I am disappointed. There are no other words to describe my feelings about the passage of Ohio’s Senate Bill 175, otherwise known as “Stand Your Ground.” For those who may not know, this bill passed the Ohio General Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine earlier this month. Let me explain my disappointment in a way that’s true to my beliefs and the work of Whitney/Strong - with real data and research.
Stand Your Ground will not make our community safer and I shared the following research with Governor DeWine’s team.
With little federal funding, clear, data-driven solutions for reducing gun violence are few and far between. This is why RAND’s 2020 Gun Policy of America Initiative is so important. In 2020 RAND reviewed studies by dozens of researchers investigating the impact of U.S. firearm policies. The initiative aimed to develop a “shared set of facts that have been established through a transparent, nonpartisan and impartial review process.”
In their review, RAND found that “Stand Your Ground” policies had the highest level of correlation - “supportive evidence” - to increases in gun violence. In their words, this law “actually makes people less safe, and instead more likely to the be victim of a firearm homicide.”
This finding is a big deal and should not be ignored. While I can see how people believe that a gun can save you in a moment of violence outside of your home, the data do not support this theory. I am both a gun owner and a believer in data.
Additionally, Stand Your Ground continues to draw criticism from black and brown communities, citing implicit and explicit bias, and the role it plays when someone must determine whether defense with deadly force is warranted. One Texas A&M study found that when whites use the stand-your-ground defense against black attackers they are more successful than when blacks use the defense against white attackers.
Ohio lawmakers and Governor DeWine ignored both rigorously reviewed evidence from RAND and the pleas from so many in communities of color to veto this bill.
I am disappointed.
Sometimes this fight feels impossible. I stood alongside Governor DeWine when he introduced his STRONG Ohio proposal and participated in proponent hearings. Sadly, the bill never made it to a committee vote. It is unbelievably disheartening to see “Stand Your Ground” legislation so easily check off each of the critical boxes necessary for passage, and done so in a condensed timeline, in a lame-duck session, during a global pandemic. It feels like an alternate universe.
I will not be deterred. The Whitney/Strong team will not be deterred. Our focus on responsible gun ownership offers us a large net to cast with many policy opportunities for saving lives. We will keep knocking on the doors of those in a position of power to make good policy. My experience on 9/6/18 drives me to take every meeting, explore every effective policy, and get back up after every punch.
Governor DeWine states that he is not giving up on his larger package meant to reduce gun violence in Ohio. He continues to reiterate his support for improving the national background check system and tougher sentences for violent criminals who illegally possess guns.
I look forward to my next meeting with him to see what effective policy we try next. Change will come to those who persevere.
Whitney