pro tip: If an Ohio city is spelled the same as a better known city or country, assume one of the syllables is pronounced completely differently and you’re probably saying it wrong.
“Gov. DeWine signed what’s been called the nation’s strictest voter ID law… 1 million Ohioans have suspended licenses because of debts from things such as a lack of insurance, unpaid fines, & court costs. That’s in a state w. 8 million registered voters.”
“I’m seeking parents in a state i don’t live to spy on other people’s kids”
These people are weird, yes.
But it’s a CREEPY and DANGEROUS kind of weird that must be called out because these people are bored and obsessed, and they mobilize extremists to harass and harm others.
Ohio's population drain is getting to the point that the governor wants to expand the state's tourism office to also try to convince people to move here
I remember 2 yrs ago when Governor DeWine’s SON, OH Supreme Court Justice Pat DeWine, didn’t even recuse himself when his DAD was a named defendant, then sided w dad while the majority of the court ruled daddy had illegally skewed map lines to favor Republicans.
Feels like a good time to remind y’all that in Ohio, we elect 3 State Supreme Court seats in November.
Depending on the result, Ohio could have a 6-1 Republican majority or a 4-3 Democratic majority or anything in between.
Want to protect your rights this November? Start there.
My mom texted me tonight from a repro rights rally in Medina. “A couple hundred” ppl present. A couple hundred! In lil ole MEDINA, OHIO. 💪🏼
These anti-choice extremists don’t even know what they’ve unleashed. We won’t go back.
PS shout out to
@nanwhaley
for showing up to speak!
Imane Khelif is a cisgender woman.
She was born female, was registered as a girl at birth, is legally a woman, & continues to identify as a woman.
Is transphobia now so bad that even cisgender women cannot be women if they don’t comply with a certain woman ideal-type?
Columbus, OH - Officer shot & killed a patient IN THE ER after the patient went to the hospital for medical treatment & they discovered he had an open warrant.
There’s no intelligent argument on police violence that hasn’t already been made today. So, just... WHAT THE FUCK.
And, I’ll add, Ohio could end up with a 6-1 Republican majority supreme court or a 4-3 Dem majority Supreme Court depending on this year’s election results. Everything from voting rights to abortion access to consumer rights are at stake.
Feels like a good moment to remind everyone we can flip Ohio's Supreme Court this November by electing:
✅ ️Justice Michael
@Donnelly4Ohio
✅ ️Justice Melody
@Stewart4OhioSC
✅ ️Judge Lisa
@Forbes4Justice
Merry Christmas to teachers at columbus city schools who are paying for their own school supplies in deteriorating buildings while CPD sucks up 1/3 of our city budget.
Ppl who don’t have issues obtaining a valid license treat strict voter ID as an inconvenience at most. but SO MANY PPL literally can’t get one. They will *all* be disenfranchised by this law. I’m embarrassed to see such poor leadership on this from state elected leaders.
😂my favorite trending topic of the day is hands down, “congratulations Justin” which appears to have resulted in every Justin on twitter getting congratulated for miscellaneous accomplishments.
Maybe we should do this every day. TOMORROW CAN BE CONGRATULATIONS JENNIFER!
Tonight I testified in front of Huntington School board (a small town south of columbus) about the importance of LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools. Whenever Equality Ohio team ventures to a new place, we never really know what to expect. But boy did tonight fill my soul with hope.🧵
“But if issue 1 passes, someone could get an abortion JUST BECAUSE A DOCTOR SAYS ITS NECESSARY.”
Yes. Correct.
….
….
Wait, are you expecting us to think that’s a bad thing?
Thanks to OH statehouse republicans, a TX company is now gonna frack in OH’s wildlife areas
If you are hoping they’ll follow safety protocol, or that they will have to pay for pollution they cause, unfortunately republicans posing as judges defanged the EPA
Noticing a pattern?
A Texas-based energy company has been selected as the “highest and best" bidder to lease Keen Wildlife Area for fracking during Monday’s Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management meeting.
