COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein is calling on the Ohio Supreme Court to take up the issue of cities being able to enact and enforce reasonable gun laws. He submitted the filing Friday morning against the state of Ohio.
"We have a sense of responsibility for ourselves to protect the second amendment but also have a sense of ownership and responsibility when it comes to gun ownership,” Klein said.
Last year, there were 149 homicides in Columbus, which is 10 more than the year before. In a press conference held by Mayor Andrew Ginther and the Columbus Division of Police on Thursday, the issue of gun violence was addressed multiple times.
"The more guns we get off the street, the safer we're all going to be,” Ginther said.
Klein said most efforts made by the city to enforce what he calls "common sense gun laws" have been unsuccessful.
"We've been stymied and stopped every step of the way by Republicans at the state house, the republican attorney general, the republican governor,” Klein said.
Now he’s taking the matter to the Supreme Court.
He said the city would like to enforce laws relating to the weapons under disability law, as well as safe storage of guns, to stop them from getting into the wrong hands, especially children.
"They're finding guns where they shouldn't be found in their families’ homes or in a friend's homes."
Klein said adults in Ohio can own guns without any training requirements or sense of responsibility to lock them up, and that it needs to change. However, he said this effort to reduce gun violence must go beyond more laws.
"We have to invest in people, we have to invest in police, we have to invest in prosecutors and we have to make sure judges throw away the key and lock up very dangerous violent people who are shooting and causing the problems in our neighborhoods,” Klein said.
The state will have a chance to respond to Klein’s filing before it moves on to the court.
"I firmly believe that cities like Columbus have the ability to pass these common sense gun laws and we're gonna make that case to the court if they'll take it up."
After the state responds to Klein’s filing, the Ohio Supreme Court will make a decision whether they want to accept the case or not.