Ohio Lawmakers Working To Override Kasich Veto

While Gov. John Kasich has turned his back on the pro-gun side of the Republican Party, he’s hardly a trendsetter in that regard, particularly in his state of Ohio.

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Kasich may have vetoed a bill that would change how self-defense killings are prosecuted in the state, but that doesn’t mean he gets the final say. Instead, GOP lawmakers are working to override his veto.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich vetoed one controversial bill on guns Wednesday, while two others on abortion await his signature or veto pen.

Ten months after reversing his position on gun control, Kasich Wednesday vetoed a gun rights bill, saying it wasn’t the legislation he wanted to see on his desk.

Kasich reiterated his call for a “red flag law” in Ohio — a measure that would allow police and family members to petition the courts to seize firearms from someone exhibiting warning signs that they’re a danger to themselves or others.

“That the General Assembly has been unwilling to even debate the idea is baffling and unconscionable to me,” Kasich said about his fellow Republicans in the legislature. “This idea’s omission from this legislation is a shortcoming that I cannot accept.”

Senate President Larry Obhof, R-Medina, said he anticipates his chamber will attempt to override the gun bill veto.

“Our burden of proof is wrong and 49 out of 50 states recognize that it’s wrong and you’re innocent until proven guilty. Ohio law, by whatever mistake of history, needs to be changed,” he said.

Laura Lewis of the Ohio chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America said in a written release: “The governor saw this for what it is — an extreme attempt to punish Ohio cities and towns for trying to address gun violence.”

House Bill 228 would shift the burden of proof in self-defense shooting cases from the defendant to the prosecutor; strengthen prohibitions against straw-man gun purchases; allow off-duty police officers to carry concealed weapons; and allow individuals or groups to sue local jurisdictions that try to enact and enforce their own gun control measures.

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So what we can tell here is that Laura Lewis doesn’t believe in the idea of innocent until proven guilty.

With that in mind, I accuse her of stealing $1 million in cash that I’d saved from my pocket change since I was four-years-old from me last week. She’s guilty until she can absolutely prove she stole nothing from me.

What’s that, Laura? You’re innocent?

Prove it.

Oh, but that’s wrong, isn’t it? That’s not how our legal system works. You’re right, it doesn’t.

So why then does it seem to be an issue to expect the prosecution to make the case in this one particular instance? Then again, for anyone with Moms Demand Action, guns are different. Anything involving guns is different. They don’t think we deserve rights. I’m not sure most of them even think we’re human.

The General Assembly in Ohio needs to override this veto and remind John Kasich that just because he’s turned his coat, it doesn’t mean the rest of the state’s Republicans have to.

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