Central Ohio Today

State Representatives Bernie Willis (R-Springfield) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania) have put forth a new legislation aimed at increasing the penalty for using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. The proposed law is designed to intensify penalties for the most dangerous offenders without altering any existing gun laws that could impact law-abiding gun owners.

The Repeat Offender Act, as it's named, seeks to generally enhance penalties for violent offenders found in possession of a firearm while under disability due to previous felony convictions. The legislation also aims to establish a weapons-specific criminal enhancement for repeat offenders who persistently violate their weapon restriction.

"As a staunch second amendment supporter I will continue to fight for Ohioans right to legal gun ownership," stated Willis. "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."

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost expressed his support for the bill, stating, “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. 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.”

Williams added, “We have a small group of individuals in our communities who are committing a disproportionate amount of the violent crime, and doing it with firearms. This legislation gives communities the tools they need to address this problem.”

In Ohio currently, possessing a weapon under disability constitutes a third-degree felony violation. However, this new legislation proposes reducing the first violation to a fourth-degree felony for non-violent offenders. Yet, if an individual has a previous conviction for weapons under disability and a violent criminal history, they would be eligible for the newly created five-year weapons enhancement penalty. This would be in addition to the potential 12-year sentence for the originally charged second degree felony.

The legislation was introduced today and is now awaiting a House committee assignment.