By
@megankhenry
“My video camera footage shows my chickens were perfectly fine… & as soon as they started the burn, my chickens slowed down and they died,” she said.
“If it can do this to chickens in one night, imagine what it’s going to do to us in 20 years.”
Brett Favre stole taxpayer money from a fund called TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) which supports short term survival services like housing and food assistance. His biggest concern was whether he would get caught.
Wanna talk about WELFARE QUEENS? I mean goddamn
Brett Favre: Will the media find out that we're using welfare funds intended to help the poorest residents of America's poorest state to build a volleyball center?
Nancy New: Nah. Oh yeah, the governor is fully on board!
@ayewolfe
five years later:
If you are LGBTQ+, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a woman who wants to make your own damn decisions, you should move to Michigan.
If you are a worker who wants rights, you should move to Michigan.
If you want common sense gun policies, come on, move to Michigan!
“The suspensions by far fall most heavily on impoverished urban communities of color. In other words, debt-related suspensions disproportionately affect some of the communities least likely to vote for the Republican officials who passed and signed the voter ID law”
I get that people outside of Ohio only care about Ohio’s senate race but if you actually care about the **STATE OF OHIO** then y’all need to put a lottttt more attention & $$ into the other races on the ballot this year.
Friends, I just want to drop a note to say, please don’t take LGBTQ+ organizations’ lack of immediate reaction about the rules that Dewine dropped yesterday as our tuning out or ambivalence. We just got the actual language last night and…
If you aren’t paying attention to what Ohio lawmakers are attempting to do to our education system, i need you to start.
They are *hammering us* with legislation to censor public schools WHILE trying to get OUR taxpayer money rerouted to private schools that THEY OWN & CONTROL.
Overhaul of Ohio colleges targets diversity mandates, China partnerships and requires U.S. history class
@AnnaStaver
and
@lbischoff
saw the draft bill:
I’m at the Hilliard School Board meeting, a Columbus suburb that has become ground zero for the crusade against public schools, but supporters of strong public schools aren’t giving up without a fight. Currently several hundred residents are present to debate two things:
The democratic primary for Ohio’s vacant US House seat has received probably easily 50x the national media coverage compared to Ohio’s unprecedented statewide bribery scandal. Ohio’s HB6 scandal implicates a good portion of our state’s political powerhouses including…
I mean come tf on.
“Political operatives describe an often well-meaning couple almost comically out of touch by their extraordinary wealth. A source pointed to the Swigs’ own account of how they only ever learned that student debt existed recently”
Now would be a great time for national media to pay attention for 30 seconds to Ohio’s corruption trial of the century starting today. The one that cemented our spot as “most corrupt state” last year. To say I’ve been disappointed with their disinterest is an understatement.
The democratic primary for Ohio’s vacant US House seat has received probably easily 50x the national media coverage compared to Ohio’s unprecedented statewide bribery scandal. Ohio’s HB6 scandal implicates a good portion of our state’s political powerhouses including…
Here’s my hot take of the day: I think the Ohio Governor’s race will be way more consequential — and a way better metric of the preferences of Ohio voters — than the flashy senate race. But national media will only focus on the latter all year and its gonna drive me frickin nuts.
The 18 GOP attorneys general who joined MS Attorney General Lynn Fitch's letter calling for access to private health information on abortions their residents received in other states include those in AL, AK, AR, GA, ID, IN, KY, LA, MO, MT, NE, ND, OH, SC, SD, TN, TX and UT.
National Dems’ takeaway from the Ryan campaign strategy & election loss appears to be “you ran a perfect race, I can’t believe you lost, tell us about your perfect campaign” and wow that’s the polar opposite of the feedback I hear on the ground 🤦🏻♀️
Holy shit, Ohio 😎
Anti-diversity candidates who railed against “CRT” are getting straight up hammered. Even in Trump country.
