Columbus City Attorney files new lawsuit against state in battle over local gun laws

The Columbus City Attorney's office filed a new lawsuit Thursday against the state of Ohio in a renewed attempt to put in place and enforce local gun safety laws.

The lawsuit, filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, is the latest legal battle with Ohio's Republican-controlled leadership surrounding what the city calls "common sense" laws the city enacted related to safe storage laws and ammunition magazines containing 30 or more rounds.

City Attorney Zach Klein, a Democrat, said Columbus' city ordinances, preliminarily ruled constitutional in November 2022 and enacted by City Council in early 2023, should be able to be enforced in an effort to allow the city to "improve public safety in entertainment districts, parks and other high traffic, densely populated areas of the city."

"State officials continue to intentionally make it harder for police to do their job and for the City to take the actions we know will promote responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence in our neighborhoods," Klein said.

The city attorney's office has battled over the laws with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, whose office lost cases in two county courts before a recent challenge in Delaware County where Judge David Gormley said the city could not enforce the ordinances. Klein's office called the efforts "an all-out assault" on safety efforts by Columbus.

"In one lawsuit, state officials have used arguments that go so far as to say that a City ordinance keeping firearms out of the hands of minors is unconstitutional because Ohio allowed for child soldiers during the Civil War," Klein's office said.

The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday as enhanced safety measures in the Short North were announced, also challenges a 2022 state law that bars local authorities from declaring emergencies that would require the temporary closure of businesses in a given area for health or safety concerns, including gun stores. Klein's office said the city believes this ban threatens public safety during a state of emergency.

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Should a Franklin County judge — most of whom are politically affiliated with the Democratic party, including some Republicans who have flipped Democratic — side with the city in the lawsuit, it "could open the door for real conversations on how best to reduce gun violence, encourage responsible gun ownership and deploy safety strategies that would work best in Columbus," Klein said.

Those measures include gun-free zones in districts like the Short North, city parks and community events where large crowds might gather.

"Where there is a mix of alcohol, heavy traffic and high volumes of people aren't places where we need more guns," Klein said.

At a press event in the Short North on Thursday, Klein said state legislators are "obstructionists" and need to "get the hell out of our way" if they are intent on barring communities from passing laws the state will not.

The state will have several weeks to file a response to the lawsuit.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: City Attorney files new lawsuit against state in battle over gun laws