Columbus council pushing 'common sense' gun control proposals forward amid legal dispute

Columbus residents and those impacted by gun violence spoke in favor of a proposed gun legislation package during a public hearing Tuesday as city officials say they have a narrow opportunity amid a legal dispute.

Gun violence survivors shared what they contend are laws that fail to protect people from an epidemic of individual shootings too often resulting from escalating verbal disagreements and mass shootings like the one over the weekend at the LGBQT bar in Colorado.

The proposed Columbus gun-control measures, announced earlier this month, would prohibit ordinary citizens possessing large-caliber ammunition magazines containing more than 30 rounds and require the safe storage of firearms when minors could reasonably be in danger of handling them.

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The proposed prohibitions would also target "straw men" gun sales, where people who can legally purchase firearms do so for those who can't.

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During the hearing, Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said the city needed to take dramatic action and do “everything in our power” to tackle gun violence. The city has experienced two straight years of record homicide numbers, totaling 205 last year.

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“Think about the world, and how the dangers to our children have changed in such a short span of time,” Ginther said. “Just like so many communities across our country, our city is being robbed of its most precious asset, our people.”

Columbus city officials said earlier this month that they will act quickly to pass new gun-control legislation after a Franklin County judge blocked part of a state law that prohibited cities from having more-stringent restrictions than the state, saying it violated the state's constitution.

But the window of opportunity seemed to close again later in November, when Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Stephen L. McIntosh — the same judge who granted the city a preliminary injunction against the state law leaving gun legislation up to the General Assembly and prompted the city to file suit three years ago — stayed his own ruling pending appeal at the request of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

Yost's office maintains that Judge McIntosh's stay also prevents the city from enacting gun-control measures while the matter is being heard on appeal.

Columbus Council Member Shayla Favor said the city's proposed legislation simply involves "common sense" regulations designed to reduce the risk of mass shootings like the one over the weekend at Club Q in Colorado, where five people were killed and 19 others wounded by a man with an assault-style rifle.

"Whether you are in support of guns or opposed to guns, you should recognize there needs to be responsible gun ownership," Favor said. "I am tired of going to funerals. I am tired of our mothers and family members coming before this legislative body looking for us to do something.

"And we're doing something."

Ohio legislature 'doesn't care' about gun violence, speakers tell council

All of those who spoke at the hearing, scheduled less than 48 hours before the Thanksgiving holiday, were in favor of expanding restrictions on firearms.

Erick Bellomy Jr., the Ohio lead for Brady, a national anti-gun violence organization, said he is sick of inaction from the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature, which he said seems like is deliberately ignorant of the crisis of gun violence.

Bellomy’s father was killed in Columbus in 2017 during a robbery attempt.

“I saw my father lying in the living room of his home, lifeless,” Bellomy said. “And when it comes to testifying countless times, I realized (the Ohio General Assembly) doesn’t care.”

Shannon Daniel-Waitas, of Grove City, shared with Columbus City Council how her partner was shot and killed and she was shot at by her ex-husband in Milford, Ohio, in 2014.

“I know the regulations you’re considering may not have prevented the tragedy that happened to us,” Daniel-Waitas said. “But they can save other lives.”

In written testimony, several people voiced their opposition to the resolution. Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a gun rights advocacy organization, said he believed the proposed ordinance was unlawful.

Rieck said his organization is “fully prepared to defend the right of Columbus residents to bear arms before the courts.”

City Attorney Zach Klein said Tuesday that elected city officials intended to act on the situation.

“I can’t predict the court, I don’t know how long this will last, but I can say we’re here and have the opportunity,” Klein said. “We will proceed until told by a court otherwise to stop.”

The gun-control legislation package is proposed for emergency second reading for a city council vote on Dec. 5 or 12.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect first name for the executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Gun control: Victims' relatives urge action by Columbus City Council