Essay on Moms Against Gun Violence

In Ohio, the debate over gun control has reached the surface. After mass shootings occurred across the United States and in Ohio, the red flag bill has been reintroduced in legislation by the governor, Mike DeWine. He wanted Ohio’s legislature to pass the red flag law. Now the red flag bill is at its first hearing in the Senate. It is known to restrict firearms to those who may be viewed as a threat to themselves or others. Currently, it has been implemented in 18 states in the United States. In Dayton, Ohio, “a gunman killed nine people and injured 27 others”(Candisky). The suspected shooter was carrying a “.223-caliber rifle that he legally purchased”(Osborne). This shooting led to people worrying and groups such as Moms Demand Action to hold rallies. Specifically, the White Plains was a rally held by Moms Demand Action that aimed to call attention to people and the Senate. They have advocated for change since August to protect people from gun violence and push gun control bills like the Red Flag Bill forward. Many people of different ages spoke including gun violence survivors. The Senate reacted to this rally by passing a bill related to background checks on gun sales. While on the other side, the Ohio Gun Owners is an organization that is against this bill. They have gathered at the Ohio Statehouse, carrying firearms, to attempt to recall the red flag bill. They believe that “the Second Amendment is nonnegotiable” and people should be able to own a weapon “to prepare in case the government becomes a tyrannical government”(Ragle). Ohio Gun Owners leader Chris Dorr, even threatened politicians on social media saying “We gun owners will pull the trigger and leave the corpse for the buzzards”(Candisky). In response to this, State Representative Ron Hood is sponsoring a bill that allows “Ohioans to carry hidden handguns without a permit or training”(Hood).

Moms Demand Action is an organization that aims to prevent gun violence in the country. Specifically, the chapter in Ohio has been working to push the red flag bill. Moms Demand Action has participated in the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Advocacy Day for the red flag bill and a bill regarding background checks. They were in support of the two gun control bills. In addition, Moms Demand Action volunteers in Cleveland and Akron joined forces on September 26 for a Postcard Party. In the Postcard Party, they wrote postcards to Senator Portman and other legislators urging them to support common sense gun legislation (Moms Demand Action). Moms Demand Action also has “an online petition that went out via email and social media”(Bowes). Their text line “644-33” is dedicated to the red flag bill (Moms Demand Action). Moms Demand Action has 197,000 followers on Instagram, 280,000 followers on Twitter, and 723,658 followers on Facebook. Particularly on Facebook, there is a page dedicated to the chapter in Ohio and it has 10,369 followers. They post about current gun control issues in Ohio and the Red Flag bill. They urge people to support the Red Flag Bill while sharing stories that explain why the Red Flag Bill is necessary. “We need effective Red Flag legislation. Voice your support”(Moms Demand Action). They also posted that the red-flag law can “help prevent suicides, which represent nearly 60 percent of the annual gun deaths in Ohio”(Moms Demand Action). Moms Demand Action is a “grassroots volunteer organization that is entirely voluntary”(Bowes). In Ohio, Moms Demand Action has “approx. 2,500 volunteers working on a variety of campaigns across the state with the focus being to save lives by promoting gun safety”(Bowes). Their goal is “to end gun violence and save lives. Based on evidence-based data, the most effective path to doing that is by working with the Second Amendment to pass common sense gun safety laws”(Bowes).

The Ohio Gun Owners is an organization dedicated to Second Amendment advocates while “exposing and defeating anti-gun proposals in all levels of government”(Dorr). Ohio Gun Owners have participated in the DeWine/Husted Gun-control Opposition Rally. In this rally, Chris Dorr made a speech about gun rights issues. He mentioned that gun owners need to be more aggressive in their defense of the Second Amendment. Ohio Gun Owners has 471 followers on Twitter and 162,329 followers on Facebook. Their main platform on Facebook includes Facebook Lives of rallies they attended and talks about gun control bills, such as the Red Flag Bill. In one of their Facebook Lives, Chris Dorr reacts to DeWine’s press. He believes that the governor is trying to scare or dare organizations like the Ohio Gun Owners to not oppose their “tyrannical power grabs”(Dorr). He then responds by describing how “nasty” the Strong Ohio bill is and they will continue to oppose the bill. Ohio Gun Owners has also posted on Facebook that they “need to STOP Mike DeWine” who reintroduced the gun control bills (Ohio Gun Owners). Ohio Gun Owners is a “grassroots mobilization organization that exists so that grassroots gun owners are empowered with the tools they need to fight on their behalf for gun rights against this gun control in proposing and advancing gun rights legislation”(Dorr). “Thousands of dollars of resources are being used to fight for research” and “Thousands of members are active on Facebook marching in opposition to these bills”(Dorr). Ohio Gun Owners also have an online petition against the red flag bill. Their goal is to “bury the bill in the ground because it has no place to be in this free country and then go forward”(Dorr). Dorr explained how they wanted laws that would save lives and decrease violent crimes. In the future, they plan to investigate drugs in schools and eliminate gun-free zone targeting facilities.

