DAYTON, Ohio — On Monday, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley joined with members of law enforcement and a survivor from the Oregon District mass shooting to call out Governor DeWine for making our communities less safe.
After the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton, Governor DeWine promised Daytonians that he’d ‘Do Something’ to address gun violence in Ohio. Instead, he lied – caving to his gun lobby campaign donors and made our communities less safe in the process by signing permitless concealed carry and a bill arming teachers in schools with less training than it takes to renew their teaching license – both of which were opposed by law enforcement.
“For Governor DeWine, safety is just a campaign talking point. He doesn’t actually give a shit about whether or not you and your family are safe. This is why I’m in this race. Because I refuse to have Ohioans leave their homes in fear of being the victim of gun violence. No matter where you live in Ohio – you deserve to be safe. Whether you’re in school, at a grocery store, or just walking down the street.
“DeWine says one thing, and then does another. As governor, I will wake up every day focused on keeping Ohio families safe. That means working with police and community groups to take on crime. It means passing commonsense gun safety measures to prevent senseless mass shootings. It means putting public safety ahead of politics. That’s my promise as Ohio’s next governor,” said Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nan Whaley.
Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey:
“Public safety isn’t a partisan issue – we all want our communities to be safe from gun violence. Permitless concealed carry makes it exponentially harder for law enforcement to prevent gun crimes which, in turn, makes all of us less safe. And handing someone a gun without adequate training is a recipe for disaster. We need a governor like Nan who is going to truly prioritize public safety, not just political grandstanding. We need someone who will stand with law enforcement in more than just an election year. I am supporting Nan because I know she will actually partner with me and other law enforcement leaders to fight to end gun violence in our communities. She has a long record of fighting for commonsense gun safety measures and I’m proud to stand with her.”
Retired Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl:
“Despite impassioned and broad advocacy against these bills, they were passed into law with the signature of Governor DeWine while he all but abandoned his commitment to enact moderate changes in Ohio gun policies and practices to fulfill his commitment to ‘Do something!’ in response to the mass shooting tragedy in Dayton and the heartrending pleas from a traumatized Miami Valley community. Ohioans would be better served by a legislature and executive branches that support research on and implementation of best practices to prevent gun violence, particularly targeted violence and mass casualty assaults, rather than implementing piecemeal, unproven and ineffective policies to do so.”
Dion Green, survivor of Oregon District mass shooting:
“Mike DeWine loves to say he cares about public safety, but he does the opposite. He promised me and other survivors of the Oregon District shooting that he would do something so that this would never happen again. He lied. Again and again, he has signed laws that actually will lead to more gun deaths, not less. I know Nan, and I know she’ll actually stand up and take action to stop this senseless killing. We need a governor who will actually fight to make all of our communities more safe – no exceptions.”