As protests continue, lawmakers consider ‘stand your ground’ gun bill

COLUMBUS — During a period of civil unrest over racial injustice, the Ohio House is considering legislation to give gun owners the right to stand their ground in public places and use deadly force in self-defense.

“They just don’t get it, do they?” said former state lawmaker Tom Roberts, president of the Ohio NAACP, which opposes the bill.

Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, said in a written statement: “By putting the so-called Stand Your Ground or Kill at Will bill on the agenda during a week of chaos and racial unrest, Republican leadership is showing Ohio what their true values and priorities actually are. The decision to hear this bill also tells the thousands of Ohioans who have flooded the streets in towns and cities all over the state that their voices do not matter.”

House Bill 381, co-sponsored by state Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, received a hearing Tuesday afternoon. House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, who has the power to block or move any bill, said no decision has been made yet on whether the legislation will get a floor vote this week. He didn’t respond to requests for comment from the Dayton Daily News about Sykes’ criticism.