, testified that allowing people to carry a concealed loaded gun in public without a permit, firearm training or background checks was a sound idea. What could possibly go wrong with unchecked, untrained concealed gun owners packing heat who are under no obligation to inform police when pulled over unless asked?”
“So why change the current common-sense state law on concealed carry, supported by more than 60% of Ohio voters, just to score points with gun extremists? Because Ohio House Republicans can craft wildly irresponsible laws and still win reelection in their gerrymandered districts … They can pass a chilling anti-protest bill that broadly expands what constitutes an arrestable offense, advance related legislation that allows people with a firearm to cross police lines during a protest if it is declared a “riot” by any government entity and approve arming teachers with drastically reduced hours of training.
“Again, not even close to what most of us want. Poll after poll shows sweeping voter support for sensible gun policy we can all live with in Ohio. But one-party reign is giving us the polar opposite. Same goes for a host of other issues, including legalized abortion, where Republicans swing far to the right of a majority of Ohioans. No wonder then, that Ohio Republicans submit one unconstitutional district map after another without shame.”
(Marilou Johanek. “Gerrymandering leads to extreme laws most Ohioans don’t want.” Ohio Capital Journal. February 15, 2022.)
Here is just one example of neglect for evidence-based gun violence solutions …
Red flag laws have become an increasingly popular tool to prevent mass shootings, suicides and deadly domestic violence. Many law enforcement officials, public health researchers and legislators think these laws prevent gun deaths by allowing people to act on early warning signs.
In Ohio? Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a gun control package after the Dayton shooting, but it failed to gain any traction among his fellow Republicans. Among other things, the legislation would have developed a system similar to red flag laws that’s targeted toward those experiencing mental health or substance abuse disorders.
Not only did nothing happen with DeWine's original idea, but instead, Ohio lawmakers passed a “stand your ground” bill, DeWine expressed a distaste for the proposal but went on to sign it anyway.)
In addition, DeWine removed permit requirements in March, raising concerns from law enforcement that officers would no longer know if someone possesses a weapon.
“Putting more gasoline on a fire doesn’t put the fire out, and that’s what they’re doing here,” said Michael Weinman, director of governmental affairs for Ohio’s Fraternal Order of Police, which represents around 24,000 officers. “If we put more guns on the street, you’re going to have people who don’t know what their rights and responsibilities are, and it just doesn’t help.”
Weinman said officers statewide believe the law will further endanger them amid increased homicide rates in cities. It could also encourage an "adversarial relationship" with communities that distrust the police, he said, damaging efforts to build ties with them.
Under this law, Weinman said, “things are just gonna be worse.”
(Anjali Huynh. “'It just doesn't help': GOP-led efforts to push permitless carry come under scrutiny.” Yahoo News. May 30, 2022.)
Conclusion
It is not difficult to see what is happening with politics and firearm legislation in Ohio. Republican lawmakers evidently believe “constitutional” interpretation includes no concern for public safety or “well regulated” gun ownership. Recent developments occur out of unwarranted fears and appeals to emotions.
The fictional notion of the American hero as a gun-toting freedom fighter has been firmly planted into public consciousness for more than 200 year. It has evolved into a jingoistic, chauvinistic patriotism in which gun owners symbolize liberty and American ideals.
Guns and God? Recent research sheds light on the complex relationship between religion and guns, including higher rates of gun ownership and stronger opposition to gun control among white evangelical Protestants. Compared with individuals from other religious traditions, evangelical Protestants are most opposed to stricter gun control laws and enforcement, even with statistical controls for gun ownership and demographic characteristics.
(Stephen M. Merino. “God and Guns: Examining Religious Influences on Gun Control Attitudes in the United States.” Religions 9(6), 189. 2018.)
Samuel L. Perry, associate professor of sociology at the University of Oklahoma and winner of the 2021 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, writes …
“Sometimes calls for America to return to God are couched in the language of consolation. Especially after a mass shooting. When 19 children were killed at school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado, tweeted that 'It is in times like these that we should, as individuals, communities, and as a nation, turn to God for comfort and healing.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia followed deflection – 'Our nation needs to take a serious look at the state of mental health today' – with denial: 'We don’t need more gun control We need to return to God.'
Along with 'thoughts and prayers' – a response so hollow it has become a meme for contempt – Christian nationalist calls like Greene’s are often accompanied by warnings not to 'politicize the deaths,' as worship leader and MAGA advocate Sean Feucht put it in his own tweet: 'We need to call on God. We need him back in schools. We need him to heal our country. He is our only hope.' Evangelical Christian and Lieutenant Gov. of Texas Dan Patrick went on the Tucker Carlson show hours after the massacre to say 'We gotta unify in prayer. We have to unify in faith…This was a country founded on faith, Tucker. And that’s why together we have to come together as a people. Don’t politicize it. Don’t point fingers.'”
(Samuel L. Perry. “School Shootings Confirm That Guns Are the Religion of the Right.” Time. May 25, 2022.)
Perry revelas that among white Americans who believe the United States should be a Christian nation, 82% believe “The best way to stop bad guys with guns is to have good guys with guns.” The goal isn’t to rid the world of gun violence. The goal is to suppress “bad guy violence” with righteous violence – our violence. And that requires guns.
Republican obstinacy. Christian belief. Guns above safety. Who cares whether more innocents die with looser Ohio regulations? I guess Republican trifectas and triplexes have convinced us God-fearing buckeyes that our hallowed guns must have unfettered access. After all, if we give in a little to Second Amendment reforms, God knows we will surely slide down that old, slippery slope of outlawing guns. Then, how can “we good guys” kill “those bad guys” that threaten our life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness?
Can I hear an “Amen!”? And the congregation completes the call and response.
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