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Gun Restrictions Divide Democratic Candidates for Ohio Governor

Ohio's four major Democratic gubernatorial candidates all want more restrictions on guns, but disagree sharply over how far to go.

By Darrel Rowland

Ohio's four major Democratic gubernatorial candidates generally agree on LGBT rights but disagree on abortion rights.

The four sing in harmony on what they see as the evils of "right to work" but sound different tunes on legalizing recreational marijuana.

They all want more restrictions on guns, but disagree sharply over how far to go.

The hopefuls responding on these hot-button issues are Richard Cordray, former state treasurer and state attorney general and ex-director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Dennis Kucinich, former congressman, Cleveland mayor and presidential candidate; former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O'Neill; and state Sen. Joe Schiavoni.

Guns

Kucinich has been by far the most outspoken on anti-gun rhetoric, primarily as a way to distinguish himself from Cordray.

As he and his campaign literature proclaim: "Dennis is the ONLY candidate in this race in either party with an F rating from the NRA, and he wears a button with a large F because he is proud of that."

Kucinich is pushing a ban on so-called assault weapons in Ohio. Kucinich is circulating a model resolution with local-government leaders, hoping they will pass it and thus pressure state lawmakers to overturn Ohio's prohibition on most local gun restrictions.

As Kucinich repeatedly reminds listeners, Ohio enacted that prohibition when Cordray was attorney general, and Cordray defended the law all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it was upheld and extended nationwide. That case, plus advocacy of concealed-carry rights, helped win Cordray an A rating from the NRA when he unsuccessfully sought re-election in 2010 against Republican Mike DeWine.

But Cordray says his stature wit the NRA probably has been diminished by his current espousal of conducting universal background checks before gun purchases, reducing allowable gun-magazine sizes and banning the sale and use of bump stocks and other devices that in effect turn semi-automatic guns into automatics.

Cordray's gun stance is the most nuanced among the leading Democrats. In 2010, he stood on the Statehouse grounds and told a gun-rights demonstration -- one at which participants were allowed to openly carry weapons because of his intervention with authorities -- his philosophy on the issue:

"These are rights that don't depend on putting them in a Constitution. These are rights that we have as human beings. They're natural rights, they extend beyond any government, whatever form that may take. The Constitution merely reminds government to respect and honor these freedoms."

Asked last week whether he still believes in those rights as strongly, he replied: "I believe in Second Amendment rights, and I believe in the rights of responsible gun owners to be able to exercise the right of self-defense, self-preservation -- which precedes government -- and that means being able to hunt to put food on table, and it means being able to defend yourself, particularly in your own home."

Cordray says that "stand your ground" proposals, such as one pending in the legislature, "need to be looked at with more detail."

Ohio should grant concealed-carry privileges to permit-holders from other states who have had training that meets the same standards Ohio imposes, he said.

O'Neill advocates "a mandatory permit process for all military-style assault weapons, with a requirement that the owner physically report with their weapon to their local law enforcement office once a year to apply for an annual state of Ohio permit."

Any violation of any criminal statute during that year would void the permit, he says.

"There is no one today, I mean no one, that can tell me how many assault weapons there are in Ohio. There's just no excuse for that."

Schiavoni says he tries to emphasize what can realistically pass in Ohio. That's why four years ago he proposed non-competitive school-safety grants, an idea that the GOP-controlled House passed this month -- albeit with less funding.

Now Schiavoni sees the next low-hanging fruit as a red-flag bill: "I think everybody agrees that when somebody's dangerous or a risk to themselves or to others, that we need to be able to temporarily seize these firearms."

And he wants anyone buying a firearm at a gun show to get "the same background check they go through at Walmart."

"As governor, if you brought me a sensible ban on certain firearms, I would sign it, because I don't think that civilians need to have some of these military-style weapons. I just don't see the practical purpose: It's not to protect your family and it's not to hunt," Schiavoni said. He added: "'Fun to shoot' doesn't make it."

Abortion

O'Neill is the only one of the four leading Democrats who calls himself "pro-life," based on his Catholic faith. "As an individual, I'm opposed to all abortions," he says. But as governor, he would adhere to the law of the land as decided (he believes wrongly) by the U.S. Supreme Court.

That distinction led him to oppose the state's attempt to shut down a Toledo abortion clinic because, as a justice, he did not think the state's actions were legal.

"I think that's my defining moment in my governor's campaign on this issue," O'Neill said. "When asked to make a decision, I sided with the law rather than my personal feelings."

O'Neill also is a staunch supporter of funding for Planned Parenthood, although in his Dispatch interview, he initially didn't believe the organization provided abortions; he called back to say he stood corrected.

Kucinich also opposed abortion rights until about 2003, when "the women in my life" caused him to see the patriarchy of abortion restrictions. Now, he says: "It's not for me to make the choice for them."

In fact, he advocates taxpayer-funded abortions for government employees, military personnel and those on Medicaid or Medicare (the latter program is designed primarily for those 65 and older).

Neither he nor Cordray nor Schiavoni advocates exceptions to abortion rights. Schiavoni said he also would remove state support for crisis-pregnancy centers, which inform women about alternatives to abortion but usually aren't medical facilities.

Marijuana

Cordray is the only one of the four who hesitates to support legalizing recreational marijuana.

In fact, that's the reason O'Neill is in the race. He said he told Cordray, "If you do not advocate for legalization of marijuana, you are going to lose in 2018." When Cordray refused, O'Neill reversed his earlier pledge to drop out.

Legal pot is a centerpiece of the campaign of the former justice, who is also a registered nurse. "It has wonderful medicinal qualities," he says.

O'Neill wants to tax marijuana and use the revenue to open 10 treatment facilities for opioid addicts.

Kucinich says marijuana is safer than tobacco and alcohol, which is how Ohio should regulate marijuana. Adults should be able to grow their own marijuana in locked, secured areas, he says.

Schiavoni says "Legal recreational marijuana would provide needed revenue to strengthen our state's economy. It would also allow police to focus resources on more-pressing matters."

(c)2018 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)

Natalie previously covered immigrant communities and environmental justice as a bilingual reporter at CityLab and CityLab Latino. She hails from the Los Angeles area and graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in English literature.
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