COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine renewed his call for lawmakers to take action against illegal gun possession after at least 20 people within the past week died from gun violence across the state.
“Who doesn’t want to get tough against convicted felons who illegally carry guns?” DeWine said during Tuesday’s briefing.
DeWine said his Ohio Strong Bill, that has been pending in the General Assembly for nearly a year, would increase the penalties against convicted felons who are caught illegally carrying a gun.
One of the victims of gun violence mentioned by DeWine Tuesday is 6-year-old Mar’viyah Jones, who died two weeks after she was caught in the crossfire. She became the sixth young person killed in Akron within months.
Mar’viyah was shot while sitting in a car with five of her siblings and her mom when the driver of the car she was in and a man in another car started shooting at each other.
"Another child full of promise was caught in the crossfire when two men started shooting at each other and at one point, the court records, the alleged gunman was a convicted felon prohibited from having a gun," the governor said.
The Strong Ohio Bill would increase penalties for those who commit a crime with a gun or are found carrying a weapon if they are legally prohibited from doing so, according to DeWine.
If passed, it would also increase the penalty for knowingly providing a gun to a minor or someone legally prohibited from owning guns, DeWine said.
DeWine said the federal law is currently tougher than the state law when it comes to illegally possessing a firearm.
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