CINCINNATI —

Update: 6:40 p.m.

The senate committee voted to advance House Bill 99 after hearing testimony from both sides of the issue during a four-hour session on Tuesday. The bill will be moved to the Rules and Regulations committee for further deliberation.

Original story:

Among those who think it's not a smart move to make it easier for Ohio teachers to carry guns is 15-year-old Katherine Hiland.

"More guns in schools only increases the access that students have to guns," Hiland said. "And I would know best. I'm a teenager. We get up to a lot of trouble even when we don't mean to."

Hiland testified before an Ohio Senate committee Tuesday in Columbus. The committee is considering House Bill 99, which would cut the training hours for school staff to be certified to carry guns in a school from 700 to 20.

"We were absolutely just sickened," Michelle Mueller said.

Mueller is part of a gun safety group called Moms Demand Action. She said having more teachers with more weapons would be a serious step backward for Ohio.

"Our teachers are not, didn't sign up for this job to be sharpshooters," Mueller said. "They will tell you in their own voice. They are there to educate our children."

Mueller said a better option is to expand background checks on gun buyers and to create a Red Flag law. Those are laws to keep guns out of the hands of people considered dangerous by loved ones and the legal system.

"The things that we know for certain is when these events happen in every school, there are certain staff who are going to give up their lives to buy these kids a few more seconds of life." Joe Eaton said.

Eaton, with Buckeye Firearms, is a big proponent of making it simpler for educators to carry a gun. He says an armed teacher can make a difference if an active shooter suddenly appears.

"Even if the staff is able to confront them, it changes their focus - from the innocent people to the person confronting them. And that, in and of itself, saves lives," he said. "Teachers are willing to do that. We need to give them the opportunity to go home to their families at the end of the night also."

Ohio's change in gun training is because of a state Supreme Court ruling. The justices ruled last year that because the General Assembly did not mandate specific requirements, that teachers would have to have the same training as police — about 700 hours. The bill being debated in Columbus lowers that number to 20 hours.

The House passed a bipartisan bill on Friday to address gun violence that amounts to the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades.

The final tally was 234 to 193 with 14 Republicans voting with Democrats to approve the measure.

Now that the House has approved the measure, it will go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law, marking a significant bipartisan breakthrough on one of the most contentious policy issues in Washington. The Senate passed the bill in a late-night vote Thursday.

The measure includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that.

The package represents the most significant new federal legislation to address gun violence since the expired 10-year assault weapons ban of 1994 -- though it fails to ban any weapons and falls far short of what Democrats and polls show most Americans want to see.

Securing a bipartisan agreement on major gun legislation has been notoriously difficult for lawmakers in recent years even in the face of countless mass shootings across the country.

Democrats in particular have been quick to celebrate the bipartisan gun deal since action to address gun violence is a major priority for the party.

But the bill's passage was overshadowed on Friday by the news that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade, holding that there is no longer a federal constitutional right to an abortion.

The opinion is the most consequential Supreme Court decision in decades and will transform the landscape of women's reproductive health in America.

It came one day after the Supreme Court struck down a New York gun law enacted more than a century ago that places restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home.

The rulings once again highlight the limited power of the Democratic party, despite it controlling both branches of Congress and the White House.

House GOP leaders opposed bill

Despite broad bipartisan support for the bill in the Senate, top House Republican leaders came out in opposition to the bill and urged their members to vote "no."

Fourteen House Republicans voted for the bill, however. They included:

1. Liz Cheney of Wyoming
2. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois
3. Tom Rice of South Carolina
4. John Katko of New York
5. Maria Salazar of Florida
6. Chris Jacobs of New York
7. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
8. Peter Meijer of Michigan
9. Fred Upton of Michigan
10. Tony Gonzales of Texas
11. Steve Chabot of Ohio
12. Mike Turner of Ohio
13. David Joyce of Ohio
14. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio

The bill passed the Senate on Thursday with 15 Republicans joining Democrats in support. The final tally was 65-33.

The legislation came together in the aftermath of recent mass shootings at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school and a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that was in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

A bipartisan group of negotiators set to work in the Senate and unveiled legislative text on Tuesday. The bill — titled the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act — was released by Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.

Lawmakers then raced to pass the bill before they left Washington for the July Fourth recess.

As lawmakers searched for a compromise, there were points at which it was not clear whether the effort would succeed or fall apart. But while the bipartisan effort appeared to be on thin ice after several key sticking points emerged, ultimately negotiators were able to resolve issues that arose.

Key provisions in the bill

The bill includes $750 million to help states implement and run crisis intervention programs. The money can be used to implement and manage red flag programs — which through court orders can temporarily prevent individuals in crisis from accessing firearms — and for other crisis intervention programs like mental health courts, drug courts and veterans courts.

This bill closes a years-old loophole in domestic violence law -- the "boyfriend loophole" -- which barred individuals who have been convicted of domestic violence crimes against spouses, partners with whom they shared children or partners with whom they cohabitated from having guns. Old statutes didn't include intimate partners who may not live together, be married or share children. Now the law will bar from having a gun anyone who is convicted of a domestic violence crime against someone they have a "continuing serious relationship of a romantic or intimate nature."

The law isn't retroactive. It will, however, allow those convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence crimes to restore their gun rights after five years if they haven't committed other crimes.

The bill encourages states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System with grants as well as implements a new protocol for checking those records.

The bill goes after individuals who sell guns as primary sources of income but have previously evaded registering as federally licensed firearms dealers. It also increases funding for mental health programs and school security.

DENVER, Colo. — Gun sales hit record highs across the United States in the last year, with more African Americans buying guns than in years past, specifically Black women.

Some believe political unrest is driving higher sales. Others say it’s the new presidential administration threatening to tighten gun laws.

For the 1770 Armory and Gun Club that just started towards the end of 2020, it was about creating a welcoming safe space to learn.

Anubis Heru co-founded the Armory, which is settled in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood. He realized his community had no place of their own to learn about guns.

"It's important to have someone that looks like you," said Heru. "When you're learning certain things, you just naturally feel more comfortable when you're learning from someone who understands your walk and where you're from."

And after last year, he knew it was needed.

"A lot of people don't feel safe with, you know, the current climate, with certain political groups that are in operation," explained Heru.

Now, the Black community has a space within the Armory to learn a powerful lesson.

"Your Second Amendment is something that doesn't guarantee your safety. It guarantees your ability to be able to defend yourself or fight back," said Heru.

That's why he's all about gun safety, education and practice.

All that training is easier at the Armory because the shooting range is a dry-fire shooting range, meaning there are no bullets, just laser cartridges that attach to guns. This saves people from buying expensive ammunition and helps to make a less intimidating environment for beginners.

"Whether from our Latino brethren or LGBTQ family, they all say pretty much the same thing is like, 'Hey, you know, we feel comfortable here.' So, that's one of the reasons that we're here, and for women especially," said Heru.

Heru said he was surprised how many women immediately signed up for classes and came out to the club’s live fire range nights. He’s glad women are seeing this gun club isn’t a boy's club.

"I just actually fell in love with it," said Jeanine Haliburton, who just joined the club.

She’s not alone. Women made 40% of gun purchases in 2020, and gun sales to Black Americans were up by 60%.

Almost half of the record-breaking 20 million guns sold last year were to first-time buyers, like Sonya Edwards.

"I finally said, 'let's do it,' because I think this is something that needed to be done in my heart," said Edwards. "We just need to be protected because any and everything is happening right now."

Both these women joined the club to find safety in a time of uncertainty.

"I think that's a fear for, you know, anybody of color," said Haliburton of worrying about safety.

That's why this club gives them comfort.

"We're not that soft target anymore," said Edwards. "You know, we're gaining knowledge, and we're starting to become a hard target."

Every night at the range is helping do that by breaking down barriers and building community.

"I like the armory because while they are Black-owned, they're not Black exclusive," said Edwards.

The group is helping to make gun ownership more accessible while giving these women a space in a male-dominated world.

"We’re like sisters. We can learn together. We can build together. We can cry together. We can laugh together. Just come on down," said Edwards.

Heru agrees this club was built for everyone, and he hopes it only grows for years to come.

"We're here for the community. We were created for the community, and the community is of all walks of life, colors, creeds, sexual orientations," said Heru "We're really honored and privileged to be here in this neighborhood."