Terry Johnson
Prohibition on gun insurance requirements getting first Ohio House hearing
A consequential firearms measure cruised through the Ohio Senate and is currently waiting on a hearing in the House Insurance committee. The proposal, like numerous previous measures, preempts local action, this time by prohibiting fees or liability insurance for gun owners. Cities around Ohio are wrestling with increases in violent crime since the pandemic, but […]
Ohio makes it easier to get firearms despite rise in gun violence
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Gun violence has been steadily increasing in the City of Cleveland […]
DeWine vetoes bill targeting his pandemic authority; override awaits
Gov. Mike DeWine has vetoed a bill seeking to allow lawmakers to rescind public health orders they disagree with, once again fulfilling a pledge to block any legislation targeting his administration’s authority to respond aggressively to a deadly pandemic. The ball is now in the legislature’s court to override his veto. Republican legislative leaders have […]
Lawmakers pass bill to let them rescind health orders, setting up clash with DeWine
The Ohio General Assembly approved a bill Wednesday to allow lawmakers to strike down health orders they disagree with, sending the legislation to a governor who has already vowed to veto it. Republican leaders in the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate committed to holding votes to override Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of Senate […]
Public health officials say SB 22 would hamper pandemic response
Public health took center stage at the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, if only for an hour, with experts crediting the government pandemic response for saving lives and asking lawmakers not to hamper the ability to do so again in the future. Officials representing health departments throughout Ohio are opposed to Republican-backed legislation that would give […]
Ohio bill targeting health dept. authority may be unconstitutional, Statehouse researchers say
Some Ohio lawmakers believe the health orders issued over the past year are unconstitutional and reflect an executive branch of government overstepping its boundaries. A proposed bill to solve that problem may itself be unconstitutional. That’s the opinion of the Legislative Service Commission, a non-partisan group which provides legal and policy research to Ohio legislators. Senate […]
Anti-mask, anti-vax Ohioans support bill targeting health dept. authority
Maskless and frustrated, a string of Ohioans offered tales Wednesday of their personal aggrievement since the coronavirus pandemic began. A woman told of her favorite gluten-free bake shop closing down in 2020, thus denying her access to “cheesy bread with the best freshly made marinara sauce I’ve ever tasted.” She also claimed her cat died […]
Ohio Republicans propose committee that could rescind COVID-19 health orders
With a new term of the Ohio General Assembly comes a new effort by Republican lawmakers to target the authority of state health officials to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. A new bill proposes the creation of a legislative committee that could strike down health orders, emergency declarations and executive orders from the governor. It […]
Gun advocates argue for removal of ‘duty to retreat’ in Ohio
A third hearing on a bill to remove the duty to retreat from a self-defense law was eventful and testy at times on Wednesday in its state Senate committee. Senate Bill 237 would expand the current law, often called the Castle Doctrine, which gives Ohio residents legal standing to use force to defend their home […]
Supporters of ‘Duty to Retreat Act’ testify before Senate committee
A committee of state senators took another look Tuesday at a proposed change to the self-defense law that would eliminate the legal requirement for a person to try to escape an aggressor before fighting back with deadly force. Members of Ohioans for Concealed Carry and Ohio Gun Owners testified in support of Senate Bill 237, […]
Ohio abortion bills by the numbers: Here’s what’s pending
A number of abortion-related bills have passed at least one chamber of the Ohio legislature, or are being reviewed currently within the Statehouse. Legislation that would effectively ban abortions after about six weeks — Senate Bill 23 — passed the Senate in April with 18 votes in favor and 13 opposed. The House approved the […]