The Ohio Liberty Coalition, a grassroots conservative organization, said it will start a petition to have any red flag law that passes the Ohio Legislature placed on the 2020 ballot for voters to decide on.
Ohio lawmakers will return to the Statehouse in mid-September for session, meaning a number of gun-control bills could be passed before the end of the year. As The Ohio Star recently reported, eight gun-control bills have already been introduced, some of which have bipartisan support.
House Bill 316 would allow family members, household members, or law enforcement officers to file for a court order temporarily preventing individuals considered to be an imminent danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms. This is considered a “red flag” law, and has the support of Gov. Mike DeWine.
In a recent press release, the Ohio Liberty Coalition said it would initiate the referendum petition process if the legislation passes. That process, if successful, would place the red flag law on the 2020 ballot.
“A red flag referendum will require 260,000 Ohio voter signatures. Second Amendment volunteers would be out in force collecting signatures during the March 2020 primary. This could cause problems for Ohio House candidates that supported red flag,” Ohio Liberty Coalition President John McAvoy said in the press release.
McAvoy said he’s helped with referendum petitions in the past, including the successful Healthcare Freedom Amendment, which gathered more than half a million Ohio signatures in 2011.
If the initiative is successful, the red flag law would appear on the November 2020 ballot alongside President Donald Trump, all 99 Ohio House seats, and 16 Ohio Senate seats.
The Ohio Liberty Coalition said a group of volunteers has already started organizing to prepare for the process.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
[…] As The Ohio Star reported, eight gun-control bills have already been introduced since the mass shooting in Dayton. Some of the bills have the support of Republican State Sen. Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering), who is calling on her fellow Republicans to join her “in passing long overdue commonsense gun legislation.” […]
[…] As The Ohio Star reported, eight gun-control bills have already been introduced since the mass shooting in Dayton. Some of the bills have the support of Republican State Sen. Peggy Lehner (R-Kettering), who is calling on her fellow Republicans to join her “in passing long overdue commonsense gun legislation.” […]