Senate overrides Taft gun bill veto

The Ohio Senate today overrode Gov. Bob Taft's veto last week of a revised concealed-carry gun bill, by a vote of 21-12, one vote more than was needed for a supermajority.

It marks the first override of a governor's veto since James Rhodes in June 1977.

When it becomes law in 90 days, House Bill 347 will wipe out more than 80 local gun laws including Cincinnati's ban on assault weapons, despite Friday's ruling in favor of the city by the Ohio Supreme Court.

Thursday, the Ohio House voted 71-21 to override Taft's third veto of his eight-year tenure, the first by that chamber of the General Assembly since 1990.

When House Bill 347 passed the Senate last month, it got 19 votes although four senators were absent.

Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican, supported the bill lawmakers originally sent to Taft.

The Senate has a 22 to 11 Republican majority.

Taft, a Republican leaving office Jan. 7, vetoed the bill Thursday saying it exceeds its goal of cleaning up Ohio's concealed weapons law by preempting local gun laws.

Backers defend the clause because it brings uniformity to a confusing patchwork of local bans and other restrictions.

A majority of respondents to an Ohio survey released earlier today said overriding local gun laws is a bad idea, according to the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute based in Hamden, Conn. The institute's assistant director, Peter A. Brown, said he found the results particularly interesting given Taft's continued unpopularity in the public-opinion poll.

See detailed results of today's Quinnipiac survey here