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In the few weeks remaining in the legislative session, lawmakers may send Gov. John Kasich a bill eliminating the legal duty of Ohioans to retreat from danger before using deadly force to protect themselves.

A person facing a life-threatening situation should not have a duty to flee and hope for the best, Rep. Terry Johnson (R., McDermott) told the Senate Civil Justice Committee weighing his bill containing numerous changes to Ohio gun laws.

They should have the right to protect themselves and protect their loved ones.

House Bill 203 passed the House nearly a year ago by a bipartisan vote of 63-27. It has drawn comparisons with Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground law.

Floridas law was tried in the court of public opinion but not in the actual courtroom when George Zimmerman was accused but acquitted in the 2012 shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

But Dr. Johnson noted that Ohioans in such situations would still have to show they acted in self-defense and did nothing to escalate the danger. Under Floridas law, the prosecutor bears the burden of proving the shooter did not act in self-defense.

Ohio is one of the toughest states in the union to prove self-defense, Dr. Johnson said. In other states you dont have nearly that barrier to get across.

The provision is essentially an extension of Ohios Castle Doctrine law, which states that residents do not have a duty to retreat when they believe they are endangered in their homes or cars. House Bill 203 extends that to anywhere a legal gun owner has a right to be.

It is a continual effort to try to take away regulations on carrying weapons, said Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. With Stand Your Ground, were already covered in this state with self-defense.

This is just telling people to go and act as law enforcement if they feel threatened, but how can we judge how you or I would feel threatened? she asked. We dont have people locked up in jail because they defended themselves.

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