The Rundown: Early Voting Begins in Two Weeks
Center for Christian Virtue's The Rundown is the most important political and cultural news for Christians in Ohio. Thanks for reading this biweekly newsletter!
What's Happening
Ohio
Running to Run Again: With early voting for the Primary Election beginning in two weeks, the race for Ohio's US Senate seat is heating up between the Republicans vying to run against current US Senator Sherrod Brown. From their stances on abortion to their campaign funders and endorsements, each candidate is eager to prove that he is the best fit to defeat Sen. Brown in November and serve Ohioans in Congress.
Accountability Matters: The US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights opened an investigation last month into a complaint against The Ohio State University–alongside several other universities–for allegedly failing to respond to anti-semitism on campus, including a physical assault that required hospitalization. Yet another Midwestern university is tied up with a controversial mandatory anti-racism orientation that told students “there are no exceptional white people.”
DEI or DIE? Senator Jerry Cirino, Chairman of the Senate Workforce and Higher Education Committee, sent a letter requesting that Ohio public universities seeking funding in the State's biennial Capital Budget present their "five-year institutional cost summary" to the committee to show their spending on instruction, faculty, maintenance, and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives.
A Bad Bet: A year after he legalized sports betting, Governor DeWine now wants to backtrack by removing college athletes from the legal betting pool because of threats made against the students, while still allowing college teams to remain in the pool. Threats aren't the only gambling consequence on the rise; 60 Minutes recently released a special on how legalized sports betting is causing a spike in gambling addition.
Big Money Buying the Ballot: Some of the same liberal groups that were behind the campaign to enshrine abortion up to birth in our Ohio Constitution are now backing a proposal to have unelected citizens in charge of drawing Ohio's legislative districts. The current process to draw districts is the responsibility of a panel of elected officials who are held accountable by voters, an accountability this amendment would remove.
Still Beating: Attorney General Dave Yost has asked Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins to review–and not outright dismiss–the Heartbeat Law because some sections cover adoption and foster care. However, because the 2019 law, signed by Governor DeWine, focused on banning abortions once a baby's heartbeat is detected, abortion proponents want to see the law overturned entirely in light of the new abortion amendment.
Heads Up: Following the passage of HB68–the SAFE Act and Save Women's Sports Act, the ACLU of Ohio announced last week that it intends to file a lawsuit to challenge the bill. The ACLU also stated that it hopes to prevent the bill from becoming effective on Tuesday, April 23.
US
A Little Hypocrisy: The Anti-Defamation League, “the leading anti-hate organization in the world” that started off as an anti-semitism group, is now flagging those who disagree with the LGBT movement as extremists, and trying to get the government to investigate their targets, including Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, and Libs of TikTok.
Men in Women's Prisons: A largely ignored and voiceless class of victims of gender ideology are female inmates. A lawsuit just filed against the New York Department of Correction is from yet another woman who was raped by a male inmate who only had to claim a transgender ideology to be moved to a women's prison; this case follows a 2022 case filed against the same prison, for the same reason. From New Jersey to Illinois to California to Washington and even overseas, female inmates have been facing sexual assaults from trans-identifying male inmates for years in the name of "gender affirmation."
Kill Pills: The Supreme Court of the United States has agreed to hear oral argument on Tuesday, March 26 in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and Danco Laboratories v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine–two cases being heard together–which will determine the safety, and therefore legality, of abortion-inducing drugs the FDA cleared last year. As Katie Daniel reports in The Daily Caller, the FDA refused to require reporting on serious complications other than death, and rushed the approval process.
Protecting Children Online: The US Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing last week featuring testimony from the CEOs of major social media companies on both how their platforms currently contribute to and how they will help stop the exploitation of kids online. With the US Surgeon General's 2023 "Social Media and Youth Mental Health" Advisory stating "that we cannot conclude social media is sufficiently safe for children and adolescents," The Daily Signal took a deeper dive into the platforms' nefarious algorithms.
WATCH: Aaron Baer, President of Center For Christian Virtue, March for Life 2024 Rally | January 19, 2024
Listen Up
On this episode of The Narrative, CCV President Aaron Baer, Policy Director David Mahan, and Communications Director Mike Andrews sit down with our first-ever repeat guest, Lora Ries, Director of The Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, to discuss what's happening at the Texas border.
