Ohio Lawmakers Override Gun-Grabber Kasich’s Veto

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

by Tom Knighton: I’ve been hammering Ohio Governor John Kasich and his fondness for stomping all over Ohioans’ constitutional rights. Frankly, it’s warranted. The man has turned his back on principles and is instead trying to set up another presidential run by catering to the NeverTrumpers and Democrats, which isn’t going to be a winning strategy. Especially since “NeverTrump” doesn’t necessarily mean they’re anti-Second Amendment.

Recently, Kasich vetoed a bill that would benefit gun owners involved in self-defense shootings. The bill was watered down from the Stand Your Ground bill originally proposed, but even that was too much for Kasich’s liberal sensibilities.

It doesn’t matter for Ohioans, though.A bill broadening gun-owner rights has become law in Ohio, after the Republican-led state Legislature overrode GOP Gov. John Kasich’s veto.

The Senate voted 21-11 on Thursday to reject Kasich’s decision to strike down the bill. That followed a House override earlier in the day.

The legislation expands gun access for off-duty police officers and allows pre-emption of local gun restrictions, among other things.By stripping the Stand Your Ground language, state lawmakers thought it’d make it far more palatable, but Kasich has gone full-on gun grabber and didn’t want any expansion of gun rights. This includes pre-emption laws which serve to create a unified set of gun laws for the entire state and keeps people from running afoul of laws while driving from Point A to Point B within the state.

Kasich has toyed with the idea of running for a third term, but I think this is a clear message to him that his anti-gun views are out of touch with mainstream Ohio. That’s the look from here, anyway.

Regardless, veto overrides tend to be stiff rebukes of executive branch officials. This is especially true when it’s the governor’s own party overriding the veto. State lawmakers essentially gave Kasich the middle finger while also expanding Second Amendment rights for the residents of their state.

This, I can respect.

Unfortunately, I can’t help but note that if they were potentially going to need to override the veto anyway, they should have left the Stand Your Ground law in place. That would have been the big win for Ohio.

Not that I don’t understand the move. From a political standpoint, that was the most controversial part, and overrides can be uncertain things. People who vote for a law will often be hesitant to override a governor’s veto. Many will do it just fine, but it only takes a few changing their mind to screw everything up.

I doubt that it would have been a problem. It’s Kasich who has embraced gun control, not Ohioans, and he deserved the rebuke he received.

It won’t make any difference as I fully expect him to continue trying to push a gun control agenda in the state.

However, I can’t help but think that doing so will end his political career. Of course, at this point, it may count as a mercy killing.
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Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger at Bearing Arms. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia and also contributes to PJ Media.

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