Good afternoon, and welcome to the first edition of The Rundown. This biweekly email serves as the most important political and cultural news for Christians in Ohio. Don't forget to forward this newsletter to those who would be interested—and thanks for reading the inaugural Rundown!

Ohio House Votes to Protect Women's Sports

What's Happening

• Smokescreen: For years, the marijuana industry has been slowly working to expand in Ohio, first under the guise of "medical marijuana," and now in a push for full commercialized recreational marijuana. There's a lot of disinformation about marijuana, and CCV Policy Director David Mahan debunked the lies of the industry this week before a special State Senate Committee in Portsmouth, Ohio.

• Title IX Draws the Line: The Ohio House passed the Save Women's Sports Act by amending it into another piece of legislation last week. The bill would prohibit biological men from competing in women's sports, and protect female opportunity in athletics. The bill now awaits consideration in the Senate.

A Note from CCV President Aaron Baer:

You may have seen media reports that this bill requires invasive inspections of children to compete in sports. Not only are these reports overblown, but similar versions of this bill passed in Ohio do not have this provision. CCV and our allies at the statehouse agree that it doesn't need to be in the bill and will come out. 

However, this hasn't stopped some media outlets and liberal activist lawmakers from fear-mongering and trying to distract from all the harm the transgender movement is doing to kids. But we won't fall for their games.

• DeSantis Brings Down the Hammer: Governor Ron DeSantis (R–Florida) has directed Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration to stop allowing Medicaid to cover transgender surgeries. The Florida Department of Health has also reported that it does not recommend puberty blockers or gender reassignment surgeries.

• It's Campaign Season: A U.S. District Court has ordered the state of Ohio to implement the third set of maps created by the Redistricting Commission, and to hold state legislative primaries on August 2, 2022. A list of important dates leading up to that election can be found here.

• SAFE Act Shenanigans: Opponents of Ohio's SAFE Act, which would protect children from gender-theory experimentation, testified as a panel last Wednesday instead of the customary practice of one person testifying at a time. This follows the hearing held the week prior, where a recess was called due to a shouting match between State Representatives.

• Welcome to Pride Month, Christian: If you've turned on the TV, or walked into a fortune 500 business lately, you've probably noticed it's pride month. Carl Trueman wrote a must-read article on how Christians should think and respond to pride month in WORLD opinions this month.

Rise Up

Are you looking for more say in your children’s education, and wanting more transparency in what they’re being taught? Visit BackpackBill.com today to learn more about what you can do right now to make a difference.

Don't Miss

• Prayer at the Statehouse on June 15, 2022, in the Ohio Statehouse Atrium.

• The Ohio March for Life on October 5, 2022, in Downtown Columbus.

Prayer

Scripture calls us to pray for those in authority. Join the CCV team this week in praying for:

• State Senator Niraj Antani, State Senator Nickie Antonio, and State Senator Louis Blessing, III.

• The people of Ukraine and Russia, especially those who are innocent victims of violence and attacks.

• Children in Ohio, that they may be able to live lives free from indoctrination.

June Trivia

Which Ohio Governor had a daughter who was a Governor?

Respond with the correct answer, and a randomly-drawn winner will get a shoutout in the next Rundown edition, along with a copy of this month’s book, “Live Not by Lies.” Email your responses to contact@ccv.org.

That’s all we have for this week. Be sure to keep an eye out for our next edition, and don't forget to share CCV's Rundown with others.