Gun Safety
Media
Our hearts go out to Pittsburgh.
Monday, October 29th, 2018
Saturday morning, Americans were once again confronted by the devastating effects of armed hatred. An attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania has left 11 dead and others, including members of law enforcement, wounded. We will learn exactly what occurred in the coming days, but one thing is clear: this was […]
IN WAKE OF TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING OHIOANS FOR GUN SAFETY CALLS FOR ACTION
Friday, May 18th, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLUMBUS – Ohioans For Gun Safety, the grass roots coalition working to bring common sense background checks for gun safety to our state, released the following in response to the tragic school shooting in Texas today. “Once again, we join people around the nation and the world in sending our thoughts and […]
COLUMBUS CITY COUNCIL OFFICIALLY SUPPORTS OHIOANS FOR GUN SAFETY
Wednesday, May 16th, 2018
Marian Harris and Deb Grayson of Ohioans for Gun Safety accept Columbus City Council Resolution FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE COLUMBUS – Grassroots organization, Ohioans for Gun Safety, applauds the leadership of Columbus City Council in passing the following resolution: “To Support Grassroots Efforts by Ohioans for Gun Safety to Close Background Check Loopholes and Join […]
Dispatch Editorial: Ballot can cure legislative inaction on guns
Monday, April 23rd, 2018
“Among nations, only the United States makes it easy for criminals and the deranged to buy all types of weapons with practically unlimited firepower. The madness persists, even though large majorities of Americans — in national surveys over the decades — voice support for universal background checks and waiting periods for firearms purchases.” Read the […]
Ohioans for Gun Safety Participates in the March For Our Lives
Thursday, March 22nd, 2018
This Saturday we will march with thousands of students across the country in the March For Our Lives. For too long gun violence has permeated our schools, theaters, stores, churches – everywhere. Steps must be taken to curb the trend of gun violence in our state. We propose common sense background checks for gun safety, […]
IN WAKE OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS OHIOANS FOR GUN SAFETY CALL FOR ACTION
Thursday, February 15th, 2018
COLUMBUS – Ohioans For Gun Safety, the grass roots coalition working to bring common sense background checks for gun safety to our state, released the following in response to the tragic shooting at a Florida school yesterday. “We join the nation and the world in sending our thoughts and prayers to the families and their loved ones […]
Senators Introduce Background Check Expansion Act To Reduce Gun Violence
Saturday, October 28th, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich are original cosponsors of the Background Check Expansion Act to expand federal background checks to the sale or transfer of all firearms by private sellers, with certain reasonable exceptions. Under current law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check prior […]
Gun Background Checks Reduce Crime And Save Lives
Friday, October 27th, 2017
Background checks are the only systematic way to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. But under current federal law, background checks are only required for gun sales at licensed dealers. An estimated 40 percent of gun transfers take place between “private” parties — often at gun shows or through anonymous online transactions — […]
Connecticut senators to announce Background Check Expansion Act
Wednesday, October 25th, 2017
WASHINGTON D.C. (WTNH)– Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation are introducing the “Background Check Expansion Act” to Congress On Wednesday. That legislation would expand the federal requirements for background checks to firearm sales by private sellers. Under the current law, unlicensed or private sellers are not required to conduct a background check before transferring a firearm. Read the full article […]
Major change to Ohio gun laws takes step forward
Tuesday, October 24th, 2017
Ohio lawmakers voted 69-24 on a controversial change in law for people who have a license to carry a concealed weapon. It covers the situation when a license holder is pulled over on the road by a police officer. Under current law, the license holder must promptly inform the officer that they have a license […]
America, armed and dangerous
Sunday, October 22nd, 2017
Would tighter gun control laws reduce America’s unparalleled levels of gun violence? Here’s everything you need to know: How severe is the problem? It’s worse than in any other nation in the civilized world. Every day, an average of 300 Americans are shot. There were 36,252 firearm deaths in the U.S. in 2015 — including […]
Police: Gun Found on 3rd-Grader at Ohio Elementary School
Thursday, October 19th, 2017
