Second Amendment

Misfire: Ohio House adjourns without taking up Second Amendment sanctuary bill

BY: - December 7, 2023

The Ohio House balked Wednesday on a measure that would excise any reference to federal gun statutes in state law. House Speaker Jason Stephens abruptly gaveled out of session without taking up the proposal. Supporters claim the measure, known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, or SAPA, is only meant to keep federal authorities from […]

Ohio court shoots down Columbus gun safety regulations

BY: - December 4, 2023

An Ohio court has shot down Columbus’ efforts to save lives, siding with gun rights advocates to rule that the city can’t require firearm owners to lock their guns up to prevent children from accessing them. Ohio’s Fifth District Court of Appeals dismissed the city’s request to overturn a Deleware County judge’s decision, which granted […]

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, led a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun violence on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Screenshot from U.S. Senate webcast)

Gun violence as a public health crisis explored by U.S. Senate Democrats

BY: - November 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats on Tuesday discussed how to treat gun violence as a public health crisis, in hopes of building upon last year’s federal gun safety legislation. “Across the country, gun violence is a public health epidemic,” Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, the chairman of the committee, said in his opening remarks. […]

Ohio Second Amendment ‘sanctuary’ measure cleared for the House floor

BY: - November 20, 2023

An Ohio House committee has signed off on the Second Amendment Preservation Act, clearing the way for its consideration on the floor. The measure removes references in state firearms law to federal statutes and places strict limits on cooperation with federal officials. The stated purpose being to keep local agencies from enforcing federal laws or […]

Second Amendment ‘sanctuary’ bill in Ohio gets tweaks to its approach

BY: - October 12, 2023

With little discussion Tuesday, an Ohio House committee approved a series of changes to a controversial gun measure. The bill, known as the Second Amendment Preservation Act, would keep state and local law enforcement from carrying out federal firearm provisions. Supporters claim the measure falls within the scope of anti-commandeering doctrine; essentially, federal officials can’t […]

COMMENTARY

Gun violence is a proxy war on the American public

BY: - March 31, 2023

As the riot of gun violence in America produces fresh massacres by the day, firearm fundamentalists refuse to acknowledge the blood on their hands, and their suicidal stance in the face of escalating carnage is that more guns are the answer. But it’s worse than that. Take a close look at the arguments that gun […]

COMMENTARY

A grim theory on how we get gun safety laws

BY: - March 29, 2023

TENNESSEE — Nashville-based writers already have written movingly about the tragic gun crime at Covenant School, yet another school shooting — this one took the lives of three children and three adults. Let me add this perspective from only a modest distance away, my adopted home of Knoxville is less than a 3-hour drive east […]

“This bill is a stinker.” Opponents bash Ohio Second Amendment ‘sanctuary’ legislation

BY: - March 15, 2023

Opponents lined up Tuesday against a measure to cut federal firearm provisions out of Ohio’s state law. The measure’s proponents argue it will keep federal agencies from commandeering local officers. Committee speakers forcefully rejected that argument. More than 80 people submitted testimony in opposition of the proposal ahead of the committee hearing. More than a […]

COMMENTARY
Getty Images photo of concealed carry.

Ohio Republican gun law proposal is unconstitutional, performative, and needlessly dangerous

BY: - March 14, 2023

Ohio leaders have bent over backward to give powerful gun lobbyists everything they wanted and more. The National Rifle Association owns our Statehouse lock, stock, and barrel. Republican lawmakers can’t introduce and pass enough pro-gun, industry-written legislation to legalize unlimited gun access in Ohio and allow unrestricted freedom to strap on a Glock anytime, anywhere […]

COMMENTARY

No, guns do kill people. And the solution is glaringly obvious

BY: - January 27, 2023

My Nhan, 65, immigrated to the United States from Vietnam in the 1980s, and made her home in California’s San Gabriel Valley, in a community called Rosemead. Her niece, Fonda Quan, said she was ready “to start the year fresh,” and celebrate with her friends, according to the CBC. She never got the chance. Nhan was among the […]

Gun wall rack with rifles. Getty Images.

Wave of mass shootings prompts Biden to call yet again for assault weapons ban

BY: - January 25, 2023

WASHINGTON — Following a mass shooting on the eve of Lunar New Year in which 11 people in a predominantly Asian neighborhood in California were killed, President Joe Biden again urged Congress to pass legislation banning assault weapons. Communities across America “have been struck by tragedy after tragedy, including mass shootings from Colorado Springs to […]

U.S. Supreme Court expands gun rights in striking down New York concealed carry law

BY: - June 24, 2022

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a New York law that made it illegal to carry a firearm in public without showing a special need for protection. The court ruled that the state’s concealed carry law violates the 14th Amendment of the Constitution — a major decision that expands the Second […]