TOLEDO, Ohio —
State Representative Michele Grim (D, Toledo) introduced one of five pieces of legislation at the inaugural Gun Violence Prevention Summit in Columbus.
Called the Keeping Our Survivors Safe Act, it would prohibit anyone who is charged with or convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor from owning a firearm.
According to the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, there were 112 domestic violence-related fatalities from June 2022 to June 2023. Of those, 85 of the deaths were gun-related.
"Nearly half of all women murdered in the U.S. are killed by a current or former husband or boyfriend, and two-thirds of those murders are shootings," Grim said. "A woman is five times more likely to be murdered by their abuser who has access to a gun."
Federal law prohibits abusers from possessing firearms, but corresponding state legislation is required to enforce this. 35 states have passed similar legislation to the Keeping Our Survivors Safe Act.
"When you look at states that have some restrictions or prohibitions, there is an associated reduction with intimate partner homicide that involves a firearm," Rachael Gardner, the director of victim services at YWCA of Northwest Ohio said. "In fact, a 23% reduction in intimate partner homicide involving a firearm."
Similar legislation has been proposed before in Ohio but has failed to get through due to legislators who feel this is unconstitutional.
"We have to keep trying," Grim said. "We have to keep introducing these bills because they are really important. They save lives. The majority of states already have a lot of these on the books and we need to make sure we're keeping people safe and we're saving lives."
The state currently has some restrictions in place. If someone is charged with certain felonies, they are unable to possess a gun. The proposed legislation would expand this to include domestic violence misdemeanors.
The proposed legislation still has to be assigned to a committee.