Ohio AG, county prosecutors at odds over gun bill sponsored by area rep

May 13—Legislation sponsored by an area representative that would increase penalties for repeat offenders of gun-related crimes has backing from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, but is facing pushback from county prosecutors.

House Bill 522 was sponsored by state Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, along with Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania.

The 220-page criminal offense bill toughens the state's weapons under disability penalties for repeat offenders.

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Under current state law, someone caught with weapons under disability (as in, a person convicted of a felony offense of violence or drug crime who lost their Second Amendment rights and then was caught with a weapon once more) is charged with a third degree felony conviction for each infraction, no matter how many times they're caught.

Under H.B. 522, that person would be subject to increasingly tough penalties.

The bill goes further by changing two core things about the state's gun "specifications" — conditions that could lead to increased prison sentences. Those changes would:

—Create an entirely new specification for repeat violent gun offenders. The specification would carry an additional three-to five-year prison sentence.

—Increase prison sentences under the state's current violent gun specifications..

Yost said the bill will make Ohio cities safer.

"What has kind of been implied but not said is: We need to get these people off the street. And if we take them off the street, they're not going to be committing additional crimes," Yost said. "This bill will accomplish that goal."

But the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association fears the bill could have unintended consequences.

"Prosecutors really want to get tough on these repeat firearms offenders too and get them off our streets for longer periods of time. To the extent that the bill's doing that, I think it's great," said Lou Tobin, executive director with the OPAA. "But we're not going to make tradeoffs in terms of public safety where we're promoting it in one hand and undermining it with the other."

The OPAA's problems with the bill comes down to two key points.

While the bill would increase the felony charge for weapons under disability for violent offenders, the bill would reduce penalties for illegal gun possession for people convicted of non-violent felonies. By doing so, the OPAA argued, more felons with a penchant for illegal gun possession would be eligible for probation and, therefore, more dangerous to the rest of society.

The bill also automatically seals certain criminal records after five years, which Tobin said removes a convicted felon's requirement to prove to the court that they are indeed rehabilitated.

"If we're sealing records automatically, we're going to inevitably be sealing the records of people who aren't rehabilitated yet. And that's just dangerous," Tobin said.

H.B. 522 has not yet been assigned to committee. Tobin said he's optimistic that the OPAA and the sponsors can reach a compromise as the bill progresses through the House.

House Democrats have not yet taken a stance on the bill. The greatly-outnumbered caucus has made several attempts to push various other forms of gun safety legislation this general assembly but has received minimal support from Republicans.

Willis said he and Williams worked hand-in-hand with Second Amendment organizations to make the bill as palatable as possible.

Willis, who described himself as pro-gun, said they worked with the understanding that a gun crime "was not necessarily because of the gun, but it was because of the person who happens to be perpetrating the crime with a gun."

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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.

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