MULTIPLE decisive victories for young candidates of color.
Cleveland passed issue 24, for a civilian review board for CPD.
CHANGE IS A-COMING!!!
Let’s start w this.
This is Parker, a high school student. Doing his HIGH SCHOOL HOMEWORK in the hearing room waiting for his turn to go up to the podium to ensure that trans athletes like him will have the opportunity to play sports.
What the FUCK are we doing to these kids.
“I’m voting to protect children!! Kids that literally cried in front of me & pled for their lives begging me not to vote for this bill, while I gleefully ignored them, their parents, & their drs. I’m subjecting them to harm & harassment to PROTECT them”
-House Republicans today.
In 2023, the OH legislature passed just 15ish? Bills. And like half of those named a highway or something trivial.
But they had *25* hearings on anti LGBTQ bills, most targeting youth.
Now they’re coming back early from their Xmas vacations solely to take healthcare from kids
The Statehouse GOP's creepy fixation on trans Ohioans & their lives masks their lack of answers or efforts to deal with actual & serious problems across Ohio.
Voters will remember in Nov 2024 when they approve redistricting reform.
#DiversionaryPolitics
This is BEFORE you add that Ohio passed one of the strictest voter ID law in US in lame duck last yr. we’ll spend the next decade being told “Ohioans chose this” bc we voted (under unconstitutional maps) for people who made voting harder each yr on purpose
I’m just a classic coastal elite from Medina OH who’s wondering why they feel a need to “fight back” against *checks notes* low-income, elderly, young, & disabled voters who use alt forms of ID that are easier to obtain, & cut voting hours & dropboxes w no rational justification.
Last night, I returned to my conservative hometown to present my new organization, Ohioans Against Extremism.
It was a surreal moment as I presented our plans to a room peppered with former teachers, my friends’ parents, & even my mom.
Literally the ppl who raised me.
*LIFE UPDATE ALERT*
TLDR: I’m starting a new org to fight extremism in Ohio & you should give us $$ so we can build our programs NOW! And I’m leaving EO but yall are in good hands.
Longer version:
OH Statehouse Repubs just officially completed their override of Gov Dewine’s HB68 veto, proving they’re more than happy to hurt other people’s kids as long as it helps their personal political ambitions.
Many Ohioans will get a campaign or fundraising text tonight, bragging.
Hold up hold up. So a white grown ass man shot and killed a 13 yr old black kid in front of a bunch of ppl, cops arrested him but solely bc the shooter said “self defense” the prosecutor up and DISMISSED THE CHARGES?
What. In. The. World.
And by “parents” we mean full time political operatives including their attorney who JUST lost his bid for Republican central committee after losing a judicial race so this should help him stay relevant to get on Fox News!
NEW: Central Ohio parents are suing Hilliard schools, claiming "indoctrination and child abuse."
Parents want an end to discussions on sexual orientation + gender identity, and the removal of badges supporting LGBTQ+ students | Learn more
@nbc4i
“The adults can move forward and govern like reasonable human beings, or we can all continue to experience these nationally embarrassing, paranoid, ill-informed, hate-mongering, extremist lawmakers creating a chaotic mess out of Ohio law… Their choice.”
Proudly declaring yourself a racist to MLK brunch speaker in under a year is quite a redemption arc for someone who did a total of zero things to redeem himself.
Here’s where “I’m socially liberal but fiscally conservative so I vote based on my taxes” voting patterns get us.
hope y’all feel good about (maybe but prob not) saving a couple grand a year! Only cost everyone around you their physical safety!!
The significance of the Bush v. Gore ruling is impossible to overstate. Not only was this guy denied the presidency, but 3 of the Bush side attorneys now sit on the US Supreme Court.
