Ohio Gov. John Kasich[1] on Monday signed an executive order intended to get localities to submit more records into a database of banned gun buyers, wading further into the national post-Parkland gun debate.
The order asks a state committee that found gaps in the system in 2015 to reconvene and update its report to find out where things stand in terms of timely and complete reporting of the data.
“There’s just no excuse for this data not being sent,” Mr. Kasich[2], a Republican, said at a signing ceremony flanked by local officials and law enforcement personnel. “We’ve got cases where if they don’t have the data, they’re not in a position to be able to determine who should get a gun and who should not.”
The order also authorizes the state’s Office of Criminal Justice Services to ask local courts and officials to provide information about how they’re doing on sending the data. The state auditor is also supposed to check on how localities are doing in terms of timely and accurate reporting.
Local courts are supposed to provide updates to the state’s list of banned buyers every week, but there’s currently no real penalty for failing to do so.
“I believe that they will comply,” Mr. Kasich[3] said. “If they do not comply, then we’re going to figure out what we can do to be more punitive. I’d rather start off with encouragement. … We’ll see how it goes.”
Shortly after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, a bipartisan commission set up by Mr. Kasich[4] after last year’s deadly shooting in Las Vegas unveiled a handful of gun-related policy recommendations, which included action to ensure the timely and accurate reporting of records to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal
