As Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine praised the city of Dayton, Ohio, for its “love and resilience,” the residents of the city demanded action after nine people were killed in one of two mass shootings to rock the nation this weekend.
“Do something!” the crowd shouted, overriding DeWine’s address during a candlelight vigil honoring those slain in Dayton’s Oregon District, WKYC reports.
The lack of gun legislation continues to anger many in the United States, especially given no real change has occurred to curb the growing violence, despite the fact that there have 251 mass shootings in first 216 days of 2019.
As WKYC notes, much of the anger is directed at the Republican Party, of which DeWine is a member. His record on gun control has been complicated. He received an “F” rating from the National Rifle Association as a senator after supporting a ban on assault weapons. He later backtracked, saying he “regretted” the decision, which earned the NRA’s approval and endorsement during his run for governor last year.
Still, DeWine later said he supported background checks, as well as “Red Flag” laws that would allow authorities to confiscate weapons from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.
According to Cleveland.com, the governor expressed his openness to a variety of gun policy following the shooting, noting that “everything’s on the table.”
“We’re open to discussion,” he said. “This is a debate that certainly should take place.”
Still, DeWine declined to speak at length about any specific proposals.
“Tragedies like this, what first goes through your mind is, ‘What did we learn from this? What can we learn in the future?’” DeWine said. “What can we do different that maybe we should do that will not eliminate the chance of something like this – I don’t know if you can eliminate the chance of something like this – but rather to lessen the chance that it would occur?”