Senator blocks questions about her support for 'racist law'

SANDUSKY — A state senator who voted for Ohio's controversial "Stand Your Ground" law that critics say is racist legislation has blocked a reporter from making further inquiries about her support for it. Theresa Gavarone uses her Twitter account extensively to talk about legislation and communicate with news organizations, but she has limited her comments about the state's Stand Your Ground law approved in the statehouse Dec. 18, which she voted to approve. In her only tweet about it she told people they should get their information about SYG from a right-wing blog out of Northern Virginia that has connections with the National Rifle Association. Gavarone did not immediately respond to questions about blocking a reporter from her Twitter account. The reporter has not been blocked from her state email account. She has repeatedly ignored questions sent to her asking why she supports SYG in Ohio, what information she relied upon to cast her vote in support of it, and how she responds to critics who have called SYG "chase and kill" legislation. Civil rights groups, including the Ohio NAACP and local NAACP branches across Ohio, the Southern Poverty Law Center and others have asked Gov. Mike DeWine to veto SYG, citing studies that say SYG laws in other states have resulted in more Blacks getting killed without justification in situations that could have been avoided and more white defendants being acquitted after killing Black people using the expansion of self defense in SYG. SYG removes the duty to retreat; meaning someone with a gun can claim self defense if they chase another person down and kill them if the person with the gun perceived danger to themselves or others. That's what happened to Trayvon Martin, a Florida teenager pursued and killed in 2012, and it's what happened to Ahmaud Arbery in February, and in dozens of other instances cited in the independent studies rights groups provided. In Arbery's case, two men in a pickup chased him as he jogged in their neighborhood. They shot and killed him as a third man videotaped the incident as if it was a sport or a hunt of some kind. The men are claiming self defense under Georgia's Stand Your Ground law. Gavarone and state representatives DJ Swearingen and Dick Stein declined to say if they've read the studies rights groups provided, or if they have other information that refutes the findings that say SYG laws are racist. They also have not said what information or testimony they relied upon to favor the legislation. Swearingen and Stein also voted for SYG, and critics say they and other Republican lawmakers are pandering to the NRA and spreading misinformation about the impact of SYG laws. None of the lawmakers in the House majority that approved SYG have offered any explanation for their support, or said what information they relied upon to overcome the concern that it will lead to more unjustified deaths of Blacks. It does not appear that any of the representatives have responded to the NAACP and other groups with an explanation for their vote. A spokesman for DeWine said the governor has until the end of Monday to veto the legislation, or it becomes law with or without his signature. The governor is still reviewing the legislation, his spokesman said Thursday. A prior Register article incorrectly stated the governor had until Dec. 31 to veto or allow the legislation to become law. Below are some of the findings of some of the studies cited by civil rights groups that they say show SYG laws are racist. Lawmakers have not refuted this information, and appear to be ignoring the concerns of civil rights groups, the American Medical Association and the American Bar Association in approving the law. • The American Medical Association found that Florida's implementation of its Stand Your Ground law led to a 24.4% increase in homicides overall and a 32% increase in firearm-related homicides specifically. • The American Bar Association found that interracial homicides spiked in the states that had Stand Your Ground laws. • A study of data from 23 states with Stand Your Ground laws found that white homicide defendants with Black victims were 12 times more likely to have Stand Your Ground ruled in their favor than Black defendants whose victims were white.