Rep. Robinson statement on anniversary of Dayton shooting

COLUMBUS— State Rep. Phil Robinson (D-Solon) today issued a statement on the one-year anniversary of a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, which left nine dead and 17 wounded.

“They say that time heals all wounds. I hope that is true for the friends and family of the victims of the Dayton shooting and all other mass shootings. My heart goes out to them, but frankly, I’m tired of expressing only my sympathies. I want to take action to prevent many potential, future mass shootings and gun violence crimes that could have been avoided. To do that, we need common sense gun safety reform,” said Rep. Robinson.

“A full year has gone by without any legislation passed, without any committee votes, and few to almost no hearings in the House on gun safety reform. Even Gov. DeWine’s small reform proposals in Senate Bill 221 have been halted. A majority of the public and law enforcement support these reforms, so it greatly troubles me that Republicans instead continue to push for gun bills that make our communities less safe. I call on Speaker Cupp and committee chairs to hold hearings and votes on the gun safety reform bills when session and committee reconvene, and show they truly support law enforcement and the safety of Ohio’s families.”

In Aug. 2019, Rep. Robinson introduced House Bill (HB) 317, the “Protect Law Enforcement Act” or PLEA, that would require all firearms transactions to be processed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), closing the current loopholes in law that allow many guns sales to occur without a background check.

Democrats have continually pushed for commonsense gun reforms, including:

• HB 240 (Miranda/Kelly): The Child Access Prevention Act, which would ensure firearms are stored safely and securely out of the reach of minors;
• HB 315 (Liston): Provide mental health and suicide prevention information at the purchase site;
• HB 316 (Russo/Sweeney): Extreme Risk Protection Orders;
• HB 317 (Robinson/Miller): universal background checks;
• HB 319 (West/Miller): Restore local control so that everyday Ohioans can decide what commonsense safety solutions work for their community;
• HB 320 (West): Prohibit the sale of a gun if the background check is pending;
• HB 335 (Lepore-Hagan/Boyd): Require subject of certain protection orders to surrender firearms;
• HB 348 (Miller): Prohibit a person subject to a protection order from purchasing or receiving a firearm for the duration of the order;
• HB 349 (Weinstein): Ban possession of high-capacity magazines;
• HB 647 (Strahorn): Prohibits manufacture/sales of high capacity magazines.

The following bills are being held up in committees by the following chairmen:

• Chairman Scott Wiggam, House State & Local Government Committee: HBs 317, 319, and 320;
• Chairman P. Scott Lipps, House Health Committee: HBs 315 and 316;
• Chairman George Lang, House Criminal Justice Committee: HBs 240, 335, and 349;
• Chairman Stephen Hambley, House Civil Justice Committee: HB 348;
• Chairman John Becker, House Federalism Committee: HB 647.

None of the Democratic gun safety bills have been called for a committee vote. HB 317 and most of these bills have never even had a single hearing in their committee.

Meanwhile, House Republicans have prioritized legislation opponents say will make Ohioans less safe, including HB 381, the kill at will bill, and HB 425, legislation to eliminate the duty to notify law enforcement of a concealed weapon, which passed the House in June despite opposition by the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio.

-30-