News release from Quad County Coalition for the Sensible Regulation of Guns
A group of concerned citizens from throughout Ohio met this past weekend at the First Congregational Church in Columbus. They met out of a concern for the protection of lives, especially those of children and women. Most of those present were members of statewide and regional organizations whose purpose is to reduce gun violence. Locally, Jim Bailey and Ronnie Kromer of the Quad County Coalition for the Sensible Regulation of Guns were participants.
The key decision made by the group was to focus on two legislative issues that have the very clear purpose of saving lives: Child Access Prevention (CAP) and Domestic Gun Violence.
The first issue would require that guns be safely secured so that minors may not gain access to them. Today many children in Ohio are killed or kill others by gaining access to unsecured guns. These deaths are usually attributed to accidents. They should be attributed to criminal negligence. The proposed bill would save lives by establishing the crime of negligent storage of a firearm. Twenty eight states presently have Child Access Prevention laws. Ohio does not. Numerous studies have shown that CAP laws have greatly reduced the number of “accidental” deaths involving children.
The second proposed bill has the purpose of saving lives (usually of women) by making it more unlikely that persons with restraining orders against them will have access to firearms. The legislation would require that a person subject to a temporary protection order in a criminal action or a civil protection order surrender their firearms to a local law enforcement agency or sell them to a federally licensed firearms dealer.
The group meeting in Columbus was very clear in agreeing that they are not interested in bringing up emotionally charged 2nd Amendment issues that have been decided by the Supreme Court. In fact it could be argued that the key recent cases establishing an individual right to bear arms are redundant in the sense that 45 of our 50 state constitutions have long explicitly established the right of individuals to bear arms for self defense.
The “message” adopted in 2013 by the Quad County Coalition for the Sensible Regulation was accurately reflected by the discussion that took place this past weekend in Columbus.
The QCCSRG message is: The Quad County Coalition for the Sensible Regulation of Guns does not advocate against the ownership of firearms for traditional, legitimate purposes such as hunting and self defense. We recognize in the Supreme Court rulings of the Heller and Mc Donald cases that the Second Amendment means: 1. that there is an individual right for citizens to possess and bear arms; and 2. that this right is not unlimited and can be regulated to protect public safety. The QCCSRG is about seeking sensible regulation in order to protect the lives of people, especially children.
To learn more about the Quad County Coalition for the Sensible Regulation of Guns please visit our website at aimingforpeace.org.
The “quad counties” are: Hancock, Sandusky, Seneca and Wood counties.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Bailey
Fostoria, OH
aimingforpeace.org
People for Peace & Justice Sandusky County 
