COLUMBUS, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine’s new package of gun reforms will be “dead on arrival” if gun-rights supporters — and state lawmakers — think they’re essentially the same as what former Gov. John Kasich unsuccessfully pushed for last year.

That’s according to Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who’s taking a lead role in courting conservative support for the laws, which DeWine announced Tuesday, shortly following a mass shooting in a popular downtown Dayton neighborhood that left 10 dead, including the gunman.

“This is not what the former governor was proposing,” Husted said Thursday, speaking on the phone on his way back from Dayton, where he and DeWine have spent much of this week. “That’s important, because if it was, it would be dead on arrival in the legislature.”

Husted first reached out to cleveland.com Thursday morning after reading a quote from Kasich that appeared in our daily Capitol Letter newsletter, in which the former governor said his proposals “plowed the ground” for DeWine’s plan. Namely, DeWine, a Republican, is pushing for what’s often called a “red-flag” law and expanding background checks on gun sales.

In a follow-up interview, Husted emphasized what he said were key differences between the Kasich and DeWine plans.

He also offered a glimpse at the strategy the DeWine administration is using to persuade the Republican-controlled state legislature, which has approved myriad measures loosening gun laws in recent years.

So what are the biggest difference between the two plans?

Well, a big stumbling block is the term “red-flag.” (And Husted wouldn’t say it, but connecting the proposal to Kasich, who alienated state lawmakers during his second term while emerging as a prominent critic of President Trump, probably doesn’t help either.)

Generally, “red flag” refers to laws that allow a court to order the temporary seizure of guns from someone deemed to be a danger to themselves or others. DeWine has proposed doing exactly that, albeit with caveats meant to address concerns from gun-rights advocates.

Second Amendment groups view red-flag laws — which come with a burden of proof that’s less stringent than a criminal case — as a violation of due-process rights. The DeWine administration tried to incorporate those concerns into its plan, Husted said.

“Just the term ‘red flag’ is like waving a red cape in front of a bull with these folks,” Husted said. “What ‘red flag’ means to them is, my neighbor can call the police and say I’m a threat, and then the police can come and take my guns. That’s what it means when they hear it, because that’s essentially what the bill that John Kasich offered would have done.”

“And so if we’re ever going to get something done, it’s important for everybody to know that’s not what this is,” Husted said.

DeWine’s proposal is called a “safety protection order” (compared to Kasich’s “extreme risk protection order.”) It would require a public hearing within three days, at which a judge would determine if there’s probable cause that the person is a threat.

The Kasich plan also had the three-day requirement, but allowed for the date to be postponed for “good cause.”

Under DeWine’s proposal, another hearing would be held in 14 days, at which the government would have to prove there is “clear and convincing evidence” supporting a longer, six-month seizure, along with a mental-health assessment. Someone deemed to be a threat would be barred from owning guns, and required to undergo recommended mental-health treatment. They could apply to get their guns back after three months if they can demonstrate “clear and convincing evidence” that they’re no longer a danger.

Other proposals by Kasich, like defining and banning armor-piercing ammunition, don’t appear in DeWine’s plan. Likewise, a key element of DeWine’s plan, the expansion of background checks, goes further than what Kasich proposed, which would have only sought to bolster the database used to conduct the background checks.

DeWine’s call for expanded background checks to also cover gun-show sales and other non-family transactions is another tough sell to gun groups, which have spent years pushing back against similar proposals.

One avenue the DeWine administration is trying? Convincing state lawmakers that doing so would get ahead of a citizen-led effort to put expanded background checks on the ballot in 2020.

Ohio legislators similarly have pre-empted ballot initiatives in recent years by creating a medical-marijuana program and overhauling how the state draws legislative lines.

“Eventually it’s going to pass, but it may happen in a way you don’t like,” Husted said Thursday. “So we should do it in a way that we can live with. I’ve had many private conversations with voices in the Second Amendment community on that issue, and I’ve said it’s not leadership to just wait and see what happens. I think it’s leadership if we engage in the conversation and try to draft something that’s satisfactory to those who may otherwise be opposed.”

Husted’s outreach with Second Amendment groups to broker support for a “red flag” law has been going on for months. But last weekend’s shooting in Dayton, and the resulting public outcry to “do something,” prompted the DeWine administration to spring into action. The move drew praise from Democrats across the state, and a public reaction ranging from halting to hostile among pro-gun activists.

Unlike DeWine, who alienated groups like the NRA while in Congress, Husted, a hunter and gun hobbyist, has remained in the good graces of gun-rights groups throughout his political career. His role trying to broker support from gun-rights groups on behalf of the DeWine administration is another example of his expansive portfolio, which goes beyond the typical, largely ceremonial role of lieutenant governor.

“It’s just really important [to emphasize] it’s a safety protection order that has due process rights,” Husted said. “That’s an incredibly important distinction to the Second Amendment community that cares about these issues. And I’m one of them.”