Parkland father urges Ohio leaders to pass gun restrictions

Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday met with Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was gunned down in the Parkland massacre, to advocate for new gun restrictions.

After the Parkland shooting that killed 17 on Feb. 14, the NRA-endorsed Kasich changed his position and began calling for gun controls. State Rep. Mike Henne, R-Clayton, and state Sen. John Eklund, R-Chardon, are sponsoring bills in the Legislature that include six measures backed by Kasich.

Kasich said it’s important that Ohio “show courage” and adopt the reforms, that he insists will not infringe upon the 2nd Amendment that guarantees citizens the right to keep and bear arms.

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The bills call for mechanisms to take guns away from people at risk of hurting themselves or others, keep guns away from those convicted of domestic violence or subject to protection orders, close some gaps in the background check system, strengthen the law against “straw man” gun purchases, and ban bump stocks and armor-piercing ammunition.

Guttenberg said he is now lobbying for common sense gun restrictions that will make it more difficult those who want to do harm to access “weapons of war that can be truly devastating.”

“It doesn’t take away anybody’s rights. It is common sense. My daughter had rights. Her rights were terminated,” he said. “What they’re looking to do here now is not to take away anyone’s right; it’s to make sure no other citizen has their rights terminated because of an assault weapon.”

In addition to the bills sponsored by Henne and Eklund, several gun control bills are being pushed by Democrats in the House and Senate.

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