Critical need to protect human rights and trust in the democratic process
From the Middle East to Southern Ohio, last week brought shattering news and increasingly violent rhetoric and acts. The news includes the ongoing deaths and violent attacks on non-combatants in Gaza and the West Bank, anti-Semitic attacks in the US, and published statements by some Ohio legislators on their plans to nullify the reproductive rights amendment Ohio voters passed last week, and to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at our universities.
Our faith offers clear illumination in Scripture and Baptismal vows. Everyone is equally beloved of God. By the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves and by our Baptismal vows, we must work to stop violence, oppression, or injustice against everyone: Jews, Muslims, Christians, people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people – everyone.
This is a fraught question around abortion rights. I voted for Issue 1, but the concerns I am bringing up in this column are not about abortion, but with the rules we’ve adopted in the United States and Ohio on how we make policy decisions – such as Ohio voters’ strong majority vote in August against raising the bar to citizen-sponsored constitutional amendments – and whether our elected representatives comply with election results, including the constitutional amendments passed by over 70% of Ohio voters in the last decade to prevent partisan gerrymandering, and last week’s 56.62% vote in favor of reproductive rights.
Read the legislators’ statements below and evaluate them. Do you see what I see?
- A determined effort to stop discussions of racism and how to overcome it.
- Challenging the validity of majority votes and heightening alienation between urban and rural Ohioans.
- Undermining the separation of powers and the authority of courts.
Ohio Senator Cirino blames DEI for hate speech and anti-Semitic violence on campus
Remember that the 2020 anti-racism resolution adopted by our state School Board was a catalyst for the Ohio Legislature pressuring two members to resign and taking away the Board’s authority over K-12 curriculum. This year Ohio’s legislative leaders have also been striving to pass a bill banning anti-racism programs in our public universities.
Writing last week in the Ohio Senate Republicans’ newsletter On the Record, Ohio Senator Jerry Cirino (R-Lake County) attributes anti-Semitic attacks to diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Senator Cirino is the sponsor for SB 83, which would ban mandatory training in diversity, equity and inclusion at Ohio’s public universities. SB 83 passed the Senate in the spring despite the immense majority of people who submitted opponent testimony (which you can read here). The bill is now before the Ohio House Higher Education Committee.
The Becoming Beloved Community work Episcopalians have been deeply engaged in over the past five years is faith-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The Sacred Ground curriculum combines Scripture and American history to equip us for our responsibility to overcome racism with love. This ongoing work is central to our preparations to mark the Diocese’s 150th anniversary. Bishop Wayne Smith underlined its vital importance in his Convention address on Nov. 11.
In his “On the Record” column titled “The Growing Danger of Kristallnacht on Campus,” Senator Cirino reports anti-Semitic harassment of OSU students, though he does not identify whether the perpetrators are either students or staff of the university.
Cirino adds, “OSU Acting President Peter Mohler issued a statement Monday that said, ‘We have not and will not tolerate hatred, intimidation or harassment of anyone based on their religious beliefs, nationality or identity.’ But now the violence has come to OSU, as warning signs of a brewing storm begin to emerge.
“Thirty-two OSU professors and more than 2,000 students and alumni have signed a publicly posted “Statement in Solidarity with Palestine.’”
Senator Cirino continues. “The statement reads like anti-Israeli propaganda from Al Jazeera, which the document actually quotes in claiming 8,306 Palestinians have been ‘murdered’ in Gaza since October 7th.The professors ‘abhor Israeli officials’ attempt to dehumanize Palestinians to gain public consent while preparing to ethnically cleanse Palestinians.’
Cirino adds, “The statement does claim ‘We do not condone the indiscriminate killing and kidnapping of Israeli civilians by Hamas.’ But it knows who to blame for the atrocities committed by Hamas: ‘the root cause of this cycle of violence is Israeli settler colonialism, military occupation, and apartheid.’
“We can cut off the oxygen fanning the flames of hate on campus by banning mandatory DEI indoctrination at Ohio’s public universities. That is what my Senate Bill 83 will do,” Senator Cirino concludes. Ohio Senate leaders who oppose DEI organized an Ohio Public University Trustee Governance Symposium on October 23 which trustees from all 14 public universities attended.
Ohio legislators publish statements on steps they plan to ensure Issue 1 will not overrule Ohio laws on reproductive rights
The Republican newsroom of the Ohio House published a story Nov. 9 headlined “Deceptive Ohio Issue 1 misled the Public but Doesn’t Repeal Our Laws,” subtitled “Foreign Billionaires Don’t Get to Make Ohio Laws.”
