OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE CLERMONT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY ON HB 99 ADOPTED BY EXECUTIVE BOARD JUNE 23, 2022

The Clermont County Democratic Party opposes HB 99, the law that gives local school districts the option to allow teachers and staff to carry weapons on school property with minimal training. Accordingly, we strongly discourage its implementation by Clermont County’s local school boards of education.

BACKGROUND

HB 99 was passed weeks after the mass shooting in a Uvalde, Texas grade school. Both the Ohio House and Senate passed the bill rapidly and on mostly party-line votes. Governor DeWine signed HB 99 on June 13, 2022, the same day the permitless concealed carry law went into effect.

REASONING

HB 99 is an unfunded mandate on our local school districts.
The law creates more bureaucracy by creating a new Ohio School Safety and Crisis Center and Ohio Mobile Training Team. The only appropriation budgeted is for this training team. For the school districts that choose to implement HB 99, there are substantial costs, including training costs, possible incentive pay, and higher insurance costs to manage the increased legal liability. These dollars would be better invested in furthering the schools’ existing safety plans.

HB 99 is not what most Ohioans want.

We are persuaded by some of HB 99’s most direct stakeholders, who oppose the new law:

  •   The Ohio Federation of Teachers
  •   The Ohio Education Association
  •   The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio
  •   The American Federation of Teachers
  •   The National Education Association
  •   The National Association of School Resource OfficersIn addition, other organizations – including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – have gone on record with their opposition to increasing the number of guns in our homes and communities.

    HB 99 makes schools less safe.

    This law does not represent “common sense” or “protective” gun safety legislation. It reduces training hours initially required to carry a gun from 728 to 24, with only 8 hours of training annually. Minimal training combined with the high stress of an active-shooter situation will mean fatal accidents. Solving the problem of gun violence requires a community solution; arming educators is not that solution. The safety of our students and teachers is better served by the experts: our city, county, and state safety and law enforcement experts.