After an impassioned debate, the Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday approved legislation that would make sweeping changes to the state’s concealed-weapons laws, including a so-called “stand your ground” self-defense provision.
With the 62-27 vote, the legislation now heads to the Ohio Senate.
Supporters of House Bill 203 said it contains a number of changes designed to shore up Second Amendment rights, cut red tape, toughen rules for concealed handgun permits, and expand recognition of Ohio’s conceal-carry permits to other states.
But Democratic legislators warned that a so-called “stand your ground” self-defense provision would lead to greater gun violence in the state, particularly against minorities.
The stand-your-ground provision would eliminate Ohio’s law requiring a person to retreat before using deadly force in self-defense. Under current Ohio law, residents have no duty to retreat only when they are in their homes, cars, or the vehicles of immediate family members – a so-called “castle doctrine.”
State Rep. Terry Johnson, a Republican from McDermott, said removing the duty to retreat affirms Ohioans’ natural right to self-defense and would benefit victims of violent crime.
Even if the bill passes, he said, Ohio will still have one of the nation’s highest burdens of proof that a person killed in self-defense.
But several Democrats, particularly members of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, spoke against the proposal.
They compared HB 203 to Florida’s “stand your ground” law, which came under scrutiny in 2012 during the trial of George Zimmerman for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. A jury acquitted Zimmerman of murder and manslaughter charges, saying he acted in self-defense.
State Rep. Alicia Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat, dubbed the proposal “kill at will,” and raised the possibility of people being gunned down as they walked down the street.
She cited a study showing that in states with stand-your-ground laws, white-on-black shootings were found to have been in self-defense far more than black-on-white killings.
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