Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Diane Gonda, a Chaney High School teacher, speaks against Ohio House Bill 99 and Ohio Senate Bill 215, during a news conference Thursday at Homestead Park in Youngstown. A 16-year-old boy was shot to death in the park in late May.

YOUNGSTOWN — Brittany Bailey wonders why most 18-year-olds are not legally able to obtain tobacco products or drink alcohol, yet can easily get their hands on deadly weapons.

“Access to guns shouldn’t be this easy. Why can’t you drink until you’re 21, yet when you’re 18, you’re fully able to get a gun?” Bailey, a Youngstown State University senior and Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past member, asked.

She was one of several community activists, clergy members and elected officials who spoke against Ohio House Bill 99 and Ohio Senate Bill 215, two pieces of gun legislation, during a news conference Thursday at Homestead Park on East Dewey Avenue on the South Side.

Hosting the one-hour gathering was the Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee of the Mahoning Valley. Acting as moderator was the Rev. Kenneth L. Simon, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church and a committee member.

The park was the site of recent gun violence when Isiah Walker, 16, of Youngstown, was shot to death May 31. The investigation continues.

LEGISLATION

HB 99 allows individual school districts to have local control of training requirements for teachers to be armed and for school boards to require such teachers to undergo up to 24 hours of training before they can carry a firearm on school property. Previous law, along with a state Supreme Court ruling, required 700 hours of training.

There are teachers, faculty unions, anti-gun violence advocates, Fraternal Order of Police organizations and others who oppose the law, arguing that insufficiently trained teachers — especially when under extreme duress — are more likely to harm students or other innocent bystanders than stop an active shooter.

Many Republicans, along with the gun lobby and a few school districts, support it, saying that it will make rural districts in the state with no school resource officers that are far from first responders safer.

The law, passed largely along party lines, takes effect in September.

SB 215, which took effect June 13 and is often referred to as “constitutional carry,” allows those age 21 or older who otherwise are legally able to have a handgun to carry it concealed without a concealed-carry permit. In addition, permit holders will no longer need to carry such a license, and people stopped by police are not required to inform officers they’re armed, unless specifically asked.

Gun-rights advocates want to see fewer restrictions on the Second Amendment. Also the Buckeye Firearms Association’s leadership has stated Ohioans will find the dire predictions will not come true.

Previous law required Ohioans to complete an eight-hour course, including two hours on a shooting range, to be licensed to carry a concealed handgun.

REACTIONS

“Imagine being a police officer and not being aware someone has a gun. Imagine how bad that could go,” Jaladah Aslam, a planning committee member, said, adding: “Teachers are not being paid to be law enforcement.”

Calling it “a bad accident waiting to happen,” Aslam said HB 99 will not make students or school personnel safer.

HB 99 also fails to account for the psychological impact on a teacher who accidentally shoots a co-worker, student or other staff member in a split-second effort to stop an armed intruder, Diane Gonda, a Chaney High School instructor, noted.

“When you pull that trigger, that bullet has your name on it,” said Gonda, who also took an eight-hour concealed-carry course and felt it provided inadequate training. “A school is like a petri dish for things that could go wrong.”

Also vehemently opposed to SB 215 is Youngstown police Chief Carl Davis, who has been in law enforcement 36 years and who noted that the law places officers at greater risk. Even police who undergo rigorous training and have a wealth of experience have to make split-second decisions while dealing with an active shooter, Davis pointed out.

“In my opinion, this new law makes it harder for police officers to enforce gun laws” and makes them less safe, the chief said.

In her emotional speech, state Rep. Michele Lepore-Hagan, D-Youngstown, recalled having thought it impossible for HB 99 to pass, as well as how quickly DeWine signed the legislation into law “without understanding how it will harm communities.” She also implored people to exercise their right to vote, a sentiment strongly echoed by city Councilwoman Samantha Turner, D-3rd Ward, who recently lost a relative to violence.

“More guns is not the answer,” said Penny Wells, who taught many years in the Youngstown City Schools and also is Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past’s executive director.

More people must stand up for what they believe is right, speak out against such laws and never give up hope, she added.

The MLK Planning Committee recommends people. during the election in August for state representative, vote out those who support both pieces of gun legislation; vote for representatives who will work to rescind both laws; call state representatives to express concern and opposition to HB 99 and SB 215; contact local school district superintendents to urge them not to allow their teachers and other staff to be armed on school property; and vote in August and in all local and national elections.