Mayor: No guns for under-21 set

Some exemptions would apply under the mayor’s
proposal.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Mayor Frank Jackson said Monday he wants the state Legislature to pass a law prohibiting anyone under age 21 from possessing a firearm, a strategy to help stop gun violence.

Jackson and several state lawmakers made the proposal at a news conference after the recent death of 12-year-old Asteve’e “Cookie” Thomas, who was hit by a stray bullet from a street gunfight as she walked to a corner store Sept. 1.

“Right now, if a young person was walking down any Ohio street brandishing an assault weapon, the police could not arrest him for that,” Jackson said.

Ohio law says that no one under 18 is permitted to purchase a firearm. A person must be at least 21 to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Jackson cited city police statistics showing that, from 2004 to 2006, 70 percent of those arrested for crimes involving firearms were under age 28. He said police believe guns increasingly are getting into hands of young adults or teens.

James Yhonquea, 20, of Cleveland, has been arrested and charged with aggravated murder in Asteve’e’s death, and a warrant has been issued for a second suspect, Eric Romel Wilson, 35.

An aggravated-murder trial began Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for 17-year-old Victor Mercado, of Cleveland, whose case was assigned from juvenile court. Mercado is accused of shooting a 22-year-old Cleveland man several times Aug. 14, 2006.

Cleveland’s lawsuit

In March, Cleveland sued the state, challenging a revision to Ohio law allowing people to carry concealed guns, arguing it infringes on cities’ abilities to make their own laws.

That case is pending in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. Jackson could not predict how long Cleveland’s effort to overturn the state law on concealed carry will continue.

“We can’t wait. People are dying, and we have to do something. We have no choice in this matter,” Jackson said.

Exemptions in Jackson’s proposal banning gun possession for those under 21 would include law enforcement and the military, and it would allow gun possession for someone under 21 if there is adult supervision for lawful hunting, sporting or educational purposes.

State law currently restricts gun possession to school zones and courthouses, said Robert Triozzi, Cleveland’s law director. Cleveland seeks wider restrictions, he said.

“I believe it is time to revisit this issue and curb the worst of the mistakes that were made in this bill and give local governments across this state the tools they need to deal with firearms possession,” said state Sen. Dale Miller, D-Cleveland.

A message seeking comment was left for National Rifle Association lobbyist John Hohenwarter.

“We certainly understand the problems and the dilemma that urban mayors face right now related to violent crime,” said Leo Jennings, a spokesman for Attorney General Marc Dann.

Dann has yet to see Jackson’s proposal, but the two did talk Monday on the phone, Jennings said.

“He’s more than willing, as he told Mayor Jackson, to work with him and to find ways to solve the problem,” Jennings said.