The future is murky for a bill that seeks to loosen gun regulations in Ohio. The so-called "Stand Your Ground" bill was moving through the House but may have stalled with the recent rhetoric on gun control including from Gov. John Kasich.
The "Stand Your Ground" bill, HB 228, removes the requirement for a person to try and retreat before using lethal force in self-defense. It seemed to be poised to pass out of a House committee until its last hearing, the day before the mass high school shooting in Parkland, Fla.
Rep. David Leland (D-Columbus) says his committee has been focused on gun issues when they could be focusing on what he believes to be more important things like education, jobs and healthcare.
“All of the issues that we need to be dealing with as a legislature I don’t think we need eight different pieces of legislation dealing with expanding gun rights in the state of Ohio,” Leland said.
Kasich, who has spent the last seven years signing every pro-gun bill that came across his desk, says he’d veto such legislation.
“If I think it’s going to endanger the public, I’m not going to sign it,” Kasich said on NBC’s Meet The Press Daily. “For example, there’s talk now in my state about changing Stand Your Ground. I said, ‘I’m not signing it. Don’t give it to me.’”
The sponsors of the bill, Republican state Sens. Joe Uecker and Jay Hottinger, have not returned a request for comment.
HB 228 is one of 14 bills currently in the Ohio legislature that would expand gun rights.
