"Arm The Populace" founder and lead firearms trainer Douglas Cooper is a gun guy.
His photo on is of a burly man with a shaved head, wearing a tan vest, with a gold ring on every finger and a long goatee hanging off his chin.
鈥淎s a gun owner, as a Second Amendment person, I believe everybody has the right to defend themselves, nobody should be a victim,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淚t's our battle cry.鈥�
Last week, , Ohio鈥檚 version of a 鈥淪tand Your Ground鈥� law. But even as a 鈥済un guy,鈥� Cooper thinks the policy, which removes what鈥檚 known as the 鈥渄uty to retreat鈥� before using lethal force in a deadly situation, is a bad idea.
It will make people more likely to draw their gun quicker, thinking they鈥檙e protected from prosecution now, Cooper said.
鈥淥ne of the things that we really hammer on our students is that Fight A happens in the street, parking lot, wherever," Cooper said. "Fight B, and there's always a Fight B, happens in the courtroom. And it's just as dangerous."
Under the new law, the two standards left to justify lethal force are the imminent threat of bodily harm and that the shooter is not the instigator of the violence.
According to Buckeye Firearms Association executive director Dean Rieck 鈥� whose organization has lobbied for years to pass the bill 鈥� firearms instructors like Cooper can go on teaching classes without any changes because of the new law.
鈥淢y take is that the 鈥榙uty to retreat鈥� as it was in our law really was more of a confusing issue than anything else,鈥� Rieck said.
The new law won鈥檛 change anything for police investigating a shooting or prosecutors considering whether to bring charges, he said.
鈥淎ll the elements are going to remain the same 鈥� you can't instigate a situation,鈥� Rieck said. 鈥淵ou can't be the one escalating a situation. You've got to basically be the good guy.鈥�
During a press conference the day after signing 鈥淪tand Your Ground鈥� into law, DeWine offered a lukewarm endorsement of the measure, referring to his previous support for the policy.
鈥淭his is a commitment that I made several years ago, and the legislature delivered a bill that did that,鈥� DeWine said.
DeWine continues to press the legislature to pass other measures, including enhanced background checks on gun sales and stiffer penalties for gun crimes. In the wake of the 2019 shooting in Dayton, which left nine dead and more wounded, DeWine urged lawmakers to set other measures aside and instead pass his .
Despite DeWine's urge for "common sense" gun control measures, and that he might veto "Stand Your Ground," Republican leaders in the legislature declined to vote on the governor's proposals. DeWine did not follow through on his veto threat.
has found higher firearm homicide rates after states enact them. found race was a predictor in whether the shooter was convicted 鈥� defendants who claimed self-defense in killing a white victim were more likely to be convicted than if the victim was Black.
Another study, also in Florida, after passage of the 鈥淪tand Your Ground" law there.
鈥淚 mean, I鈥檓 already seeing it on social media,鈥� said Cooper. 鈥淧eople are talking about, it's going to be like the Wild West because we have 鈥楽tand Your Ground' in Ohio. And that鈥檚 not the case.鈥�
For now, Cooper will go on teaching firearms classes the way he always has.
鈥淭he only confrontation you are guaranteed to come away from unharmed 鈥� and I'm not just talking about physically, I'm talking spiritually, emotionally, mentally and financially 鈥� is the one that's avoided,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淎nd 鈥楽tand Your Ground' doesn't really seem to foster that attitude.鈥�
Cooper has spoken with attorneys and police officers in preparation for his first concealed carry classes since DeWine signed the bill. They told him no one will really know how the law will be applied in Ohio until the first cases end up in court.
Prosecutors in Summit and Cuyahoga counties declined to comment for this story on how the new law will affect any open cases.
Ohio鈥檚 鈥淪tand Your Ground鈥� law takes effect in April.
