Old-school heavy metal. Rock and roll. The song selection was less about musical preference and more about what caused the largest ruckus. Why do you hate Ohioans so much? a man yelled through a loudspeaker, carrying a stick affixed with two flags: the Ohio Burgee
and the yellow Don t Tread on Me flag, a symbol of limited government and gun rights.
The crowd gathered outside Republican Gov. Mike DeWine s Cedarville estate wasn t filled with Democrats protesting his signature on one of the nation s most restrictive abortion laws or his support of stand your ground gun legislation.
Instead, they were fellow Republicans flouting the governor s COVID-19 restrictions.
Ohio s rules for using deadly force change on Tuesday.
That s when a new law, passed by Republicans in December, takes away the legal requirement that people try to retreat from a situation before using deadly force.
Supporters say Ohio s stand your ground law will give much needed protections to people caught in life-threatening situations. But opponents argue that make my day laws actually make people of color less safe and increase the number of gun deaths in America.
What is the law in Ohio?
Ohio gave people expansive self-defense rights while inside their homes and cars back in 2008, but the rules were different for city streets, county fairs and the grocery store parking lots. They required a person to attempt to retreat in public before firing a weapon. That requirement goes away Tuesday.