Monday, December 13, 1999
GOP shying from gun bill debate
'Safe storage' plan stirs up legislators
BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS — Republican leaders of the General Assembly are trying to avoid an emotional and contentious debate over gun legislation as they head into an election year.
Before lawmakers adjourned for the year last week, Gov. Bob Taft was shopping around for somebody to sponsor one of his last campaign promises: A bill that would require owners to use trigger locks or store their firearms where children couldn't reach them.
Democrats, seizing the idea as an issue for the campaign trail next fall, prepared to offer their own version of the “safe storage” bill.
In a twist, conservative, pro-gun lawmakers also want the bill to be considered. They've vowed to offer an amendment that would make concealed weapons legal in Ohio.
“This issue is too volatile for the leadership right now,” said Rep. Ron Hood, a Canfield Republican and chief sponsor of the concealed weapons bill. “Given what's happened in Colorado and other places, there are people in the legislature who are too afraid to vote either way on gun bills.”
House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, has kept the conceal-and-carry bill in committee. Even if it gets out, Mr. Taft has vowed to veto the proposal as long as it is opposed by major police groups.
The bill's backers keep attempting to attach it to other measures. The National Rifle Association also has enlisted gun enthusiasts to call legis lative leaders and demand a vote.
Mr. Hood's bill would allow virtually all Ohioans to carry concealed weapons in their vehicles and in other situations where they are not outlawed, though schools would be off limits.
Another version would allow sheriffs to issue concealed-weapons permits to individuals who have undergone firearms training and a criminal background check.
One attempt to amend the measure into another bill came on the same day as the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. On another occasion, Ms. Davidson removed the original bill from the House calendar to avoid bringing the amendment up for a vote.
“I don't see the purpose if the governor continues to say he would veto the bill,” she said.
Senate President Richard Finan, R-Evendale, has used a similar strategy to block Democratic amendments that would add safe storage legislation to other bills.
When the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on a bill proposed by Mr. Taft to revamp the state's juvenile justice laws, Sen. Eric Fingerhut, D-Shaker Heights, offered a version of the Republican governor's gun-safety measure as an amendment.
Mr. Finan, temporarily filling in on the committee for an absent member, urged his fellow Republicans to defeat the amendment. “Let's not ruin the juvenile crime bill over something that may never pass,” he said then.
Now he says the proposal “stands a good chance of passing” but the governor still hasn't been able to find a Republican sponsor.
“We want to be very careful about how we draft this,” Mr. Finan said. “We don't want to prevent kids from being able to go hunting with their parents or anything like that.”
Under Mr. Fingerhut's bill, anyone who failed to safely store a firearm out of reach from minors could face 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. If the youth wounded someone else with the weapon, the owner would face up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
The bill would not apply to cases in which a firearm was stolen by a youth or if it was used for lawful hunting or sporting purposes.
“I would hope people on both sides of the debate would see this proposal as eminently reasonable,” Mr. Fingerhut said.
Another measure pending in the House would shield the gun industry from liability in lawsuits filed by Cincinnati and other Ohio cities.
The Clinton administration announced last week that the federal government is preparing its class-action against gun makers, saying that guns and the way in which they are marketed have contributed to violence in public housing projects.
A judge dismissed Cincinnati's suit in October, but the city is appealing.
“Gun manufacturers should not be held liable for the action of individuals who choose to use their products illegally,” said sponsoring Rep. Jamie Callendar, R-Willowick.
Stanley M. Chesley, the city's attorney in the gun lawsuit, said the bill would violate Cincinnati's home rule powers. “I'm flattered. It's proof positive that we must have a pretty good lawsuit.”
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