Listen in to find out why there's a stand-off between the federal agents and the Texas border patrol, how the terrorist watch-list hits from migrants apprehended crossing the Southern border went from 3 in all of 2020 to 50 already in 2024, and why the border crisis has become a priority issue for every state this year.
Worldview Development
As a Christian, it can be hard to know how to engage with social-political conversations from a Biblical worldview. Here's our top recommendation this week for developing your worldview to be equipped to tackle today's top issues:
Pope Francis on Surrogacy: ‘Children Aren’t Experiments’
Recently, the Heritage Foundation’s Emma Waters reviewed the available evidence about some of these technologies. “Despite what many experts want you to believe,” she writes, “we actually know very little about the impact of surrogacy on the long-term wellbeing of children and families.” As it turns out, babies gestated by a surrogate show a marked increase in preterm births, physical defects, and low weight. This is just what we know for certain, partly because we’ve been kept in the dark.
Legislative Update
After a brief ramp-up last month, Session is already beginning to slow down before the March Presidential Primary, and likely won't pick back up again until April.
HB183–Single-Sex Bathrooms
House Bill 183 would require schools to designate separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and overnight accommodations for males and females in the school building, as well as any facility used for a school-sponsored event. The House Higher Education Committee was scheduled to have a hearing and possible vote on this bill today, but cancelled the hearing earlier this week and has yet to reschedule it.
Take a moment to review where other CCV-backed legislation currently stand in the 135th General Assembly.
Take Action: Make a Difference. Get in Touch.
Elected by voters like you, our state legislators are highly motivated to listen to their constituents. It only takes 60 seconds to make your voice heard by using our Action Center to learn about the critical bills being debated at the Ohio Statehouse and to urge your Ohio legislators to take action on:
Preserving Single-Sex Bathroom Privacy
The Innocence Act
Protecting Children from Drag-Queen Obscenity
And more!
Elections
There are two major elections this year: the Presidential Primary Election in March and the General Election in November. There is also a Special Election on June 11 to fill the soon-vacant 6th District seat held by Marietta Republican US Rep. Bill Johnson.
Important Dates
February 20: Deadline for voter registration for Presidential Primary Election.
February 21: Early in-person absentee voting begins for the Presidential Primary Election.
March 12: Applications for absentee ballots to be mailed for March 19 Presidential Primary Election must be received by boards of elections by the close of business.
March 19: Presidential Primary Election Day. Polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.*
To Do
Are you registered to vote? It's easy to register to vote or update your voter registration information online at olvr.ohiosos.gov.
Review what's on your ballot. Each county Board of Elections office has a list of the candidates and issues appearing on your ballot.
Learn more about Ohio elections, request an absentee ballot, and more here.
*Please note that in-person voting law has changed; a photo ID is now required to cast a ballot. View accepted forms of ID.
Resources & Opportunities
CCV's OCEN Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO)
Did you know that Ohio allows you to donate to a Christian or Catholic school scholarships, and receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit up to $750 per individual? CCV's Ohio Christian Education Network runs an SGO for our member schools.
You can donate through April 15 and apply it to your 2023 taxes.
Don't Miss
Prayer at the Statehouse
Join us for our second quarterly Prayer event on Thursday, May 16, from 10:00 to 11:30 am at the Ohio Statehouse. Register today to join us.2024 Ohio March for Life
Keep an eye out for the date for our third annual statewide march taking place this fall.
CCV is participating in and hosting a number of incredible events through out 2024–stay tuned for more details!
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 the below intentions.
Our elected officials: Sen. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), Rep. Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville), Sen. Frank Hoagland (R-Mingo Junction), Rep. Adam Holmes (R-Nashport), Rep. James Hoops (R-Napoleon), and Sen. Matt Huffman (R-Lima).
Continue praying for more churches to respond to the call to start schools, and for the Ohio Christian Education Network team as they walk alongside those churches to start schools this fall.
Pray also for more Christian teachers to respond to the calling to serve in Gospel-centered schools, and for more children to be able to take advantage of the opportunity to attend those schools.
As conversations and negotiations over our state's biennial Capital Budget are beginning, continue praying for our team's lobbyists as they seek to ensure appropriate funding for community projects that protect life, families, and religious freedom.
As Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, Center for Christian Virtue seeks the good of our neighbors by advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel.
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