Ohio
Analysis: Ohio GOP has 'no appetite' for gun control; they prefer trans bathroom bill
Jason Stephens, the speaker of the Ohio House, says the Republican supermajority he leads has “no appetite” for new laws limiting access to guns.
This comes at a time when there have been a rash of mass shootings in Ohio, where people died or were injured. In Cincinnati. In Columbus. In Akron. In Dayton.
But not in Kitts Hill, the unincorporated community in rural Lawrence County in southeast Ohio where Stephens lives.
So, what do these Republican lawmakers — nearly all of them from rural areas and suburbs — have an “appetite” for?
They clearly have an appetite for passing laws aimed at making life more difficult than it already is for transgender Ohioans.
Their latest came last week, when, late at night, in a vote of 60-31, they passed a “bathroom bill,” telling trans students in Ohio K-12 schools and colleges and universities where they can and cannot relieve themselves. Two Republicans voted against it.
The bathroom bill comes out of the same legislature which has already banned trans athletes from participating in women’s sports, banned gender-affirming care for transgender teens, including hormone treatment and puberty blockers; and legislation which would force educators to “out” students to their parents.
Ohio lawmakers advance more than 50 bills in 12-hour session, including transgender bathroom ban
State Rep. Beth Lear, a conservative Republican from Galena, is the primary sponsor of the bathroom bill and says it is necessary.
“Boys and girls should not be in locker rooms together,’’ Lear told the Ohio Statehouse News Bureau. “They should not be in bathrooms together and they should not be sharing overnight accommodations.”
But gun violence on the streets of Ohio’s cities — not on their radar. Telling transgender students they can’t use bathrooms or locker rooms that don’t confirm with their birth identity is, so they passed it
Then they went on summer break.
The Ohio Senate will take up the bathroom bill when the legislature comes back in September and, with a 26-7 Republican majority, it will surely pass there.
Allison Russo, the leader of the Democrats in the Ohio House, has three school age children. She told Statehouse reporters she has never heard from any school officials about trans students and where they can go to the bathroom.
“This is a made-up problem,” Russo said.
Yet for Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly it is the number one problem in Ohio. Not infrastructure. Not transportation. Not education and how to fund it. And certainly not gun violence in Ohio’s cities.
“Gun control laws simply just don’t work, in my opinion,” Stephens said.
There has been no acknowledgement from the GOP majority in the legislature that this is even a problem. But there is evidence that gun violence is the greatest threat to children and teenagers in this country.
After mass shootings, gun policy low on priority list at Ohio Statehouse
In recent years, the Centers for Disease control has found that, for Americans ages 1 through 17, there have been more deaths from gun violence than any other cause. More than motor vehicle deaths. More than cancer. More than congenital birth defects. More than any other cause of death.
But in the Ohio legislature, nothing happens. There is no “appetite” for it.
Stephens went on to tell the Statehouse press that most of the members of his caucus come from small counties where there may be only one sheriff’s deputy on duty at any given time and that the people there have the means to “defend themselves.”
He may want to run that by Anna Albi, the first-term Cincinnati City Council member from Madisonville. Before being elected to Council, Albi was well-known as an anti-gun violence activist; and is the local leader of Moms Demand Action, a national organization that lobbies for stricter gun laws.
Sadly, on June 15, Albi saw the effects of gun violence on the street where she lives.
It was “Madisonville Day,” a community celebration of all the progress that the neighborhood has made in recent years. Many families were in Bramble Park, enjoying the day, when gunfire broke out about 6 p.m., sending people scrambling for cover.
Five people, ages 24-46, were shot; and treated for non-life threatening wounds.
“People in Madisonville were pretty rattled by this,’’ Albi said. “They were just there celebrating their neighborhood. But when something like that happens you take away people’s sense of security.”
Albi said that partisan gerrymandering is at the root of the inability to get gun control measures passed in the Ohio General Assembly.
“We have an extremist group in the legislature that has more devotion to the gun industry than they do to the safety of people in this state,’’ said Albi, a Democrat. “They do not feel any kind of obligation to deal with the problem of gun violence in our cities.”
The state of Ohio, Albi said, takes the position that it is a problem city governments must address.
“But when we do, as we have in Cincinnati, the state comes in and sues us over some home rule issue,” Albi said. “We’ve been abandoned.”
LISTEN: City leaders discuss the legal battles over gun laws in Cincinnati
That is exactly what happened with the safe gun storage ordinance City Council passed last year.
Albi said she will work to convince voters to pass the Citizens Not Politicians state constitutional amendment that will likely be on the ballot in November.
It would take the drawing of legislative district lines out of the hands of elected officials and would put the responsibility in the hands of a 15-member citizens’ commission. The goal, its supporters say, is to create more competitive districts and, ultimately, possibly end the GOP supermajority.
If that works, the GOP would still have a majority but would likely have to reach across the aisle and work with Democrats.
“Not until we fix the state of Ohio can we have common-sense gun laws,’’ Albi said. “It’s out best hope for the future.”
The work that educators do every day in teaching and furthering research and innovation is the foundation of The Ohio State University’s land-grant mission, President Ravi V. Bellamkonda said at the university’s annual Faculty Awards Celebration. The event was held May 6 at Vitria on the Square on Ohio State’s Columbus campus.
