An influential gun rights group says it’s opposing a bill that would make changes in Ohio’s gun and mental health laws. The leader of the Ohio House had pointed to that bill as an alternative to Gov. Mike DeWine’s anti-gun violence package – a proposal that is likely to be opposed by some Republicans.
The Buckeye Firearms Association lists several problems with the bill from Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) and D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) – the biggest, that it would add substance abuse as a reason a person could be involuntarily hospitalized in a psychiatric facility.
In an interview last month, House Speaker Larry Householder (R-Glenford) appeared to favor that bill over DeWine’s STRONG Ohio proposal, which has a private background check system and a version of a red flag gun seizure law. “I think there's a big difference between the two bills,” Householder said.
Buckeye Firearms, which didn’t respond to requests for an interview, also cited concerns about the bill’s provisions delaying the sealing of juvenile records and creating a portal for law enforcement to report violent felonies to the national background check system.
