COLUMBUS, Ohio — This year alone, there have been 51 homicides in the city of Columbus, according to police records. A gun was used in 44 of those 51 homicides.
This past Sunday, 10 people were injured in a shooting in the Short North Arts District. Columbus police say that's the 12th mass shooting since 2023.
Four of those happened in May and June.
Local leaders have repeatedly called on state lawmakers to pass gun safety legislation, including after Sunday's mass shooting. However, nothing has happened at the state level in the last two years.
This General Assembly has not passed any new gun laws since it started in January of 2023, and it looks like lawmakers won't pass any during the House and Senate sessions on Wednesday.
Thirty-two bills will be up for a vote on the House floor tomorrow, another 24 or more in the Senate. None deal with gun violence or safety.
Lawmakers have proposed several, including one to stiffen penalties for repeat offenders who have guns illegally, and one to ban mass casualty weapons. House Bill 433 defines that as any semi-automatic designed or specially adapted to fire more than 31 rounds without reloading.
Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens (R - Kitts Hill) said there is no appetite in the Republican Caucus to pass new gun laws.
"In different parts of Ohio, it's a very different environment, if you will," Stephens said. "You know you get to rural Ohio where you will have one sheriff's deputy on duty that covers an entire county, and a lot of folks in those types of counties, they're going to defend themselves. Having that policy from a statewide standpoint when you bring all the representatives in, especially from the Republican Party, you know, there's not an appetite to change the gun laws."
"This General Assembly, again, has stood in the way of our local enforcement and our local officials to be able to adequately respond to what is happening in their communities, and at the end of the day, lives are at risk and public safety is at risk," House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D - Upper Arlington) said.
The House and Senate will hold their final sessions tomorrow before a long break that will likely last into November. So, action on any gun bills would have to wait until then.