COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Columbus city leaders, advocates and Democratic state lawmakers are calling for what they call ‘common-sense gun laws.’

“Our children’s innocence is being stolen by the way our society is being led,” Jene Monique Patrick, Adult Division Director of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children said. “Common sense gun laws allow our children to go to school and feel safe, it allows our children to play on playgrounds and ride their bikes around the neighborhood and feel comfortable.”

Lawmakers like Ohio Sen. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus) said it is time to act to make Ohio cities safer.

“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Craig said.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Senate Republicans said in a statement that “failed liberal mayors,” including Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther, would “punish law abiding citizens who simply want to protect themselves” through their proposed reforms.

“Violent felons don’t consult the Ohio Revised Code before carjacking innocent people at gun point,” the statement read.

House Minority Leader Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) said on average, more than 1,700 people die by guns in Ohio each year. Ohio ranks 24th, about the middle, for annual gun deaths nationwide.

“This is a public health crisis and has overtaken many of our cities,” Russo said.

Recently, Ohio has enacted several gun-related laws. Those include legislation to eliminate the concealed carry permit requirement, for teachers to carry firearms in school, and a stand-your-ground law.

“Nothing but pro-gun violence and anti-cop laws have come out of this legislature this past decade,” Russo said.

So, lawmakers like Russo and Craig are calling for things like universal background checks, red flag laws and the repeal of permit-less carry.

In a statement, Speaker of the Ohio House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) said, “Our Founding Fathers enshrined our right to bear arms with the Second Amendment. Time after time, responsible gun owners are being scapegoated by liberal politicians, who think that the silver bullet for solving gun violence is to go after law-abiding citizens.”

Craig said common-sense gun laws like those Democrats have proposed don’t target law-abiding gun owners.

“This is not against those that have the weapons and use them in an appropriate way,” Craig said. “This is about, why do you have an automatic weapon to go deer hunting, that shoots 30 bullets at a time. Why do we need that?”

Russo said both Senate and House Democrats continue to introduce gun safety legislation that gets stalled by republican leadership.

“You’ve got 90% of Ohioans who support universal background checks, I mean, apple pie is probably not that popular,” Russo said. “It’s time for them [Republican state lawmakers] to step up. They’ve got the public support to do this, so they’re out of excuses at this point.”

The most recent republican-led gun legislation that has been introduced would exempt sales tax from certain firearms and ammunition.