Ohio Supreme Court strikes down strict Cleveland gun laws
Robin
http://goo.gl/9vF6c
These are heady times for gun-rights advocates. The Supreme Court in
recent terms shot down laws in D.C. and Chicago banning handguns.
Gun-rights advocates notched another win yesterday, this time in the
Ohio Supreme Court, which struck down Cleveland laws that banned
assault weapons and required handguns to be registered. (Click here to
read the ruling.)
At issue in the case is whether Cleveland’s tough gun laws can be
trumped by more lax statewide gun regulations. Cleveland challenged a
2006 Ohio law providing that only federal or state regulations can
limit an Ohioan’s right to bear arms.
In a 5-2 decision, the court held that it was constitutional for Ohio
to insist on statewide gun regulation and to prevent citizens from
being subjected to a “confusing patchwork” of local gun laws. (Click
here to read an article about the ruling in The Plain Dealer and here
for a piece in the New York Times.)
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson criticized the ruling, saying it puts
urban populations at greater risk for gun violence. “Our inability to
enforce [gun] laws that are right for our city flies in the face of
home rule and takes power away the people at the local level,” Jackson
said in a statement.
But Chris Cox, the head of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action,
praised the decision. “If Cleveland, or any other city, wants to crack
down on violence,” he said in a statement, “city leaders there should
focus on prosecuting criminals, not enacting new gun laws that only
serve to restrict law-abiding citizens.”