opinion

Opinion: Cordray the best bet for gun reform

Since Feb. 14, when my niece Jaime was murdered in the Parkland, Florida shooting, I wake up every morning after a fitful night of sleep, and I am singularly focused on making sure no other family ever suffers the way my family is suffering.

A beautiful life was cut short, senselessly. We feel her loss every minute of every day.

That is why we are committed to doing all we can to limit the incidents of gun violence in our country and to reducing the lethality of each incident. I am committed to getting this done in Ohio even though our current statewide political landscape is not entirely favorable.

That is why I support Richard Cordray to be our next governor.

Personally, I believe assault weapons should be banned. My niece Jaime took a bullet in the back from an AR-15, her spine was severed, and now she is gone. But I live in the real world and I want to get done now that which we can accomplish. Despite recent polls of the electorate, Ohio legislators are not ready to ban assault weapons. Seven heavily Democratic leaning states have passed a ban, but the Ohio Senate has 24 Republicans and nine Democrats, and the Ohio House has 66 Republicans and 33 Democrats. The majority party in Ohio is still busy trying to loosen restrictions on gun safety.

One of Rich’s opponents has made an “assault weapons ban” a focus of his campaign and I deeply appreciate the energy and attention he is bringing to this important issue. I love that it is aspirational, but people will die while we wait for that ban. He knows he is promising something that he can’t deliver.

I live in the real world and I want to get done now that which we can accomplish. In Ohio, there are approximately 1.3 million registered Democrats, 1.9 million registered Republicans, and 4.7 million non-affiliated voters. After our Democratic primary, our nominee must get votes from Democrats, Republicans and Independents in order to win the state. Although Rich does not call for an outright ban on assault weapons, I firmly believe that his comprehensive gun safety proposals will keep guns away from those who should not have them while not alienating responsible gun owners who do tend to vote out of proportion to their numbers.

Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

Rich is calling for universal background checks on all gun sales. He wants to close loopholes to safeguard Ohioans from gun violence by high-risk individuals. He is calling for a ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines and bump stocks. He wants to raise the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21. And he will continue to strengthen the gun laws as conditions change. Rich has heard our voices and he has evolved. The NRA may have given him an A back in 2010. But if they re-graded him now, he would score significantly lower.

We live in the State of Ohio and our nominee must be able to win Republican and Independent votes. The NRA will weaponize any calls for an assault weapons ban as an assault on the Second Amendment and we will lose.

I live in the real world and I want to get done now that which we can accomplish. Richard Cordray is our best chance for bringing together disparate viewpoints and for winning the state. And when he gets to Columbus, Richard Cordray has the sincerity, the intelligence and the political skills to work with the Legislature to actually pass common-sense gun safety laws.

Rich may not have the loudest voice or the most entertaining style, but when he says something, it is thoughtful and he means it. I know Jaime’s story has touched his heart and the tragedy of so many other innocent lives that have been lost to gun violence has changed his views. Of all the gubernatorial candidates, Republican or Democrat, Rich is the only one to have personally reached out to my family while we were still in Florida mourning Jaime’s death. He found my mother’s number and he called her to offer his condolences. He feels differently about this issue now and he cares deeply about it. I hope you will join me in trusting him to protect our children and all the citizens of Ohio from gun violence while still upholding our Second Amendment rights.

Abbie Youkilis lives in Cincinnati. Her passion for gun violence prevention stems from the tragic loss of her 14-year-old niece in the Parkland, Florida high school shooting.