So far the Ohio Gun Owners have been more effective than Moms Demand Action. The governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine has removed the red flag bill and replaced it with two new ideas for gun violence instead. He believes that “the Red Flag laws don’t work and can be dangerous, especially for law enforcement”(Dewine). He suggests the Strong Ohio bill which is “built on to the existing pink slip law” that allows people to be “assessed by mental health experts in a psychiatric facility”(Kasler and Ingles). The mission of this bill was to come up with something that respected our Second Amendment rights. This way it is constitutional and Second Amendment advocates are likely to side with the bill. However, both Ohio Gun Owners and Moms Demand Action oppose the new bill. Chris Dorr describes it as “another version of the red flag bill”(Dorr). On a Facebook post, Ohio Gun Owners mentioned “Red Flags are ALWAYS bad news, and subject to abuse by politicians and unelected bureaucrats!”(Ohio Gun Owners). They have also shared a post by Ohio Strong Action saying “We haven’t lost our minds, we are still strongly pro-Second Amendment” (Ohio Strong Action). While Moms Demand Action believes that “Ohio needs a strong background check law and a strong Red Flag law just as much today as we did then, but today’s proposals include neither. It’s simply not enough to create another optional background check process “(Woodworth). They also explain on Facebook that the red flag laws “do not interfere with our 2nd amendment rights”(Moms Demand Action).

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The Red Flag Bill has been implemented in more and more states after the Parkland shooting. “Before the shooting, only five states had red flag laws. By August 2019, 17 states and the District of Columbia had adopted them”(Treisman). Other places like “Las Vegas; Sutherland Springs, Texas; Parkland, Fla.; Pittsburgh; Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Virginia Beach, Va.; El Paso, Texas; and Midland-Odessa, Texas have been facing several mass shootings in the past two years”(Treisman). A study has also been conducted that out of “9,895 U.S. adults, 53 percent of Americans believe it is more important to control gun ownership, while 47 percent say it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns” (Treisman). While earlier this year, bills related to background checks are being passed, such as the H.R.8 bill. This bill “prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check” (Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019).

In New York, “Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched a grassroots effort to bolster his 'Make America Safer' campaign -- a four-point plan to curb gun violence on the national level”(Cuomo). The advocacy groups Moms Demand Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, and March for Our Lives “joined the Governor's call for candidates to sign the pledge”(Cuomo). The social media campaign will focus on citizens in support of the Make America Safer Pledge. They aim to gain greater awareness to “accomplish the common-sense gun safety measures on the national level”(Cuomo). In other places like Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, thousands of students walked out of class and protested in front of the White House and Congress on March 14. They marched to push the bill forward. Other students from Omaha Central High School in Nebraska, “participated in a walkout to bring awareness to gun violence on January 11th”(Stoddard).

On the other hand, the Stand Your Ground bill has been introduced into legislation by State Representative Candice Keller and State Representative Ron Hood. DeWine has mentioned that he supports the Stand Your Ground bill but “he wants lawmakers to turn their attention to his Strong Ohio bill” which the legislation has started hearings on (Dewine). Furthermore, hundreds gathered at the Capitol in Michigan to protest against the red flag law. People continued to stand for their rights even with the severe thunderstorms and rain that occurred (Petersen). They believe that their Second Amendment rights should be respected and are willing to work with their legislators. “We want to be able to work with people at the state and federal level to keep our rights”(Pieri). There have also been petitions for both sides of the bill on the website, change.org. Currently, more supporters are supporting the Red Flag bill, and less that are against it.

The political and social trends are not likely to impact the outcome of the red flag bill in Ohio because each state is operating independently. Dewine has removed the red flag bill and replaced it with the Strong Ohio bill. He believes that the Strong Ohio bill is reasonable and can save lives. Bypassing the Strong Ohio bill, Dewine explains how he will fulfill his “commitment to the people of Dayton and the people of Ohio”(Dewine). The states that have already implemented the red flag law believe that it can make their states safer. However, Dewine believes that it “can be dangerous, especially for law enforcement”(Dewine). The legislature has already started its third hearing in the Senate for the Strong Ohio bill, and I think that Dewine wants the Strong Ohio bill to be the first step toward gun control. Because the Red Flag Bill did not respect our Second Amendment rights, the Strong Ohio Bill was created. The Strong Ohio bill is considered “weaker than what many gun-reform advocates have clamored for”(Enquirer editorial board). After passing the Strong Ohio bill, Dewine can start to push other laws to strengthen the state, such as the red flag laws. For the Red Flag Bill to be resolved, the Strong Ohio Bill has to be passed.

In conclusion, I think that the Red Flag Bill still has a chance of becoming a policy after the Strong Ohio Bill passes. With the evidence I have researched, Moms Demand Action has been constantly fighting for gun control bills, and if they continue with their actions, the Red Flag Bill can be passed in the future. They may have a few setbacks, such as the Stand Your Ground bill that Dewine has supported but it can still be achievable. With the Red Flag Bill in place, it will make the state much safer with less violence and deaths.