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Shooting first

The Blade

Shooting first

Unless the state Senate comes to its senses and rejects a risky measure that gives gun owners a green light to shoot to kill, House Bill 203 is headed for Gov. John Kasich’s desk. Mr. Kasich should stand with Ohio police chiefs and promptly veto it.

In expanding Medicaid and acting courageously on several other issues, the governor has shown he has the mettle to buck the extremist wing of his party and do the right thing for the people of Ohio. Up to now, however, Mr. Kasich has taken a powder on Ohio’s version of stand-your-ground laws.

His spokesman Rob Nichols told The Blade editorial page that the governor has not taken a position on the bill, but added that Mr. Kasich is “pro Second Amendment.”

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Endorsing the Second Amendment is fine, but backing the constitutional right to bear arms should not include recklessly expanding the circumstances in which a person has no duty to retreat before using lethal force.

Joining city councils across the state, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police oppose the bill.

And for good reason. The measure would not strengthen legitimate rights to self defense. Instead, it would encourage gun violence — something Ohio and its cities don’t need — and likely lead to needless deaths.

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Ohio’s Castle Doctrine law already grants residents the right not to retreat when they believe they are endangered in their homes or vehicles — places where retreat, in any case, would be difficult or impossible. But this bill would, among other things, extend immunities beyond areas of personal domain to anywhere a legal gun owner has a right to be.

That would invite violence and vigilantism. Several high-profile killings around the country have demonstrated the obvious: People can feel unduly threatened, even by an unarmed person, and turn what should be a minor confrontation into a needless fatality. People often overreact to perceived danger, especially when they must make split-second decisions that they are not trained to make.

Roughly 25 other states have so-called stand-your-ground laws. A study by Texas A&M University found higher rates of reported murders and non-negligent manslaughters in such states — without decreasing incidents of burglary, robbery, or aggravated assault.

Other measures would decrease the number of hours of firearm competency training, to four from 12, required for Ohioans to obtain a concealed carry license. That too endangers the public by increasing the likelihood that licensees won’t understand how to safely use a gun and when to use it.

Stand your ground laws — sometimes called “shoot first” or “kill at will” — have been hotly debated nationwide since the fatal 2012 shooting in Florida of an unarmed teenager, Trayvon Martin, by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman’s controversial acquittal last year does not change the fact that a 17-year-old kid died unnecessarily.

Ohio’s bill already passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 63-27. Mr. Kasich and members of the state Senate should not pass laws that encourage more such tragedies. Instead, they should stand with law enforcement and ordinary citizens who are sick of gun violence and the misguided policies that perpetuate it.

First Published November 18, 2014, 5:00 a.m.

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