WE ARE NOT WINNING. Former Vice President of the USA says the people who run our world and economy are driving us towards global cataclysm. Where are our cultural and political leaders? They need to raise the alarm and demand action NOW
#ClimateEmergency
I dont think the ohio redistricting commission appreciates how many ohio soccer moms are really really pissed at them right now and tbh moms are very good at organizing so good luck w that
Should we start keeping track of the number of people that text us about leaving Ohio because of shit the statehouse is doing? Because I get a couple a week.
The Ohio general assembly this week scheduled hearings on an array of inflammatory bills.
-tax credits for pregnancy resource centers
-SNAP "fraud"
-two pro-gun bills
-three anti-trans bills (locker rooms, drag shows, health care)
-anti-DEI at colleges
-coal tax creds
The “party of limited government” is spending its first week back taking away kids’ healthcare & pushing a bill to *prohibit* all schools in Ohio from “construction or maintenance” of all-gendered restrooms *INCLUDING COLLEGES*
Absolute stone-cold losers.
Truly shocking how obsessed OH Repubs continue to be w ruining the lives of a small group of Ohioans who are begging ppl just to leave them the fuck alone.
know what Jesus did to marginalized people? He washed their feet. He wouldn’t recognize this bs as anything he’d ever teach
Ohio is in the middle of dealing with the fallout from conservatives passing a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and reeling from proposed restrictions on adult gender-affirming care as well.
Now Republicans are trying to pass a bathroom ban too.
We just want to live.
Confession: Sometimes (often) my job can feel impossible— fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in a gerrymandered state like Ohio, while literally billions are being spent going after us. Then I get a note or comment from a young person I work with, & it makes every hard day worth it:
“The official ballot measure summary language printed on all Ohio voters’ ballots was drafted in order to help opponents of said ballot measure because it matched their campaign’s yard signs better”
That is… a wild thing to concede.
Ohio AG Dave Yost has agreed to settle the largest bribery and money laundering scandal in state history with the massive utility that funded it. At just $20 million, the settlement amounts less than a third of the bribes FirstEnergy paid.
@martyschladen
Jim Jordan’s district is R+35. If you *actually* want to undermine Jordan’s power, invest in organizations that protect democracy and fight gerrymandering and extremism in Ohio.
Or you can keep flushing money down the drain 🤷🏻♀️ you do you
🚨 JUST IN: After a secret ballot, Jim Jordan is NO LONGER the GOP nominee for Speaker!
Let’s keep his HUMILIATION going. Can you donate $10 to his Democratic opponent Tamie Wilson so she breaks her 24 hour fundraising record by midnight?
Link in her bio! Let’s pour some salt
Perhaps natl media should’ve spent > 15 seconds last year covering when OH’s GOP redistricting commission members proudly defied the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling requiring fair districts, then ran out the clock, then weren’t held in contempt, empowering other states to follow suit
“In this Ohio diner, I talked to 3 guys for 20 minutes, and will now apply any observations about them to the entirety of Ohio voters, I am now an expert on Ohio politics”
Christofascism is unpopular w the majority. So what?
Please understand, public opinion won’t save us from tyranny on its own.
The far right isn’t going after success in democratic elections. They want to seize the machinations & authority of government by any means necessary.
I’m from a county that went Trump +25 in both 2016 and 2020. I grew up literally surrounded by (future) trumpers.
Growing up, I was *constantly* told, “It will all make sense when you’re older. you’ll *understand* then.” (Long 🧵)
Less than a month ago, a Franklin County Deputy Sheriff, w/o authority or reason to suspect any crimes, followed & killed a Black man in the back while he walked into his own home. That deputy is still employed with Franklin County Sheriff's Office. You know who’s not? (1/2)
They did it. They voted for a bill that will shut down wings of children’s hospitals, lead kids to contemplate suicide, make doctors flee the state, and keep young talent from coming to our state at all. GREAT WORK, GUYS!
Dewine is our last defense. Call and ask for a veto NOW.
We are currently watching republicans gleefully chit chat in the gallery before they reconvene house session. Kids are literally in tears in the hallway because they’re about to lose their healthcare, and these assholes are chirping happy as can be!
