Ohio SB184 To Receive Opponent/Proponent Hearing On January 30

Ohio's long-overdue Castle Doctrine/No Duty To Retreat legislation, Senate Bill 184 will have a third hearing on Wednesday this coming week.

Members of the Ohio Senate Committee on the Judiciary -- Criminal, will hear both proponent and opponent on January 30 starting at 10 am in North Hearing Room of the Senate Building (that's the old Statehouse annex, located directly east of the main Statehouse building). Members of the committe have heard earlier testimony on this important legislation. Opposition is expected to come from Ohio's prosecuting attorneys who object to a change in the law that would put the presumption of innocence on people in their homes or out of doors who use force to defend their lives. Most importantly, the bill would eliminate the possibility of frivilous civil lawsuits being filed against innocent individuals by the very criminals who attack them or their families.

I expect to be in the hearing room, though I will not be testifying. I know that representatives from Peoples Rights Organization and Buckeye Firearms Association plan to testify. Please make every attempt to attend this important hearing. It is important to demonstrate that Ohioans believe it is wrong for criminals to have the right to sue a victim if the criminal is injured in the course of committing a violent crime.