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COLUMBUS, Governor John Kasich signed a late-afternoon decree Monday afternoon asking Ohio law enforcement officials to download certain protection orders and warrants into a database that could prevent people from illegally buying firearms.
The executive decree is accompanied by a 39-page report showing gaps in crime reporting to the database, including a survey that found that 39% of the agencies surveyed had reported no warrant criminal system. Only 21% of respondents have entered all civil protection orders in the system.
The decree, which comes into force immediately, includes sanctions against law enforcement agencies that do not comply with the rules, including financial penalties and loss of access to the database.
Kasich, a Republican, believes that people will support the executive decree and other efforts to ensure that warrants and protection orders are reported.
"We have just had another tragedy in Cincinnati," he said. "Unfortunately, in this area, it continues over and over, and anything we can improve, I think, is a worthwhile effort."
In March, Kasich proposed six changes in firearms policy, including efforts to force another branch of government – the courts – to report convictions to a state database. The policy changes came after Kasich spoke to the various actors in the debate on firearms.
Many of Kasich's proposals resulted in Bill 585 and Senate Bill 288, sponsored by other Republicans. But the bills did not go beyond the hearings of the committee.
Most Republicans in Ohio General Assembly, where the GOP holds a qualified majority, do not want to touch anything that can be construed as a gun control.
19 bills that go nowhere to the General Assembly
Many law enforcement agencies do not submit information to the database because they do not have enough staff, do not fully understand how the database prevents people from illegally buying weapons or downloading fingerprints. , according to the report.
Kasich signed on Monday a separate decree that makes this group a working group that studies how the information is sent to the database. The working group compiled the information in the report.
The task force is made up of representatives of the Ohio Supreme Court, various police and sheriff departments, public agencies, local governments, and even Cuyahoga County Court Clerk Nailah K. Byrd. .
Kasich asked him to take his recommendations – ranging from training and education to reducing redundant or imprecise reporting responsibilities – and to come up with a concrete plan for how they can be implemented. .
Kasich said that there is some money available to help local law enforcement agencies report better. However, he acknowledged that some of the gaps in the reports would not be filled for years after he left.
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