City Council joined statewide efforts to avoid loosening restrictions on the use of deadly force when it unanimously passed on Sept. 11 a resolution that opposes H.B. 203, Ohio’s version of controversial “Stand Your Ground” laws.
The vote puts Cincinnati in the middle of a national dialogue that’s been ongoing since the death of unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., in 2012.
The bill, introduced by House Republicans on June 11, contains several revisions to the state’s gun laws, the most controversial of which is the proposal to expand the circumstances in which a person has no duty to retreat from a threatening situation before using force in self-defense. Those in opposition to the bill worry that change will encourage vigilante justice and give gun owners a false sense of entitlement in using their firearms in otherwise non-violent situations.
The bill’s language also loosens restrictions on concealed carry permits and would make it easier for individuals subject to protection orders to obtain handguns.
State Rep. Alicia Reece spoke at a press conference at City Hall to support Cincinnati’s formal opposition to the bill. Reece, also president of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, is part of its statewide campaign to garner enough opposition to H.B. 203 to present to Gov. John Kasich and other legislative leaders.
She says OLBC has already collected about 5,000 petitions and hopes to obtain more than 10,000 by the time the Ohio House of Representatives resumes regular sessions on Oct. 2.
Reece and Councilwoman Yvette Simpson, who sponsored the resolution, insist that Ohio’s self-defense laws are already strong enough to protect those who face physical threats from others. In 2008, then-Gov. Ted Strickland signed Ohio’s “Castle Doctrine” law, which stripped homeowners of the duty to try to retreat in threatening situations and gives them the “benefit of the doubt” when they injure or kill a person who enters their residence or vehicle.
