Buckeye Reporter

The director of Ohio Gun Owners urged his group’s members to support Issue 1, an Ohio ballot initiative that would require petition-based statewide constitutional amendments to pass with 60 percent of the vote, not simple majorities.

“Ohio Gun Owners’ position on this is clear,” wrote the group's director, Chris Dorr, in a blog post. “‘Legislating' on important issues via Constitutional Amendment by 50%+1 of the voting population is Mob Rule, and destroys the restraints of a Constitutional Republic.”

“The way the Ohio law currently stands, Bloomberg, Soros or any other hate-America billionaire can come into Ohio, hire a couple hundred canvassers to collect the required petitions, and get a repealer of A1§4 of Ohio’s Constitution on the general election ballot,” wrote Dorr. “Once they ‘make the ballot,’ they can (and will) spend tens of millions of dollars in a statewide fake news media campaign to convince the public that repealing Ohio’s Constitutional right to own firearms will ‘make us safe.’”

Ohio Gun Owners joins the Ohio Sportsmen's Alliance, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Gov. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) and Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-Ohio) in backing the initiative.

Opposing the initiative are “a roster of left-leaning advocacy groups,” reported the Buckeye Reporter.

These groups include Black Lives Matter Cleveland, Black Lives Matter Dayton, Pro-Choice Ohio, Black Out and Proud, the Cleveland Bi+ Network, Columbus New Liberals, Democrat Socialists of America-Cleveland, Ensuring Parole for Incarcerated Citizens, New Voices for Reproductive Justice and the Ohio Federation of Teachers.

Last week, musician and West Hollywood, Calif. resident John Legend spoke at a "get out the vote" rally to oppose Issue 1. Legend previously endorsed the "Defund the Police" movement  in 2020, and contributed to The Bail Project, a group that posted bail for George Floyd rioters and was sued in 2022 for “releasing a serial criminal who less than a week later tried to murder a waiter” in Las Vegas. 

Also opposing Issue 1 is the Communist Part of Ohio, which recently “gathered to 'stand with drag queens and families'" during a protest outside a "Drag Story Hour" event at the Near West Side Theatre in Cleveland. 

Including Ohio, currently 15 U.S. states allow for statewide initiatives to change their constitutions, including Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, and South Dakota. 

Illinois, Arizona and Florida have 60 percent vote thresholds; Colorado's is 55 percent.