GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez bucks party to back gun control bill in U.S. House
U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez joined a small group of Republicans on Wednesday to help pass a sweeping gun control package pushed by Democrats in the wake of multiple deadly mass shootings.
Gonzalez was the only GOP member in Ohio and one of five in the U.S. House to support the measure, which would raise the age to buy semi-automatic rifles to 21, ban bump stocks, regulate so-called ghost guns and require safe storage of firearms. The bill isn't expected to clear the U.S. Senate, although senators are separately negotiating a more narrow proposal.
Gonzalez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Rocky River Republican is retiring from Congress after this year, attributing the decision to familial concerns and a toxic political environment. Gonzalez was one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Three other Republicans who backed the gun control package are also retiring.
Wednesday's vote came after hours of emotional testimony from people affected by gun violence in front of a House committee. Three Ohio lawmakers sit on that panel: GOP Reps. Jim Jordan, of Urbana and Bob Gibbs, of Lakeville; and Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown, of Warrensville Heights.
Committee members heard from mass shooting survivors and their family members, including Miah Cerrillo, an 11-year-old who smeared herself with blood to play dead during the attack in Uvalde last month.
"Our national obsession with guns is killing thousands of kids each year," Brown said during the hearing. "Every one of those kids deserved to grow up and live a full life."
Still, most Ohio Republicans continue to oppose broad gun control measures and have argued Congress should instead focus on the mental health crisis. In a news conference Wednesday, Jordan argued Democrats' only goal was to "destroy the Second Amendment."
"Today they've got this hodgepodge of bills...that basically tells American citizens – law-abiding American citizens – when you can get a gun, what kind of gun you can get and where and how you have to store it on your own darn home," he said.
USA TODAY contributed.
Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez votes for House Democrats' gun control bill
