An Ohio lawmaker wants tougher penalties for anybody caught violating a protection order. Ohio Senators passed a bill designed to help protect victims of stalking and abuse.
Senator Jay Hottinger's push to pass his bill comes one year after a gunman opened fire on the Pine Kirk Nursing Home. He said protection order requests have risen 50% in Licking County since the murder.
Hottinger testified on the Senate floor that the matter is a personal one. A year ago, he lost a longtime friend in the Kirkersville nursing home shootings.
Hottinger says the bill has the support of police and prosecutors.
The protection order bill would raise the felony to a third degree for anyone caught violating any such order. The bill must ultimately get the Governor's signature.