Lmao less than 8 hours after bragging about their commercial starring Tucker Carlson, the Vote no campaign is whining about “out of state celebrities” Getting involved
Well it's official: Ohio lawmakers in 2023 passed the fewest bills in a year since at least 1955, the oldest records I could find.
They passed just 16 bills last year (some are ceremonial). The 40-year average is about 100 bills per year.
What happened?
*LIFE UPDATE ALERT*
TLDR: I’m starting a new org to fight extremism in Ohio & you should give us $$ so we can build our programs NOW! And I’m leaving EO but yall are in good hands.
Longer version:
Well I put on the biggest event of my life tonight and it was incredible.
What an amazing first ever Equality Ohio Nonpartisan Candidate forum!! It means a lot when candidates make time to show up! And says a lot when they don’t!
Vote Nov 8💜
Now beer.
Hello and updated report from hell: where a sitting Ohio State School Board member called any teacher, social worker, administrator, organizer, or any other sentient being not actively bullying trans kids “groomers” and “pedophiles”.
Householder’s main defense was, “that’s just how stuff gets done in Ohio”, implying his behavior was a regular practice.
The frequency of giant bribery scandals in OH illustrates he’s not entirely off-base… which begs the question: who’s “getting stuff done” this way *now*? 👀
He was the most powerful lawmaker in Ohio. Now, Larry Householder will spend the next 20 years of his life in prison after a federal judge handed down the maximum recommended sentence in the largest public corruption case in state history.
Full story:
Luckily, me and a couple hundred of my closest friends brought plenty of folks to fill both the hearing room and an overflow room for BOTH BILLS and made our presence KNOWN.
Opponents of the ban on trans athletes in girls’/women’s sports packed the hallway outside the room where the bill is being heard, as state troopers stood outside the room
As someone who borderline lived at the statehouse this session, FYI this is one of the Ohio GOP legislators that likes to think of himself as “mainstream” and “reasonable”
“Manufactured fights about trans athletes in Ohio schools and how teachers discuss the impact of racism and slavery might help politicians score points or look tough on national TV, but they do not put food on Ohioans' tables.”
Imagine saying “there’s no evidence to support this” for a medical treatment endorsed by every single major medical organization as medical best practices.
Just learned a mind-blowing stat on Issue 1:
54.5% of the people who have voted or have outstanding absentee ballots are OVER 65 y/o.
54.5%!
More than half!
Over 65!
I guess one thing we all learn with age is the value of civic participation…
The rest of you have 4 days:
Lmao wait, so Sherrod didn’t go to the DNC in Chicago, so OH Republicans trolled him by putting up missing posters. In Chicago.
Uh.. have you checked Ohio??
Ohioans: you have 2.5 hours notice to submit public testimony for a hearing on implementing issue 2 (legalizing cannabis) tomorrow.
specifically mentioned to be on the chopping block is the right to grow a plant at home.
Republican Ohio Senators are unveiling their changes to the recreational marijuana law passed by voters last month. One highlight: the home grow provision in Issue 2 will be eliminated with their changes.
@SarahEDon
will have more, but you can watch here:
A very well-meaning realtor told me yesterday that I shouldn’t be deterred from buying property in a low-income neighborhood because “the new Ed choice vouchers can get you like 6k a semester to send your kid to a private school, and theres no income cap so anyone can use them!”
Apparently some OH lawmakers see this and are like, “I, too, am interested in driving billions of dollars away from our state’s economy.”
No I’m serious. Some lawmakers in Ohio are, by their own admission, *trying* to follow the Florida path. Yikes.
Disney is pulling the plug on a nearly $1 billion development planned for Orlando, Florida, the company said on Thursday, as it feuds with Gov. Ron DeSantis.
while I know folks are so, so anxious for an update from the orgs that live and breath LGBTQ policy, we also know that the words we say will be words that families will *make life plans around* and we take that responsibility really, really seriously.