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (AP) — Police say a gun has been found on a third-grader who told authorities he’d been bullied at a southwest Ohio elementary school. Middletown police say the gun was found Monday on a 9-year-old boy after a teacher noticed a bulge in his pocket. Police say the boy grabbed at the teacher’s arm when […]
OPINION: 5 gun laws that could make good and bad changes in Ohio
Wednesday, October 18th, 2017
There are five bills currently before the Ohio Senate that could alter gun laws in the state. Opinion writer Michael Broerman says these could make much needed changes, or could make the problem worse. The mass shooting in Las Vegas this October, the deadliest in modern American history, at least since the last deadliest in modern […]
Handgun waiting period laws save lives, study says
Monday, October 16th, 2017
Over 33,000 people in the United States die each year from firearm injuries, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, delaying the purchase of guns by a couple of days could save nearly 1,700 lives a year, according to a study released Monday. Researchers at Harvard Business School analyzed waiting period […]
Nevada Suit Seeks to Enforce Expanded Gun Background Checks
Friday, October 13th, 2017
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A group behind a ballot initiative that Nevada voters approved last year expanding gun background checks to unlicensed dealers is suing the governor and attorney general to try to make them enforce it. The measure mandating FBI background checks on private-party gun sales passed by less than 1 percentage point in November after […]
Statement on the Las Vegas Mass Shooting
Wednesday, October 11th, 2017
We have had a week of sympathy, solemnity, and solace over the 59 dead and hundreds wounded in Las Vegas. It’s time for action on gun violence in America. According to the CDC America suffered 36,252 gun-related deaths in 2015, an 8% increase over 2014. That’s 99 deaths every day in America.* Ohio suffered nearly 1400 […]
Sen. Sherrod Brown backs ‘bump stock’ gun-control bill, while Sen. Rob Portman says he’ll review it
Wednesday, October 4th, 2017
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress will try to outlaw devices that can turn semi-automatic weapons into a close approximation of machine guns, days after a Las vegas gunman used such “bump stocks” to make it easier to mow down concertgoers at an outdoor festival, killing 58 and injuring about 500. Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, said […]
Here are the six pending gun bills in Ohio
Monday, October 2nd, 2017
— Stand your ground: Companion bills (Senate Bill 180 and House Bill 228) would allow gun owners to use deadly force against would-be assailants in self defense and eliminate the duty under current law to retreat before using force. Neither bill has yet received a committee hearing. — Banned place forgiveness: House Bill 233 would permit a concealed-carry permit holder to […]
Ohio ranks 8th among U.S. states in registered weapons; gun manufacturing near record high, ATF says
Friday, September 22nd, 2017
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The number of guns manufactured in the U.S. spiked in the past five years and has remained near-record levels ever since, according to a report released Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In Ohio, there were 173,405 short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machine guns, silencers, explosives and other weapons […]
Ohioans for Gun Safety Launches Campaign
Thursday, September 7th, 2017
Today, a grassroots coalition of Ohioans dedicated to bringing common sense background checks for gun safety, known as Ohioans for Gun Safety, hosted a press conference to announce the start of their campaign. Ohioans for Gun Safety has been working together across the state by fostering conversations and hosting meetings to address the growing gun violence […]
Proposed Ohio ballot initiative would require background checks for all gun sales
Thursday, September 7th, 2017
COLUMBUS (WCMH) — A group is proposing a ballot initiative to require background checks for all gun sales in Ohio. The newly formed group calling itself ‘Ohioans for Gun Safety’ says they want ‘common sense’ background checks to stem the number of gun deaths. Statistics show nearly 12,000 people nationally are murdered each year in […]
New Ohio group calls for ‘common sense’ gun rules
Thursday, September 7th, 2017
Holding a framed picture of his son Kenny, Kevin James told the story of how his child was struck down about seven years ago as an innocent victim of gun violence. Kenny was shot and killed late Oct. 14, 2010. He would have been turning 30 this year. “That in essence was the worst day […]
New study reveals disturbing trend with school violence in Ohio
Wednesday, August 30th, 2017