“Ohio Legislators will be introducing several bills to address this issue in the coming weeks.” House Republicans write about reproductive rights. “‘Foreign billionaires don’t get to make Ohio laws,’ said Jennifer Gross (R-West Chester), pointing to millions from billionaires outside America that helped fund Issue 1. Gross added, ‘This is foreign election interference, and it will not stand.”
“’Issue 1 doesn’t repeal a single Ohio law, in fact, it doesn’t even mention one,’ said Representative Bill Dean (R-Xenia). ‘The amendment’s language is dangerously vague and unconstrained, and can be weaponized to attack parental rights or defend rapists, pedophiles, and human traffickers.’
“Melanie Miller (R-Ashland) said, ‘We will continue to be a voice for every child in their mother’s womb who cannot speak for themselves.’ Representative Beth Lear (R-Galena) stated, ‘No amendment can overturn the God given rights with which we were born.’
“To prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1, Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative. The Ohio legislature alone will consider what, if any, modifications to make to existing laws based on public hearings and input from legal experts on both sides.”
A companion piece in the Ohio Senate Republicans’ “On the Record” blog also frames the vote as a win by a minority of counties. “Early reporting shows 25 counties decided Issue 1. The turnout in metropolitan counties trumped the no votes in the other 63. Ohio’s Constitution is an easy target for special interest groups.” In other words, the number of counties is a more important test of legitimacy than the vote by a majority of citizens. The article goes on to call into question the legitimacy of a majority vote next year for a constitutional amendment to prevent partisan gerrymandering.
WBUR’s Here and Now broadcast on Nov. 9 included an interview with Cincinnati Black pastor Lesley Jones and Prentiss Haney of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, who were part of a statewide effort by Black leaders including clergy to mobilize Black voters on Issue 1.
“Abortion rights won big in Ohio this Election Day. And progressive community organizers attribute much of that success to Black voters in the state,” wrote WBUR “Here and Now” reporters Deepa Fernandez and Ashley Locke.
“Increased turnout of Black voters is largely a result of activists like Prentiss Haney, co-executive director of the nonprofit Ohio Organizing Collaborative and his colleague Pastor Lesley Jones, who leads conversations with local clergy on social justice issues. They’ve been on the ground ahead of this election season engaging and registering Black community members from all walks of life.”
“It involved us having a myriad of conversations with particularly Black clergy and people of faith and really debunking many of the myths and some of the storyline that has been around for many, many years around abortion being a form of genocide in the black community,” said Pastor Jones. “We had conversations about reproductive rights and choice and freedom.”
Citing exit polls that 83% of Black voters and 73% of Latino voters voted for Issue 1, the reporters ask: “In Ohio, only 53% of white voters said they voted in favor of reproductive rights. But 83% of Black voters did. Why do you think this community showed out so strongly?”
Prentiss Haney replied, “I think what we’re seeing is a sleeping giant in Ohio that’s finally awakening with Black voters. And what’s so exciting about it is that there’s not just one type of Black voter in Ohio that said ‘yes’ to this amendment. There are multiple different Black voters who are not a monolith, who have different values and ideology, who came together and said that agency and freedom is a thing that they value most.
“While abortion and reproductive rights were on the ballot, the real question that was on the ballot was agency. And that’s what really happened that day. I’m not surprised by the support levels.”
OCC statement: What Churches Can Do About Gun Violence
Brigham Wallace University’s 2023 Ohio Pulse poll shows that Ohio voters strongly support common sense policies to reduce gun violence, but our Legislature has consistently passed bills loosening or eliminating gun safety regulations and prohibiting cities from passing their own. Please share this powerful essay by the Rev. Dr. Jack Sullivan, Executive Director of the Ohio Council of Churches.
Starting with tragic losses in his own family – his mother wounded, and younger sister and cousin shot to death – he calls out the pastoral harm created by theological confusion: “A good number of people, including many Christians, believe every death, even when brought about by murder, is pre-determined by God and therefore consistent with God’s will. “Others find comfort during tragic moments by proclaiming, “Everything happens for a reason.”
He then goes on to draw guidance from the Gospel, and offers concrete actions the Church can take:
- Christian education programs that emphasize nonviolence and peacemaking as a way of living for adults and children.
- Advocate for common sense gun laws.
- Ask all gun owners to safely store and lock their firearms to prevent children and persons with suicidal thoughts from easily accessing them.
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
