![House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger. [courtesy of The Ohio Channel]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/55b7496/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1222x648+0+0/resize/840x446!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F5%2F18%2Fohio_house_web.jpg)
A new bill in the Ohio House of Representatives, HB 228, would make Ohio a ‘stand your ground’ state. State law currently requires a person to consider the possibility of retreat before using force. This law repeals that provision.
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, says the change would make it easier for people to defend themselves.
“Before you can do that, we’ve put up this hoop and say, ‘you have a duty to retreat if you can.’ Well, that’s just not fair," says Irvine.
A similar bill failed in the state Senate in 2014. It was introduced a year after 'stand your ground' laws received national attention when Florida’s version was used as a defense in the shooting death of an unarmed teenager named Trayvon Martin.
The Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association says the duty to retreat has served pretty well in diffusing violent situations and should remain. It will offer the legislature input on the bill.
