Good morning, and welcome to this edition of The Rundown. This biweekly newsletter serves as the most important political and cultural news for Christians in Ohio. This week we're talking about President Biden, the pending Supreme Court decision, and sports betting coming to Ohio. Don't forget to forward this newsletter to those who would be interested—and thanks for reading The Rundown!

What's Happening

• Playing Dirty: It was recently uncovered that President Biden is withholding federal funds to schools if they do not affirm sexual orientation and gender identity. The funds, which typically go towards lunches for students, feed roughly 30 million schoolchildren daily. Luckily, Ohio's Attorney General Dave Yost is standing up for Christian schools bold enough to speak truth.

• For the Women: The governing body for swimming announced they would not be allowing transgender athletes to compete against women swimmers. The organization will be creating an "open" division for these swimmers to compete in, allowing women swimmers the chance to continue to compete fairly. This comes weeks after the Ohio House voted to protect women's sports throughout the state.

• Violence Against the Pro-Life Movement: It has been reported that over 40 pro-life organizations have been attacked or vandalized in the weeks following the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson opinion from the Supreme Court. The attacks have gone largely unreported, even as a leading organization behind them vows to continue their terrorism in the following weeks.

• Pro-Abortion Terrorism: In a pointed letter sent on Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Justice, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, with 18 of his counterparts signing onto the letter, urged the D.O.J. to take swift action in response to the recent terrorist acts and threats against pro-life organizations, calling the lack of action intolerable, politically motivated and in violation of their oaths of office.

• Rookie Bookies: Just last week, Ohio opened applications for gambling licenses within the state, following a piece of legislation passed last year. MGM Resorts and Penn National Gaming are two of the businesses who have been announced as applicants for the inaugural licenses. Our friends at Stop Predatory Gambling have a great resource on the harms of commercialized sports betting.

• Just a Slogan: Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decisive victory for religious freedom and school choice in a 6-3 ruling in the Carson v. Makin case. The case revolved around a Maine school-choice program that allowed parents to access taxpayer dollars for private-school tuition. However, Maine attempted to prohibit parents from using the program to attend a religious school, based on the myth of a "wall of separation" between Church and State.

Rise Up

The Human Life Protection Act (Senate Bill 123), introduced by Senator Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) and Senator Sandra O’Brien (R-Lenox Township), would outlaw abortion in the state of Ohio as soon as Roe v. Wade is overturned.

The abortion industry wants to continue to profit off the slaughter of the unborn, so they are pressuring our lawmakers to oppose this bill. Our state lawmakers need to hear from you to stand strong to protect women, children (born and unborn), and families.

Don't Miss

• Life Night, celebrating a pro-life victory, the day after the Supreme Court rules in Dobbs v. Jackson. The ruling could be as soon as Thursday, but no later than next week.

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

• Prayer at the Statehouse on November 10, 2022, in the Ohio Statehouse's Atrium.

Prayer

Scripture calls us to pray for those in authority, and to have confidence that God hears our prayers. Join the CCV team this week in praying for:

• State Senator Andy Brenner, State Senator Jerry Cirino, and State Senator Hearcel Craig.

• Our U.S. Supreme Court Justices as they finish releasing their opinions for the year, and for their safety and the safety of their loved ones.

• Protection over pro-life organizations, and that they would have the courage and conviction to keep providing their services to women and children in vulnerable situations.

June Trivia Winner

Thank you to everyone who submitted responses to this month's trivia question: Which Ohio Governor had a daughter who was a Governor?

The correct answer is John Joyce Gilligan, who was Ohio's 62nd governor. His daughter Kathleen Sebelius served as governor of Kansas. Gilligan and Sebelius are the only father and daughter duo to have both been elected state governors.

Laura Streitman was our randomly-drawn winner of a copy of this month’s book, “Live Not by Lies.” 

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.