Ohio state lawmaker: Students 18 and older should be able to carry long guns

An Ohio state lawmaker said he believes law-abiding students who are age 18 or older should be allowed to carry long guns in public high schools.

State Rep. Niraj Antani (R) made the comments in an interview Thursday with the Dayton Daily News amid national debate over restricting guns on school property.

“The law is anybody above 21 can have a handgun and anybody above 18 can have a long gun, and so anyone who complies with the law should be able to carry and protect themselves,” Antani told the Daily News.

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“If you look at what happened many decades ago, people brought their firearms to school. They kept them in their cars, maybe, but there was not a problem,” he said.

The lawmaker said his view is that “anyone who is of age should be able to carry a firearm whenever they want.”

“The only restriction I believe in is for private property,” he said.

The debate over gun control was reignited after a gunman opened fire at a high school in Florida last month, killing 17 people. The 19-year-old suspect in that case, a former student at the school, legally obtained an AR-15, which he is charged with used in the shooting. 

Students have been leading the charge for action on gun violence since the shooting, rallying lawmakers and demanding new gun laws to keep their schools safe.

Students in schools across the country on Wednesday walked out of their classrooms to protest gun violence and call for change.

President Trump has raised the idea of arming teachers, a proposal that has been met with skepticism from many lawmakers.