by J.D. Davidson
Ohio cities can return to creating gun safety ordinances more than three years after the city of Columbus filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a bill passed by the General Assembly in 2018.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Friday the state will appeal a Franklin County judge’s ruling that temporarily blocked part of the state law that stops cities from creating local gun restrictions.
“The City of Columbus remains part of the State of Ohio and subject to its laws. Ohio will appeal,” Yost wrote in an email.
Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said the city plans to continue with the case in an attempt to overturn the law and will ask for the injunction to become permanent.
“We respect the court’s decision and stand ready to continue to advocate on behalf of Columbus residents, families and young people who have told us loudly and clearly that they want their leaders to do something to disrupt the flow of illegal guns into our streets, keep weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals, and enact commonsense reforms that make our communities safer,” Klein said in a statement.
Klein also said the city will dismiss a lawsuit filed last week with the Ohio Supreme Court to force Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Stephen L. McIntosh to make a decision in the case that sat idle since filed in March 2019.
McIntosh’s order said the law does violate home rule and the city has a likelihood of success on its overall case.
“Clearly this section of [the law] is an unconstitutional infringement upon municipal home-rule authority. … The chilling effect of this language would act as a deterrence to municipalities promulgating legislation under their home rule authority,” McIntosh wrote.
Columbus claimed in the lawsuit in 2019 the new law violated the Home Rule Amendment and the Separation of Powers doctrine and would place more restrictions on municipalities to pass local gun laws. Then-Gov. John Kasich vetoed the bill but was overridden by the General Assembly.
“Self-governance is the bedrock of our nation, the belief that citizens should have the right to come together to decide what’s best for their community. Today’s ruling upholds our constitutional right to home rule, and with it, the people’s right to push for commonsense measures to reduce gun violence and keep our kids and communities safe,” Klein said.
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An Ohio native, J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience in newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He has served as a reporter, editor, managing editor and publisher. Davidson is a regional editor for The Center Square.
Photo “Gun” by Dan Galvani Sommavilla.
