Lima Mayor David Berger is urging local and state legislators to engage with the governor concerning his gun legislation brought up last year.
After Governor Mike DeWine again referred to his proposed legislation on gun control and violence during his Tuesday briefing, Mayor Berger wants action. He says with two high ranking legislators such as Matt Huffman in the Senate and Robert Cupp as Speaker of the House, they should not ignore the request and engage in a way that produces the kind of legislation to expand upon what is already on the books.
Mayor Berger explains, “There is often a link between gun violence and disabled conditions such as mental health, such as alcoholism, such as drug addiction. The recognition is that there needs to be more resources for both the assessment of people who are disabled in those ways as well as their treatment.”
The governor’s proposal also includes stiffer penalties for people who are using illegal weapons. Berger says there has been an increase in gun violence the past several weeks and the governor’s proposal could help address that.
Berger adds, “We need to recognize that there needs to be more tools available for law enforcement, for mental health providers to in fact be able to deal with this.”
Berger goes on to say by not doing this cripples the ability of our community to take care of ourselves and keep our citizens safe.
