In August, a gunman killed nine outside a Dayton bar.

In September, gun rights supporters and gun control advocates gathered at the Ohio Statehouse – on separate days – in the hopes their divergent messages might reach lawmakers and Gov. Mike DeWine.

DeWine, a Republican, has proposed a 17-point plan to reduce gun violence. DeWine said he's talking with gun rights advocates to introduce bills that will pass the GOP-led and pro-gun legislature. But they're not 100% on board yet, especially with DeWine's variation of a "red flag" law, which would allow a judge to issue "safety protection orders" to remove firearms from people deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

During the Sept. 14 gun rights rally, Ohio Gun Owners founder Chris Dorr accused the governor of turning his back on his constituents and using the political leverage of his office to promote gun control.

Dorr’s remarks drew cheers from the crowd as well as shouts of “recall” and “resign.”

“That’s exactly what he should do,” Dorr said. “He should come here; he should come down out of his ivory tower up there, his regular offices are up there in the top of Riffe Building; he should waddle down and cross that street and stand up here and apologize to each and every one of us for the knife in the back that he’s given us.”

Four days later, gun-control supporters chanted "Protect our babies, not the guns!" and "Hey NRA, we ain’t going away!" Organized in part by Faith in Public Life, a faith-based activist group, more than a dozen people spoke on the Statehouse steps, sharing accounts of how they or family members have been affected by gun violence. They prayed.

Reporters with the USA Today Network spoke to people at each rally about what they believe and why. Here's what they said.

Gun rights rally

Carl Anderson, 56, Cincinnati

Carl Anderson said he attended the rally to support fellow gun owners and take a stand for rights guaranteed in the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“I’m not in favor of losing (Second Amendment rights). Not in favor of red flag laws,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he’s concerned about recent comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke about confiscating weapons like the AR-15 rifle.

“Like (gun rights pundit) Dana Loesch said, when they say they’re taking your AR-15, it’s a threat,” said Anderson, who’s been a gun owner for almost a year. “Defending yourself is not a threat. I think it’s kind of laughable that they’re all making these threats to take guns away when there’s a lot more serious things going on.”

Joe Kriner, 50, Newark

Joe Kriner described himself as “a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.” He said DeWine's proposed "safety protection orders" are of particular concern to him.

“It really concerns me because there are a lot of people out there right now telling lies, bold-faced lies, about people,” Kriner said. “It happens every day. Somebody says, ‘He’s a nut job. You’re a radical, you’re a liberal.’ My neighbors, we all live out in the country. We mind our own business. We keep to ourselves. We don’t bother our neighbors and everything works fine that way.”

Kriner said he believes that Americans will not tolerate threats of gun confiscation.

“There’s millions of Americans who will not stand for destroying the Constitution,” he said. “The Constitution and the Bill of Rights is what this is all about. I vote Republican, but I lean somewhat toward Libertarians and say, ‘Get off my back.’ "

Judi Phelps, 48, New Plymouth

Judi Phelps owns On Guard Defense Self-Defense Training Center and Shooting Range in Vinton County, about 135 miles east of Cincinnati. A rape survivor, she said she carries a firearm for self-defense.

“There’s nothing more important to me, next to God, than standing up for our country,” said Phelps, who is a wife and mother of seven children. “The Second Amendment is what secures all other freedoms. Guns for women are necessary; it’s a rape-prevention kit. Every day we see on the news, people that are engaged in horrific crimes dealing with vulnerable populations, and the most vulnerable populations are women and children. Ohio is number four in the nation for human child sex trafficking.”

Phelps said she believes the erosion of traditional values and culture is to blame for many of the issues today, including gun violence.

“Guns are not the problem,” she said. “Mental illness. The breakdown of the family. The fatherlessness in the homes. The lack of discipline in our schools. It’s crazy and it’s scary. I refuse to allow my government to disarm me.”

Cassandra Brewer, 36, Trenton

Cassandra Brewer made the trip to the rally from Trenton in northeastern Butler County. She does pro-gun rights marketing and manages a Facebook page called Velocity Vixen.

Brewer said she is active in promoting gun-ownership rights, traveling to rallies and staying in contact with lawmakers.

“I attend rallies, not just here, but in other states, also,” she said, referencing a recent trip to Jefferson City, Missouri. “I send letters and make phone calls. I kick up all kinds of stink on Facebook and Instagram. I love (State Rep.) Candice Keller (R-Middletown). I support her very much and have gone to her rallies.”

Brewer said conservatives need to increase efforts to inform people about Second Amendment rights.

“I’m concerned about the rhetoric (that anti-gun rights activists) are pushing. The ideas that they’re pushing,” she said. “I think it’s really important that we to start teaching our young people about the importance of our constitutional rights and protecting them.”

Gun control rally

Catherine Queener, 59, Dayton

“I’m here because a bunch of my fellow Daytonians were gunned down in August,” Queener said. “I’m here because I made a promise to myself, that I had to do something about it.

Queener said she has a 27-year-old son who could have been in the Oregon district the night of the shooting that left nine dead.

In one hand, she carried a sign that called for universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. In the other, she had petitions that were circulated during the rally by a group called Ohioans for Gun Safety. The group aims to gather enough signatures to put a universal background check measure on the 2020 ballot.

Queener said she’s grateful that DeWine has proposed ways to curb gun deaths, but emphasized that people like her need to “keep up the pressure,” on state lawmakers.

Marianna Carney, 79, Avon

Marianna Carney supports many of the governor’s proposals, calling them “concrete,” but says she is frustrated by what she sees as a lack of action taken by the state legislature.

“After the most recent mass shootings, Gov. DeWine’s proposal gave me a little bit of hope that maybe in Ohio we’d be able to do something,” Carney said.

She wants lawmakers to strengthen background checks, enact a “red flag” law, and ban “military-style” assault weapons.

“I’m not against people having guns, but I don’t think people need to have those kinds of weapons,” Carney said.

J.B. Lawton III, 54, Dublin

J.B. Lawton III, who said he was an “Air Force brat” that grew up in England, called the amount of deaths caused by firearms “insane.”

“I come to the States and it seems like everyday, there’s another report,” Lawton said. “And now, we’re having these mass shootings and it’s just appalling how desensitized we’ve become.”

Lawton said he hit what he called his “breaking point” a long time ago.

“I just think it’s insane that we are essentially being held hostage by the NRA and by a handful of folks who worship their guns so much that they don’t want to even institute basic common-sense things, that even a majority of gun owners would support: background checks, mandating safety locks, all the other things that could easily be done,” Lawton said.

He took a step back and gestured over his shoulder to the Statehouse.

“I don’t have a lot of faith in the folks who are working in this building behind me,” Lawton said.

Paul L’Herrou, 81, Columbus

Paul L’Herrou, a retired Unitarian minister, said the issue of gun violence is important to him because he’s worked with people and families affected by suicide and domestic violence.

L’Herrou said he owned guns when he was younger, but nothing as far as an “assault-style” weapon.

“In today’s world, these guns with high capacity magazines, and high-velocity guns, don’t make any sense at all for hunting, for target practice, or any of the normal sporting events,” L’Herrou said. “They only make sense in terms of killing other people.

“I’m hoping that some of the lawmakers will hear our voices and realize that most of their constituents really want some change in this area.”