I-Team: Bill lets towns ban gunfire on private property

CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has found support growing to help cities outlaw wild gunfire on holidays like July 4.

At midnight on July 4 and New Year’s Eve, there’s a good chance someone — or many people — near you will shoot a gun in the air to celebrate.

The I-Team sparked action when we revealed Cleveland police are powerless in responding to most calls like that — even when people record video of neighbors shooting wildly celebrating a holiday.

Now, a push to change that is gaining momentum.

We found Cleveland Police took 101 calls for shots fired in the first hours of the new year. But we also found there were no charges filed for weapons or gunfire.

In a clip of police body camera video, you hear gunfire as officers roll up, but an officer tells a resident, “We cannot do anything about somebody firing a gun on their own property.” The resident responds, “Wow.”

Ohio law allows a person to fire a gun on his or her own property. Now, a proposed state law would give towns the option to change that.

“We want folks to be able to celebrate July 4, but we want everybody to feel safe at the same time,” said state Rep. Casey Weinstein.

Weinstein is pushing a bill with state Rep. Darnell Brewer.

“And this is a form of gun violence. Think of all the trauma this may cause someone,” Weinstein said. “This is something that should never happen in any community in Ohio.”

We found a state law and a city of Cleveland law saying you can’t just shoot a gun anywhere. But both laws have wording allowing you to shoot on your own property.

The proposed law would give individual towns the power to make it illegal to fire a gun on your own property, too.

“I was a city councilman. I think local control is an incredibly important part of our law,” Weinstein added.

The proposed bill is currently before a House committee. Lawmakers behind it are trying to build support for it statewide, hoping they can get it passed before the end of the year.

For now, Cleveland police are simply asking you not to celebrate by shooting.

“It’s irresponsible,” Sgt. Freddy Diaz said. “When a round comes down, it can cause serious injury or even death. We ask the public not to fire their firearms up in the air.”

One 911 caller from midnight on New Year’s Day said, “Everybody’s on the floor. Sounds like a war zone.”

Now, there’s a battle to end holiday gunfire.

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