In the wake of the mass shooting in Dayton, Ohioans for Gun Safety says now is the time for state lawmakers to expand and strengthen background checks for gun purchases.
Ohioans for Gun Safety is collecting signatures to petition the Ohio Legislature to require all purchases and transfers of firearms to be conducted by a federally-licensed dealer, this would close the loopholes on online and gun show sales.
The group is attempting an initiated statute which requires them to collect nearly 133,000 signatures in order to request the House and Senate to take up the measure. However, spokesperson Dennis Willard says lawmakers can take the group's petition language and pass something immediately.
As for pro-gun advocates who say it's too soon to be talking about potential legislation in the wake of the Dayton mass shooting, Willard says, "It's actually too late for the people who lost their lives in Dayton. It's too late for so many people in the country who have lost their lives to gun violence. And it's too late for their families and their survivors so what we need to do is take action right now."
If the legislature doesn't act, the group can collect another round of signatures to put the issue on the ballot. That could happen as early as November 2020.
Pro-gun rights groups have said the majority of firearms involved in gun crimes do not come from online or gun show sales.
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