Listening Session shines with ardor and vision
Undeterred by conflicting events including get-out-the-vote, poll worker training, a festival in Dublin, and the Ohio State Fair, Episcopalians from six Central Ohio congregations gathered August 5 at St. Philip’s, Columbus, to share their views with each other and this reporter on what they most want their elected officials to know about the communities they serve, their top concerns, and what gives them hope. At tables graced by bouquets from the St. Philip memorial garden, we brainstormed in small groups, making a collage of colorful post-its and writing directly on huge sheets of paper, then flocked to the table to fill our plates with delicious choices from a classic church pot luck supper.
Concerns included:
- Attacks on hard-won civil rights and equal representation
- The havoc of climate change and state leaders’ failure to act
- Gun violence and the state’s failure to reduce the risk
- Funding and access for all to good education and affordable housing
- Police-community relations
In answer to “what gives you hope,” here were shining examples:
- Problems and injustice are more visible
- Young people are activists. They are teaching us solutions.
- Intergenerational partnerships
- Those who still love in the midst of hate
- Episcopal faith: open, diverse, and accepting
- Our upcoming bishop election
We were joined by the Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches, who enjoyed the discussion enormously. Participants ranged from children to elders from an array of professions including social work, education, and law. I’ll be compiling their input and sending the collages they created to the Bishop Candidates’ Meet and Greet at Trinity, Capitol Square.
St. Peter, Gallipolis hosts River Churches Listening Session Aug. 12, 10 a.m.
This session will welcome Episcopalians and community partners from both the Ohio and West Virginia banks of the Ohio River, from Marietta to Portsmouth. Come share your views on what you want elected officials to know about the needs, concerns and hopes of the people they represent. We’re expecting community stakeholders too, including from the Gallia County Juvenile Court. Please invite fellow parishioners and people you’re working with on community ministry. RSVP by Thursday, Aug. 10 to the Rev. Joshua Nelson, and bring a covered dish or cookies! We’ll enjoy a potluck lunch together when we finish at 11:30.
Aug. 21 webinar on gun safety for homes
Ohio Moms Demand Action is teaming up with Bexley Police Detective Darren Briley to provide tips on how parents who own guns can keep them out of the reach of children and steps we can all take to ensure children don’t encounter guns in the homes of friends, family, and neighbors, drawing on the Everytown for Gun Sense Be SMART toolkit. Register here and share widely with your community.
New poll shows Ohioans’ overwhelming support for gun safety regulations
USA Today and Suffolk University polled likely Ohio voters in July and found that the vast majority of Ohioans support each of the following:
- mandatory background checks before purchasing a gun (91.8%)
- red flag laws (74%)
- liability law requiring safe storage of firearms (75.2%), and
- mandatory training (88%) to be able to conceal-carry a gun.
57% of the voters polled said that they or someone in their household owns a gun. These views span the political spectrum, with 88% of Republicans supporting background checks and 83% of Republicans supporting concealed carry training.
“Ohioans across the political landscape consider steps such as background checks and concealed-carry training to be common-sense safety measures, not an attack on gun rights… The survey suggests that Ohioans are far more willing to regulate guns and gun access than Republicans who control the General Assembly and have largely blocked gun control measures in recent years,” USA Today reporters Jim Weiker and Anna Staver wrote in the Cincinnati Enquirer and Columbus Dispatch.
Weiker and Staver quote several Republican gun owners who support common sense gun safety regulations. But they also cite the power of the gun lobby over Ohio’s legislature, and quote Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima): “Polls are interesting, but they’re not helpful in policy making often. They’re not a good way to govern.”
Police in Cincinnati and other major cities are citing the proliferation of guns in their communities as a factor in shootings and homicides, which are taking a huge toll on youth – both victims and survivors. Cincinnati and Columbus are suing the state over the law preempting them from adopting policies to reduce risk, such as safe storage requirements that could prevent accidental shooting deaths of children.
Support for banning high-capacity magazines and assault weapons is weaker: 54.6% of Ohio likely voters favor a ban, but with a 4% margin of error and an enormous partisan divide: 88% of Democrats in favor, compared to 29% of Republicans.
Staver’s and Weiker’s July 26 story includes links to background reporting on the many laws passed by the Ohio Legislature to weaken regulations on guns. They eliminated training and permit requirements for concealed-carry, and shunned Gov. DeWine’s modest proposals following the 2019 mass shooting in Dayton.
Advocacy briefings are compiled by Ariel Miller, a longtime community advocate and member of Ascension & Holy Trinity, Wyoming. Connect with her at arielmillerwriter@gmail.com
