New Ohio bill targets repeat offenders using guns

New legislation introduced in the Ohio House would send repeat offenders who use a firearm when committing another crime to prison longer.

The Repeat Offender Act increases penalties for violent offenders in possession of a firearm while still being impacted by a previous felony conviction. It also creates a weapons-specific enhancement for repeat offenders who continue to violate their weapons restriction.

"As a staunch second amendment supporter I will continue to fight for Ohioans' right to legal gun ownership," Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, said. "Unfortunately, there are a few that don't care about the law and continue to carry out acts of gun violence even when they are not legally allowed to possess such weapons. These individuals must be stopped, and this is why I have introduced this legislation to increase their time behind bars."

Currently, the penalty for possessing a weapon still under felony penalties is a third-degree felony.

The new legislation, which has yet to receive a committee assignment, will decrease the first violation to a fourth-degree felony for non-violent offenders. However, if a person has a previous conviction for weapons under disability and a violent criminal history, they will be eligible for the newly created five-year weapons enhancement penalty to be added to the potential 12-year sentence for the originally charged second-degree felony.

The change received support from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

"It's no secret that I'm a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but there is a big difference between a lawful gun owner and someone who commits a crime with a firearm," Yost said. "The problem is the people that commit crimes with guns. This bill is surgically targeted toward not owners but actors that use guns for illegal reasons.

"This will make our cities safer; it will take the bad guys with guns off the street and not affect the rights of law-abiding citizens."