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Lawmakers pass a bill that hikes penalties for Ohioans with a criminal history with guns

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Ohio House lawmakers advanced a bill Wednesday 71-24 that would create stricter penalties for a person charged with a crime who already has a history of offenses involving guns.

Guns are displayed at a gun store in Columbus, Ohio.
Guns are displayed at a gun store in Columbus, Ohio. [Daniel Konik
| Statehouse News Bureau]
House Bill 5, also called the Repeat Offender Act, hikes the mandatory prison terms for a slew of gun convictions, such as using illegal guns or modifications, or improperly discharging the gun out of a car.It also establishes a classification for repeat gun crime offenders, which comes with mandatory prison terms of between three and five years. Even sealed juvenile records could be used in determining whether a person is a repeat offender, according to HB 5.Rep. Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.) said HB 5, as written, would only target a person who has been convicted of at least two prior violent felonies. Still, it has been heralded as the most extensive increase in criminal penalties in nearly three decades by the legislature.

“It shouldn’t be a partisan issue whether or not we’re going to put violent offenders who continuously offend in our communities behind bars,” Williams said Wednesday.

Williams cited a study by the University of Pennsylvania, which he said showed that longer prison sentences could be potentially effective at reducing recidivism or the likelihood that a person convicted of a crime reoffends.

Nine Democrats joined GOP lawmakers in voting for the bill. Some Democrats who voted against it, however, said they believe HB 5 would do little to address gun violence because of Ohio’s relatively lax gun laws.

“The way to bring down gun violence that we’ve seen all over the country is to get guns off our streets,” Rep. Dani Isaacsohn (D-Cincinnati) said Wednesday. “We are hindering law enforcement’s ability to take those guns off the streets when they’re begging us to let them do a better job at law enforcement.”

During committee hearings, HB 5 took heat from law enforcement associations, like the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police and Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, as well as the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association. The Buckeye Firearms Association backed the bill, while numerous others who testified had mixed feelings.

The bill does include provisions reducing the burdens of record sealing and erasing process for non-violent offenders.

HB 5 still needs to be heard in the Senate.