“The question is, what should we be doing together and what’s the goal for us as we move forward? I’d like to suggest that I would like for all of us to give ourselves the gift of reasonably high expectations of what we can achieve together, and you exemplify this,” Bellamkonda told the honorees.
“I’m optimistic about our future because of what you do in the classroom and the scholarship and the mentoring and the teaching and the community that you have created.”
The celebration shines a light on faculty’s contributions to Ohio State and the citizens that the university serves, Interim Provost Trevor Brown said.
“I want to acknowledge how special all of our faculty are in the work that they do in generating knowledge and sharing that with students and the broader community,” he said. “That is important and essential work.
The Distinguished University Professor appointment, Ohio State’s highest faculty honor, was awarded to: Gail E. Besner, College of Medicine; Shan-Lu Liu, College of Veterinary Medicine; Alan Luo, College of Engineering; Giorgio Rizzoni, College of Engineering; Brent Sohngen, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CFAES); and Claudia Turro, College of Arts and Sciences.
“The title of distinguished university professor is a permanent honorific that includes automatic membership in the president’s and provost’s advisory committee,” said Patrick Louchouarn, senior vice provost for leadership and external engagement.
Three professors were recognized with the President and Provost’s Award for Distinguished Faculty Service: Caroline T. Clark, College of Education and Human Ecology (EHE); Susan E. Cole, College of Arts and Sciences; and John E. Davidson, College of Arts and Sciences.
The Distinguished Scholar Award was presented to six faculty members: Christopher R. Browning, College of Arts and Sciences; David L. Hoffman, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher Jaroniec, College of Arts and Sciences; Christopher A. Jones, College of Arts and Sciences; Matthew D. Ringel, College of Medicine; and Han-Wei Shen, College of Engineering.
Also recognized were recipients of the Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer and the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching
These honorees “are inducted into the Academy of Teaching and are honored with the academy’s medallion,” said Helen Malone, vice provost for faculty affairs. “Academy of Teaching members wear these distinctive medallions as part of their academic regalia.”
The Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer honorees are:
Christiane Buuck, College of Arts and Sciences.
Alexia Leonard, College of Engineering.
David Matthews, College of Pharmacy.
Calvin Olsen, College of Arts and Sciences.
U.S. Navy Lt. Michael L. Terranova, Naval ROTC.
Jennifer Walters, College of Arts and Sciences.
The Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching honorees are:
Jasmine Abukar, EHE.
Yigit Akin, College of Arts and Sciences.
Dawn Allain, College of Medicine.
Rebecca R. Andridge, College of Public Health.
Amanda Bird, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ellen Klinger, CFAES.
Danielle Schoon, College of Arts and Sciences.
Guramrit Singh, College of Arts and Sciences.
Margaret Sumner, College of Arts and Sciences.
Ryan J. Yoder, College of Arts and Sciences.
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North Central Ohio Industrial Museum
North Central Ohio Industrial Museum houses hundreds of products made in north central Ohio — including appliances, tires, pumps and much more.
MANSFIELD ― If you’re interested in manufacturing, you can come and see hundreds of products made in North Central Ohio — including appliances, tires, pumps, Klondike bars, cigars and pieces made for streetcars.
The North Central Ohio Industrial Museum inside the lower east diagonal wing of the historic Ohio State Reformatory showcases the history of manufacturing in Mansfield and surrounding areas.
Location
The Ohio State Reformatory, 100 Reformatory Road, Mansfield.
Why it matters
The museum traces the history of manufacturing in North Central Ohio since the first steam locomotive came through town in 1846. Exhibits highlight the accomplishments of local residents and industry in peace and war, according to NCOIM President Jerry Miller.
What to see
The NCOIM has several themed sections of exhibits, beginning with “Every town had a mill,” then the Cast Iron Age, City of Stoves, Wires & Electric Exhibits, Cigar & Beer, Wheels, AG Industry and Mickey Rupp, which then begins an exhibit on what is currently manufactured in Richland County.
Miller said the late Bob Glasener started the museum and was responsible for saving many local industrial artifacts over the years. Miller said Glasener’s daughter has in her possession the 1939 World’s Fair Westinghouse (gold-plated) roaster, which she donated to the museum.
The museum is full of surprising finds.
Elektro the Westinghouse robot should be on display this summer at the North Central Ohio Industrial Museum after being restored.
A manhole and stormwater grate from 1935 made by the Tappan Stove Co. are among the treasures Miller helped to preserve. He also has the Tappan marquee and a Westinghouse marquee.
Plan your visit
Hours/admission: The museum will be open the same hours as OSR and will be free to tour with the purchase of a ticket to the prison-turned-museum.
Getting there: OSR is on the north side of Mansfield, just off U.S. 30.
Learn more: mrps.org (OSR is operated by the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society).
Contact Lou Whitmire at 419-5-21-7223. She can be reached at X at @lwhitmir.
WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — A Warren man who led police on a chase received his sentence on Wednesday.
Michael Greene, 32, was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to make restitution.
Greene pleaded guilty in February to failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer and failure to stop after an accident.
Greene was charged following a November 2025 police chase in Niles.
Prosecutors say that the chase involved speeds of about 103 miles per hour.
It was discovered that the car Greene was driving was reported stolen by a family member.
Patty Coller contributed to this report.
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