By: D.J. Parten
Republican State Sen. Bill Coley held a committee hearing on seven gun control bills on Tuesday, the second gun control hearing in as many weeks.
This time, the bills were sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers. Republican State Sen. Peggy Lehner teamed up with Democrats Cecil Thomas and Sandra Williams in her latest attempt to infringe on Ohioans’ Second Amendment rights.
During the hearing, Lehner said that she could “no longer be on the sidelines of gun safety,” which is just another way of saying she can’t wait any longer to pass gun control.
One of the bills considered would prohibit young adults from purchasing long guns by forbidding the sale of such weapons to persons aged 18-21.
Another bill would implement so-called “universal background checks,” which are essentially a form of firearm registration.
Perhaps the most concerning proposal discussed on Tuesday was a bill to implement “Red Flag” Gun Confiscation orders, which allow the government to take away a citizen’s firearms without due process.
Firearm bans. Firearm registration. Firearm confiscation.
All of this is being peddled by Republicans in a Republican-controlled committee in a Republican-controlled legislature.
While Lehner and her Democrat friends discuss these infringements, the majority of the Ohio legislature is still waiting for Gov. Mike DeWine to release his gun control proposals before deciding which compromise to support.
It’s clear that Lehner’s radical proposals are just an attempt to warm up Ohioans to the “less radical” forms of gun control that DeWine will begin pushing in the coming weeks.
Gunpowder Magazine will keep you informed as this story develops.
D.J. Parten is the Executive Director of Florida Gun Rights and the Southeast Regional Director for the National Association for Gun Rights.