Democrat David Pepper says he'd consider a specialized court for domestic violence, and would speed up the testing of old rape kits to identify suspects. Pepper also said he'd push for tougher laws against people convicted of domestic violence found to have illegal firearms -- and that he'd create an online portal for people to report abuse.
Pepper said such violence is not just a state problem, but a national one.
"Not just that there's too much violence, but that our culture's so willing to turn the other way in the face of that violence," he said. "And I think this is an enormous role the attorney general should be playing and isn't today to really in a proactive, comprehensive way, take on that issue."
Ryan Stubenrauch, a campaign spokesman for Attorney General Mike DeWine, called Pepper's rape kit plan "unworkable," and said DeWine has received bipartisan praise for his testing work.
Pepper spoke to a small audience of supporters at the City Club of Cleveland. DeWine declined an invitation to debate Pepper there.
