Firearms presented at a gun exhibition. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos for the New Jersey Monitor/States Newsroom.)
Ohio Senate Republicans have passed a bill that would penalize local governments for enacting gun safety regulations.
Children continue to reach for weapons, and hazardous situations turn into tragedies. We have reported on dozens of cases in which children were killed or injured in accidental shootings.
A second-grade student brought a loaded gun to a Kent school, and a police report said “the 8-year-old student had easy access to the weapon at home.”
Fortunately, no one was hurt, but his mother was arrested and charged with child endangerment.
A few days later, the police I found another weapon on a student at Maple Heights Elementary School.
Some cities say there should be tougher penalties for children who gain access to guns, but the state just introduced another bill aimed at punishing their efforts.
It’s an ongoing struggle that we’ve been writing about for years.
“Let’s do our part; we know we have to do it to keep our cities safe,” Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said in 2023, when teenagers shot and killed another man.
Both the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati are trying to keep guns out of reach of children. Each is currently defending in court their local ordinances that require owners to lock up firearms.
“Unfortunately, every time we try to pass what I think are meaningful and reasonable gun reforms, the state legislature beats us to it,” said Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval in 2025.
“This is to protect a person who is lawfully exercising his Second Amendment rights from having to stand up and go to court to enforce his Second Amendment rights against an overzealous municipality that has passed a law that is contrary to the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution,” said Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon.
McColley said local governments should not pass firearms regulations that are more stringent than state law.
“There is now nothing stopping these municipalities from continually challenging and limiting the rights of our citizens,” said Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott.
SB 278 allows anyone to sue municipalities with gun safety laws. It also allows judges to impose penalties on cities, award money to plaintiffs and require cities to pay any legal fees.
“Offering more options for redress allows for a stronger deterrent,” McColley said. “We hope that these municipalities will start following the law.”
Republicans have previously encouraged protected storage to prevent deaths, but say such a requirement is unconstitutional.
“What happened to the principle of self-government?” asked Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. “Does it still exist in Ohio?”
Democrats like Antonio argue that this bill prevents cities from doing what’s best for their communities.
“I don’t believe that the Second Amendment rights of Ohioans are being threatened in any way that this bill would help,” she said. “I think it was another case of trying to find a solution to a problem.”
Cleveland has largely avoided the city-state gun debate, but its spokesman, Tyler Sinclair, said the law is unconstitutional.
“The city, along with other bipartisan organizations, strongly opposes this legislation, which would subject municipalities to criminal penalties for local efforts to address gun violence,” Sinclair said.
“This bill also appears to be unconstitutional and is in direct conflict with the home rule provisions of the Ohio Constitution, which affirms the right of municipalities to exercise local police authority.”
Although he did not address whether Cleveland would sue, Columbus, unsurprisingly, resisted.
“The fact is that self-government is a constitutionally protected right in Ohio, and we remain committed to fighting any attempt to take away that right,” said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
“The city is also committed to not only enforcing gun laws that are already in place, but also to passing common-sense laws that a majority of Ohioans support, such as secure storage requirements. This, combined with investments in people, police, prosecutors, and having lawmakers at every level of government find the political will to join us in changing our gun laws will further reduce crime and save the lives of residents and children.”
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau X AND Facebook.
This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and are published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication on other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
