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Ohio Senate Hearing for Stand Your Ground Bill

Today, at 10:45 am, the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a third hearing on SB 180, a Stand Your Ground bill that allows gun owners to use force in self-defense and eliminates the duty to retreat before using force.

Currently, if someone is claiming that they shot someone in self-defense, they need to prove that they made a reasonable effort to avoid the deadly confrontation and retreat from the situation first. Legally, deadly force must be a last resort right now.

This bill not only eliminates the legal requirement that someone retreat, but also makes it incredibly challenging to successfully prosecute anyone claiming self-defense by shifting the burden of proof onto the prosecutor. Defendants will no longer be required to provide any evidence that they were acting in self-defense in order to successfully make that claim.

The homicide rate has increased 8% on average in states that have already passed Stand Your Ground laws, according to multiple studies: http://time.com/4569145/florida-stand-your-ground-law-homicide-increase-study/.

Call the members of the Judiciary Committee right now and ask them not to vote this dangerous bill out of committee.

Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee

Kevin Bacon (R) – Chair: (614) 466-8064
Matt Dolan (R) – Vice Chair: (614) 466-8056
Cecil Thomas (D) – Ranking Minority Member: (614) 466-5980
William Coley (R): (614) 466-8072
John Eklund (R): (614) 644-7718
Matt Huffman (R): (614) 466-7584
Peggy Lehner (R): (614) 466-4538
Sean O’Brien (D): (614) 466-7182
Scott Oelslager (R): (614) 466-0626
Michael Skindell (D): (614) 466-5123