Ohio lawmakers override Gov. Kasich's veto of gun-owner rights bill

Lawmakers in Ohio voted Thursday to override Republican Gov. John Kasich's veto of a law expanding gun rights in the Buckeye State.

Here's what we know

Among other legal clarifications regarding firearms, this new law puts the burden of proof on prosecutors, rather than on defendants, to prove that a gun was not fired in self-defense.

One of Kasich's issues with the legislation had been its lack of so-called "red flag" guidelines that would allow the government to temporarily take guns away from people determined to be a high risk.

In a letter explaining his decision to veto the legislation, Kasich pointed to a number of recent incidents of mass murder involving guns, including the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas. Kasich argued:

New policies are needed to better safeguard those in crisis, their families, their coworkers, their classmates, their educators, law enforcement officers, and the general public from the harm that we have seen happen far too many times when those in crisis have unrestricted access to firearms and have exhibited signs of causing harm.

What else?

While the Ohio state Senate managed to override this veto on gun rights legislation, it failed to find the votes Thursday to overturn Kasich's veto of a bill that would ban abortions if the unborn baby had a detectable heartbeat. In that case, the Ohio state House found more than enough votes to override the veto, while the Senate only found 19 of the necessary 20 votes required.

Republican state Sens. Matt Dolan, Bill Beagle, and Gayle Manning voted to override the governor's veto for the gun legislation, but not the fetal heartbeat bill, while Republican state Sen. Peggy Lehner voted for the fetal heartbeat legislation, but against overturning Kasich's veto on the gun legislation.