Letters: Why is Mike DeWine protecting kids from 'Big Tobacco' but letting gun lobby slide?

Letters to the Editor
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Mourners pause at a makeshift memorial for the slain and injured outside Ned Peppers bar in the Oregon District after a mass shooting that occurred early Sunday morning, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2019, in Dayton. Facing pressure to take action after the latest mass shooting in the U.S., Ohio's Republican governor urged the GOP-led state Legislature Tuesday to pass laws requiring background checks for nearly all gun sales and allowing courts to restrict firearms access for people perceived as threats.
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DeWine shouldn't stop with flavored tobacco

Good for Gov. Mike DeWine for vetoing a bill (Jan. 6 "Veto shields curbs on flavored tobacco sales") that would have prevented cities from banning candy-flavored vapes and menthol cigarettes.

More:Gov. Mike DeWine vetoes flavored tobacco ban bill, signals support for statewide ban

“We’re dealing now with young people’s lives,” DeWine said during a news conference he called instead of merely using his veto power.

Now I call upon DeWine to care as much about the lives of children killed by guns — in schools, shopping malls and other public venues as well as in their own homes.

Jan 5, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during a press conference as Dr. Sara Bode of Nationwide Children's Hospital stands behind him after he vetoed legislation that would have blocked cities like Columbus from banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes. Mandatory Credit: Brooke LaValley/Columbus Dispatch
Jan 5, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Gov. Mike DeWine speaks during a press conference as Dr. Sara Bode of Nationwide Children's Hospital stands behind him after he vetoed legislation that would have blocked cities like Columbus from banning the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored vapes. Mandatory Credit: Brooke LaValley/Columbus Dispatch

After promising to “do something” after the Dayton massacre, DeWine didn’t veto Republican legislation making it easier to own guns, conceal guns and possess guns with minimal training.

Dayton Mom to DeWine: I stood there, cried and believed you. You've let us down on guns.

Seems to me DeWine is protecting children here and not giving a damn there.

Margo Bartlett, Delaware

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor

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What about guns?

In this photo taken Oct. 2, 2018, semi-automatic rifles
In this photo taken Oct. 2, 2018, semi-automatic rifles

In the Jan. 6 article "Veto shields curbs on flavored tobacco sales," Gov. Mike DeWine was quoted as saying "when a local community wants to make the decision to protect their children ... we should applaud those decisions. "

Unless it has to do with guns.

The above quote was in relation to the decision to ban flavored tobacco sales to underage children. There is no " flavored tobacco lobby" so this is a very low risk position to take. But what about the many young men and women who die on the streets of Columbus due to the proliferation of guns? Gov. DeWine, visiting the scene of a mass shooting in Dayton, pledged to "do something" but years later he still has not lived up to that promise.

Opinion: Flavored tobacco ban wouldn't work in 'real world.' It would 'bust' businesses

The city of Columbus would like to take the initiative to save the lives of many young men and women, but the state of Ohio, which is beholden to the gun lobby, and DeWine, who is already in the pocket of the gun lobby after passing and signing legislation for the use and easy access of guns of in the hands of people with limited training, will not allow it.

Syd Lifshin, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: What should Mike DeWine do about gun violence?