Amanda Klinger of the Educator’s Safety Network knows there is cause for concern with the recent uptick of violence in schools. “I don’t want to ever talk anything up to just being a sign of the times, but as parents and educators, we do need to be concerned.” That’s the message from Klinger. ESSN is […]
Ohio Judge Shot Outside Courthouse in Apparent Ambush-Style Attack
Monday, August 21st, 2017
An Ohio judge is in stable condition after being shot in an ambush-style attack on his way into a courthouse on Monday morning, officials said. Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. was just arriving for work at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Steubenville at around 8 a.m. when he was ambushed, according to Jefferson County Sheriff […]
Guest view: Bad gun bills could backfire
Wednesday, August 9th, 2017
Two bad gun bills are under consideration at the Ohio Statehouse. They would do nothing to strengthen the Second Amendment, but they would trample on the property rights and equal treatment of many ordinary Ohioans. The first bill, passed by the House in July and sent to the Senate for debate, would give concealed-carry permit […]
Guns in schools: Mad River Schools trains 32 staff to shoot intruders
Wednesday, August 9th, 2017
Intruders beware: Thirty-two teachers and staff in Mad River Local Schools are now armed and ready to kill. When school gets back in session Monday, each building will have a number of the trained staff members who are able to access hidden gun safes, the combinations of which are known exclusively to the individual staff […]
Ohio House passes bill to decriminalize concealed handguns in schools, other gun-free zones
Thursday, July 6th, 2017
The Ohio House adopted a bill Thursday that would allow concealed handgun license holders to avoid punishment if they enter a gun-free zone such as a school with a weapon. If concealed licensees leave the premises when found with a gun under House Bill 233, they would face no criminal charges. After passing mostly along […]
Pro-Gun Group Funding Firearms Training For Ohio Teachers
Thursday, June 8th, 2017
As the school year comes to a close, some Ohio teachers will be spending part of their summer break training for next fall. They’re preparing in case of an active shooter in their schools. But this time around, teachers aren’t learning to barricade doors or counter a shooter with distractions. Read the full story here.
Ohio bill would decriminalize carrying concealed handguns in schools, other gun-free zones
Thursday, May 18th, 2017
Concealed handgun permit holders caught carrying on school grounds and other gun-free sites would no longer be subject to prison time under a bill introduced in the Ohio House. Rep. John Becker, a Clermont County Republican, sponsored a bill decriminalizing the violation. Under House Bill 233, a concealed handgun license holder, with a concealed firearm, […]
64 guns seized from home of killer in Ohio nursing home shooting
Wednesday, May 17th, 2017
More than 60 guns were found in the home of a man who fatally shot his former girlfriend, her co-worker and a newly appointed police chief before turning a gun on himself, authorities said. The guns were found Friday at the home of 43-year-old Thomas Hartless by sheriff’s deputies and investigators from the Ohio Bureau […]
Ohio Police Officer Injured in Shooting Range Accident
Tuesday, April 25th, 2017
An official says an Ohio police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg at a shooting range owned by a school that provides career training to adults and high schoolers. The police officer was injured at the Lorain County Joint Vocational School in Oberlin. He was flown by helicopter to Cleveland for treatment. Read the […]
Concealed handguns allowed in more places in Ohio
Saturday, April 22nd, 2017
Ohio’s expanded concealed carry weapons (CCW) law has been in place for a month, allowing people with CCW permits to bring their handguns into previously forbidden places, including child care centers, workplace parking lots and airport terminals. Ohio legislators passed the bill in the December lame duck session and it was signed by Ohio Gov. […]
Another Ohio school district allows armed staff in school
Thursday, April 20th, 2017
Another school district in rural eastern Ohio has approved allowing staff with firearms on school grounds and in certain school safety zones. The Times-Reporter of Dover and New Philadelphia reports the new weapons policy was unanimously approved this week by the board for Indian Valley Local Schools in Gnadenhutten, roughly 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of […]
Police say 9 shot early Sunday in Ohio club, 2 critical
Sunday, April 16th, 2017
Police in Ohio’s capital city say nine people have been wounded, two critically, in an early morning shooting in a Columbus club. Columbus police say initial investigation indicates an argument erupted into gunfire at 3:20 a.m. EDT in the J&R Party Hall. They say five females and four men were shot, with wounds ranging from […]
Cleveland mayor says availability of guns leads to violence on the streets
