This group wants lawmakers to pass Gov. Mike DeWine's gun plan. Who is behind it?

Correction: The story has been updated to correctly identify the CEO of a Republican firm.

COLUMBUS - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's gun proposal has few champions – except a new dark money group that has some ties to the governor himself.

Standing By Ohio, which advocates for a "safe, secure and free future," recently spent about $8,000 on Facebook advertisements urging people to ask their state senators to support DeWine's gun bill.

DeWine's proposal, which includes stricter penalties for those who sell guns to people banned from having them, has been criticized by gun groups and anti-gun groups alike. The result: the governor's plan, which would also expand involuntary commitments called "pink slips," has yet to receive a vote in committee.

In response, Standing By Ohio ads are encouraging Republican lawmakers such as Colerain Township's Sen. Bill Blessing to vote for DeWine's bill. Several lawmakers singled out in the ads are on the Senate committee reviewing DeWine's proposed law.

The Facebook ads feature a row of smiling schoolchildren sitting on a classroom floor beneath the words: "Tell your senator to vote for safer schools and increased background checks by supporting Gov. DeWine’s Strong Ohio bill."

Who is behind Standing By Ohio?

Standing By Ohio Inc. was incorporated in Virginia on Aug. 21 – weeks before DeWine announced the details of his gun plan – by James Tyrrell III, a Republican lawyer based in Washington, D.C.

The group was set up as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, which can receive unlimited contributions and does not need to disclose its donors. Political activity is supposed to be limited, but the IRS has done little to enforce that, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Tyrrell also formed Protecting Ohio Inc., a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that paid for mailers supporting DeWine's daughter, Alice, in her race for Greene County prosecutor.

Standing By Ohio's website is hosted on the same IP address as pro-Mike DeWine dark money group Securing Ohio's Future; Alice DeWine's campaign page and the pro-Alice DeWine Protecting Ohio. The address also hosts Republican Brett Buerck's Majority Strategies website.

When asked about the new ads, the governor's spokesman replied: “Gov. DeWine hasn't seen the ads but is aware of them and that groups are advocating both for and against the issue. Gov. DeWine and his team continue to advocate for STRONG Ohio's passage.“

Standing By Ohio shares a P.O. Box with One Ohio United Inc., a dark money group that once promoted then-Gov. John Kasich's 2011 state budget.

The group's latest tax filing in 2018 lists Angela Meleca, a former Senate Republican spokeswoman, as president. But Meleca told The Enquirer that she knew nothing about Standing By Ohio and hadn't worked with One Ohio United for years.

Standing By Ohio did not respond to The Enquirer via email or Facebook message. The phone number that the group listed with Facebook had a voicemail that had not been set up.

Standing By Ohio has a sparse social media presence so far. The group's Facebook page, launched late January, had six followers as of Monday. The group's Twitter account had no activity.

Columbus bureau chief Jackie Borchardt contributed reporting.