Potential buyers try out guns which are displayed on an exhibitor's table during the Nation's Gun Show. (Photo by Alex Wong, Getty Images)
The cities of Dayton and Columbus as well as Everytown For Gun Safety settled a four years-long court battle this week with the state of Ohio over the criminal background check system. The program is a well-known protection to ensure people with a serious criminal convictions aren’t able to purchase a firearm, but it’s also used to ensure they aren’t hired to a position of trust, like a teacher or police officer.
But that database is only as useful as its data.
In court, the cities argued Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation was failing to meet its obligation to collect information and maintain the database. State law requires BCI to collect information for the system “from wherever procurable,” and designates the agency as the clearinghouse for Ohio’s criminal records.
The cities’ initial complaint allows that court clerks have a role, too. After all, who else knows better when a case has been adjudicated? But attorneys for the cities argued “many (clerks) complain that BCI rejects that information on technical grounds; and, for the clerks that simply do not report or fail to do so in a timely manner, they do so with apparent impunity from BCI.”
Under a settlement agreement approved in court this week, the parties, agreed to a series of steps meant to improve the background check system and make it easier for agencies to upload information.
“We all share a responsibility to do everything we can to make sure that those prohibited from purchasing guns are unable to walk out of a gun store with a firearm,” Everytown Executive Director Eric Tirschwell argued in a press release announcing the agreement.
“This settlement should serve as a model for other states to take the critical steps necessary to ensure that all criminal convictions and other prohibiting records can be accessed when someone tries to buy a gun,” he said.
But attorneys for the cities warned that the success of agreed-upon changes hinges in part on cooperation from state lawmakers. And Dayton law director Barbara Doseck added, despite Ohio’s home rule provisions, local governments remain powerless to pass their own firearm restrictions.
“This settlement is a positive step in the right direction,” she insisted. “However, without action from the General Assembly, Ohio cities cannot pass laws that reduce access to guns or the associated gun violence. Without cooperation, Dayton is left to endure, as we have since the Oregon District shooting, without any real ability to make impactful change in our own community.”
The settlement agreement
Under the provisions of the agreement , state officials will continue work on a self-service portal through which local agencies can share new information with BCI and resolve errors or omissions in existing records.
The parties on both sides of the case agreed that an electronic reporting system is best, but that getting agencies’ information systems on the same page will require funding. To that end, they agreed to seek grant funding to help cover the cost of updating technology and to establish a grant advisory committee to figure out which opportunities they should pursue.
In the interest of transparency, they’re envisioning a public facing dashboard once the reporting system is fully up and running so that the public can see an agency’s rate of compliance. They also agree to lobby state lawmakers for legislation holding agencies accountable for mandatory reporting requirements as well as regular auditing.
The AG’s office agreed to institute a training program for reporting agencies that runs at least quarterly and to produce quarterly progress reports for the plaintiffs for the next three years.
Columbus city attorney Zach Klein praised the agreement as a “commonsense gun safety measure.”
“For the first time ever, Ohio has a real plan to modernize our criminal background check system to make it work for those who use it every day — to keep deadly weapons out of the hands of violent individuals and ensure employers can access the information they need when hiring,” he said. “This agreement is a historic win for Ohioans and for public safety.”
“I urge the legislature to build on this progress,” Klein added, “and equip reporting agencies with the tools they need to fill the gaps in our system and better protect public safety.”
Follow OCJ Reporter Nick Evans on Twitter.
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