One of the leading Democratic candidates for governor – who has earned top ratings from the NRA and state gun groups – laid out his gun platform today. It includes universal background checks, a crackdown on illegal gun purchases and a ban on bump stocks. As WKSU’s M.L. Schultze reports, Richard Cordray also took a tentative step toward restricting assault-style weapons.
Cordray was speaking to Stark County’s annual law enforcement breakfast while police were responding to a middle school five miles away where a seventh-grader had shot himself.
During the speech, Cordray said the issue of gun violence needs to be addressed in a bipartisan way with background checks, mental health treatment and measures to crack down on illegal gun sales.
“We also need to rethink our approach to military-style weapons that are used to perpetrate mass shootings.
Cordray says he continues to support responsible gun ownership. “but we also need to strongly enforce existing laws, take steps to ensure the laws are not being circumvented and take further steps to make sure that guns don’t get into the wrong hands and are not being enhanced to engage in mass killings.”
Cordray was attorney general when two cities, Columbus and Cleveland, tried to block an Ohio law keeping any local governments from enacting gun laws tougher than the state law. He said it was his job to defend the state.
One of Cordray’s Democratic opponents, Dennis Kucinich, wants Ohio to ban AR-15-style weapons.
Click here for the position on guns Richard Cordray outlined Tuesday.
