UPDATE: The Outrageous Proposal to Defy Issue 1

I know, I know, I know.

A lot of people who receive this newsletter are not from Ohio, and don’t want to only hear about Ohio. So I do my best to provide updates on a wide variety of democracy issues, way beyond my home state.

But for reasons beyond my control, Ohio keeps coming back up. Because the Buckeye State keeps volunteering to be the poster child of a state lurching towards extremism and autocracy. So it’s really important that people see what’s happening here as an example of what’s happening, or may happen, elsewhere.

In this case, I want to highlight just how insanely lawless the Ohio statehouse’s response to last week’s Issue 1 vote continues to be. Not only did dozens of GOP legislators (including leadership) commit last Wednesday to defy the new Constitutional right to reproductive freedom (along with the will of the people expressed via the election), but now, some of the specifics of a plan are coming out.

And that plan, now being submitted to be drafted as a bill—the "Issue 1 Implementation Act"—is to strip Ohio courts of jurisdiction to review whether Ohio laws impacting reproductive rights comply with the new Constitutional right. Instead, under the proposed approach, the legislature would itself determine if its own laws comply with the Constitution. They would also make it an impeachable offense for a judge to attempt to enforce or protect the new Constitutional right established by Issue 1.

Needless to say, as I explain above, this proposal violates the principle of separation of powers that undergirds the rule of law in American government. The wrongness of it as a matter of governance is something my 6-year old would understand. And the scheme would clearly open the door for the legislature to simply overturn the will of the people and the new Constitutional right voted in by the people of Ohio.

BUT…as blatant as it is…do not just assume it can not happen. This is a group of people who will get away with it if they can. Just as they got away with openly violating the two Ohio Constitutional amendments that were supposed to end gerrymandering (hint: they now sit in districts that violate the words of those amendments).

How do we stop them? Start making noise now—and if they keep pushing forward, make more and more noise.

To start, please make two calls and send two emails:

1. Call the office of the Ohio Speaker of the House, who has the power to stop this nonsense. Tell whoever answers (politely) that you’ve heard about this new bill, and that it should not even be assigned to a committee. That he should not let something so lawless—something so unAmerican—even move forward.

   You can call this number: 614 466-1366

   You can also email his office here: Rep93@ohiohouse.gov

2. Call and email the office of the author of this outrageous legislation, a state representative from Butler County (a county that voted Yes on Issue 1) named Jennifer Gross. Express your strong opposition to this proposal. Remind her that her oath to protect and defend the state Constitution now includes an oath to the new right that Ohioans just established. If her personal beliefs do not allow her to be true to that oath, then she should resign—and not propose schemes that so clearly violate the rule of law.

   Number: 614 466-8550. Email: Rep45@OhioHouse.gov

Then, share this email with your networks so they also know what’s happening, and also make these calls and emails.

Thank you—I will keep you updated on what happens to this and other proposals.