COLUMBUS — After more than a decade of failure, the divisive “Ohio Fairness Act will be reintroduced to the General Assembly and will face heavy opposition from conservatives. Ohio is one of the majority twenty-eight states that do not have LGBT-exclusive laws that are incompatible with First Amendment rights. Recently evangelical leaders sent legislators a correspondence notifying them of their opposition.
Aaron Baer, President of the Center for Christian Virtue, formerly Citizens for Community Values, drafted a joint-letter signed by over forty faith leaders saying the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) legislation will marginalize the faith community, making them second-class citizens.
According to Baer and the co-signatories, “The so-called ‘Fairness Act’ enshrines bias against many Ohio citizens in the guise of “protecting” others. We respectfully ask that you decline to co-sponsor or support such a measure.”
Co-signors consisted of a diverse number of clergy including faith leaders: Barry Sheets, Linda Harvey, Christopher Long, J.C. Church, and Tim Throckmorton.
The letter to the legislators stated “SOGI ordinances in other jurisdictions have proven divisive and have had a serious negative impact on the religious freedom and the free speech rights of business owners, religious ministries, and churches.”
At Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, Professor Nicholas Meriwether was punished by the University in 2018 for declining to use the feminine pronoun for a male student. The professor has since filed a federal lawsuit in his defense.
“You will soon be asked to support and co-sponsor legislation that purports to protect certain Ohioans from discrimination. This so-called ‘Fairness Act,’ or a sexual-orientation and gender identity (SOGI) law, enshrines bias against many Ohio citizens in the guise of ‘protecting’ others. We respectfully ask that you decline to co-sponsor or support such a measure.”
Correspondence sent to Ohio General Assmelby by Evangelical leaders
In addition, the correspondence asserted ” SOGI laws trample First Amendment freedoms, strip away every citizen’s right to privacy, and unnecessarily infringe on residents’ right to run their organizations and businesses consistent with their mission and values.”
Under its SOGI ordinances, Cuyahoga County in 2020 banned wedding officiant Kristi Stokes from publicly explaining on her own website and social media sites the religious reasons why she only celebrates weddings between one man and one woman. She filed a lawsuit after being threatened with fines of $1,000-$5,000 per violation.
According to the faith leaders, “Systemic discrimination of an insidious nature has not been documented to exist in Ohio. Neither the state nor the businesses or employers in the state are closed to people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.”
Opponents of the SOGI legislation also contend the rights of parents will be further jeopardized if the bill becomes law. In 2018, an Ohio judge removed a 17-year-old girl from her parents’ custody after they declined to help her “transition” to male with testosterone supplements. Her parents wanted to treat her with counseling. Instead, the Job and Family Services of Hamilton County, which has a SOGI law in place, charged the parents with abuse and neglect.
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“Let me be partial to no one, nor flatter any man. For I do not know how to flatter, or else my Maker would soon take me away.” Job 32:21-22
Dear Sirs , I am writing to oppose the SOGI Bill. Our 1st Amendment rights should not be infringed. Our First Amendment is the cornerstone to the Constitution ! Leave it alone ! I am speaking for my Wife and myself and all my family members that appose this Bill . Thank you , Dave Mitchell