Wednesday, March 29th, 2017
Mayor Frank Jackson said the availability of guns leads to violence on the streets. Five people are dead after three incidents this past weekend, ten people total were injured. Police Chief Calvin Williams said that anyone with info on the weekend homicides should contact detectives. Williams wants people close to the suspects and the victims […]
Area universities veto allowing concealed weapons on campus
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017
A state law now allows college officials to permit concealed carry on campus, but area universities are declining to do so. Senate Bill 199, which took effect Tuesday, allows boards of trustees at the state’s public higher education institutions to allow concealed firearms on campus. Read the full Toledo Blade story here
Laws allowing guns in parking lots, driving through red lights take effect
Tuesday, March 21st, 2017
Employers can no longer forbid workers from bringing guns on company property if the weapons remain locked in vehicles under a new law that took effect Tuesday. Meanwhile, ticketing drivers for going through red lights just got more complicated under a separate law that also took effect today — though that’s an issue lawmakers hope […]
US House approves bill making it easier for ‘mentally incompetent’ veterans to purchase guns
Friday, March 17th, 2017
[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] approved [materials] a bill [text] on Thursday making it easier for certain veterans to obtain firearms. The bill adds a requirement that declaring a veteran mentally defective for purposes of restricting their ability to purchase or own a firearm must be done with an “order or finding […]
Hundreds killed by guns in workplace
Monday, March 13th, 2017
Firearms were the cause of about one-tenth of workplace fatalities in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The shootings run the gamut from robberies and other crimes, to police officers and security forces killed in the line of duty, to suicides, to disgruntled employees or spouses coming in and killing people. […]
9 workplace shooting incidents in Ohio and the U.S.
Monday, March 13th, 2017
News accounts of workplace shootings by disgruntled employees are fodder for both gun rights advocates and gun control proponents to make their cases. Ohio’s newly expanded Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) law allows license-holders to bring their handguns onto company property beginning on March 21. The law overturns gun-free workplace company policies and forbids companies from disciplining employees […]
Police arrest man who reportedly flashed gun at Columbus State
Thursday, March 9th, 2017
UPDATE: The man who accused of revealing a gun at Columbus State Community College Wednesday was arrested overnight in Dublin. The Columbus State Police Department says they were able to identify the suspect with assistance from several law enforcement agencies. Police identified the man as 18-year-old Deandre Kenterrious Lamarion McClarin. They say he is not […]
Pilot program to offer gun boxes to parents of young children
Monday, March 6th, 2017
A new partnership is handing out lock boxes for guns to some Columbus pediatricians to distribute in an effort to curb the number of unintentional shootings among young children. Parents bringing 2- or 3-year-olds to certain pediatric offices will be asked if guns are kept at home. If so, the parents will be offered a […]
Ohio issues record number of concealed-carry permits in 2016
Wednesday, March 1st, 2017
Ohio issued a record-breaking 158,000 concealed-carry gun permits in 2016, and 75 percent of them were for newly licensed individuals. Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine said the perception that only “gun people” are getting concealed-carry licenses is changing. “It’s becoming more mainstream,” Irvine said. Read the full Columbus Dispatch story here
Letter: Gun owners need more safety training
Monday, February 20th, 2017
On Thursday The Lima News had front page coverage of the increased demand for licenses for concealed carry of handguns. It indicates that many new licensees are concerned about crime and about political unrest and are worried about protecting themselves and their right to bear arms. I am glad that every one of these new […]
New study finds one in five US gun owners obtained firearm without background check
Friday, January 6th, 2017
One in five U.S. gun owners who obtained a firearm in the past two years did so without a background check, according to a new national survey conducted by researchers at Northeastern University and Harvard University. The study also found the share of gun owners who acquired firearms via private sale without background checks was […]
New law allows Ohioans to carry guns at colleges, day-care centers
Monday, December 19th, 2016
Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a law Monday expanding gun rights across the state. * Specify that an active duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces: (1) does not need a concealed handgun license to carry a handgun concealed if the member is carrying valid military identification and documentation of successful completion of specified firearms […]
A family remembers their daughter 4 years after Sandy Hook shooting
Wednesday, December 14th, 2016
Four years after the unimaginable Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, parents of victims like Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, were sharing their memories and their anguish over their loss. Little Ana’s death reverberated as far as Puerto Rico, from where her grandmother, a former teacher in Connecticut, hails. Ana was the grandchild of the […]
Ballot question closing background check loophole passes in Nevada
Wednesday, November 9th, 2016
Nevada has joined 18 other states in closing a loophole that allows gun buyers to avoid background checks in purchases from private individuals at gun shows, through connections made on the internet and elsewhere. In unofficial results from statewide voting, Question 1 was narrowly approved by Nevada voters. The measure makes private transactions subject to […]
Where Background Checks Work
Wednesday, July 13th, 2016
Homicides rose after Missouri loosened its gun laws. That carries lessons for everywhere else. When congressional Democrats staged a sit-in on the House floor last month to demand a vote on gun control measures, many of them touted a familiar policy solution: universal background checks. Federal law already requires background checks for anyone purchasing a gun […]
Background Checks For Guns Could Save Many Lives: Study
Thursday, March 10th, 2016
Laws requiring background checks for buyers of guns and ammunition, as well as requirements that firearms be traceable, could sharply reduce gun deaths in the United States, according to a study published on Thursday. Many state-level gun regulations have little effect on the number of gun-related homicides and suicides. But “stand-your-ground” laws, which allow people […]
Three state laws that ‘substantially reduce’ gun deaths
Thursday, March 10th, 2016
Gun-related deaths in the U.S. could be reduced by more than 80 percent if three laws implemented in some states were extended nationally, an analysis led by Boston University researchers shows. In a study published in The Lancet, a research team analyzing state-level data from 2010 on gun-related deaths and 25 state-specific gun laws identified three […]
41% of Americans Think the United States Already Has Universal Gun Background Checks, Survey Shows
Thursday, February 4th, 2016
A majority of Americans support stronger gun laws, but much of the public seems misinformed about the rules currently on the books. That’s the conclusion of a new survey by Yale University researchers Benjamin Miller and Peter Aronow, whose study shows that while 53 percent of respondents favor stricter gun regulation, 41 percent believe the federal government already requires […]
Gun Owners Overwhelmingly Support Background Checks, See NRA as Out of Touch, New Poll Finds
Tuesday, November 17th, 2015
A new national Public Policy Polling survey of gun owners finds overwhelming support for background checks and a higher likelihood of supporting political candidates who move them forward. Gun owners also believe the National Rifle Association, or NRA, is out of touch with them on these issues, and many believe the organization has lost its way altogether. […]
Study: Repealing Missouri’s background check law associated with a murder spike
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
The 2007 repeal of a Missouri law that required background checks and licenses for all handgun owners appears to be associated with a significant increase in murders there, a new study finds. What the study found The law’s repeal was correlated with a 23 percent spike in firearm homicide rates, or an additional 55 to 63 […]
“The Strongest Evidence We Have that Background Checks Really Matter”
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
During last year’s battle over gun control, the pro-gun side did more than passionately invoke the Second Amendment: They claimed that gun control doesn’t work. Sometimes even the reformers, surveying the limited impact of legislation from the 1990s, feared the same. But a new study on universal background checks makes the strongest case yet that the policy saves lives. “This […]
This New Study Proves That Background Checks Save Lives
Saturday, February 15th, 2014
Missouri’s decision to repeal its law requiring all handgun purchasers to obtain a “permit-to-purchase” (PTP) verifying they passed a background check led to a 16 percent increase in the state murder rate, a new study from Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research has found. The additional gun murders occurred as the national and […]
