By Susan Tebben
A bill in the works in the Ohio legislature would prohibit “teaching or advocating divisive concepts” on race, color, nationality, or sex, according to the sponsor of the bill.
In an email request for cosponsors, state Rep. Diane Grendell, R-Chesterland, mentioned critical race theory as one of the “divisive concepts” she’d like to see kept out of state public schools as part of her bill.
Critical race theory has been the subject of several pieces of legislation across the country, including in Tennessee and Idaho, and those who study the subject say it examines the role race plays (and has played in the past) in all levels of society, including economics and the law.
Those who oppose the study say it places blame and promotes division, rather than teaching.
Grendell’s explanation of the bill appears similar to language in other laws passed in the country regarding critical race theory. In asking for cosponsors for the bill, Grendell said the legislation would ensure state education systems and “state entities” would be prohibited from “creating feelings of discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress in individuals on account of his or her race, color, nationality, or sex.”
The bill also would not allow the assigning of “fault, blame, or bias to individuals because of their race, color, nationality, or sex.”
“Such effort to pit one race, color, nationality, or sex against another is divisive, and by definition, racist,” Grendell said to fellow representatives. “Such divisive concepts have the power to breed prejudice, generalizations and resentment towards others.”
Engaging in conduct or “educational activity” that claims that members of any race “are inherently racist or are inherently inclined to oppress others,” is also barred under the proposed law, along with requiring teachings or training in these topics in order to be hired for a job.
Grendell said injustice “has prevailed” in the country’s history and discrimination has resulted.
“Far worse, is teaching and encouraging future generations of individuals that it is acceptable to practice this divisive behavior,” Grendell wrote.
Advocacy groups like the Ohio chapter of the ACLU and fellow legislators condemned the legislation. State Rep. Casey Weinstein, who sits on the House Higher Education and Career Readiness Committee, took to Twitter to question whether the bill draft would impact teaching Holocaust education. “And what does this mean for Holocaust education? That certainly may create ‘feelings of discomfort’. We gonna cancel that next?! This is downright SCARY.“
“This bill is the epitome of cancel culture,” Weinstein told the OCJ on Tuesday. “Trying to wipe out and ignore our history while imposing big government on school districts to limit First Amendment rights in an unconstitutionally broad and vague way. It is chilling and reminiscent of the ‘thought police.’”
The ACLU of Ohio called the legislation “deeply concerning.” Though the language of the bill has not been released, Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the ACLU of Ohio said the cosponsor request shared enough information to see the measure as a “harmful attempt to ban informing students and state employees about the role of racism and discrimination in our history and in current society.”
“Whitewashing, ignoring, or burying the past and present is a disservice to Ohioans and is a perpetuation of, not a solution to, these problems,” Daniels said. “Legislators should never be in the business of censoring facts and information, but that is precisely what this bill will do.”
The deadline for sponsors of the bill was set for May 28, after which the bill could begin review in the legislature.
Grendell did not respond to the OCJ’s request for comment.
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Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
Ohio responsible gambling group urges care in legalizing sports betting
A nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Ohioans with gambling addiction is concerned the legalization of sports betting and electronic bingo could parlay into broader problems across the state.
The Problem Gambling Network of Ohio takes no position on the question of expanding the state’s legal gaming opportunities, its executive director Derek Longmeier said. But if Ohio does — and lawmakers are rapidly working toward this goal — the organization believes this legalization effort should include an adequate level of consumer protection.
That means dedicating some of the proceeds toward gambling addiction resources, instituting sports betting limits and publicizing the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline, Longmeier said.
More than two-dozen states have moved to legalize sports betting in the few short years since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling made regulated sports books legal. READ MORE
Democrats introduce bill prohibiting strangulation by police
A new bill introduced in the Ohio legislature targets strangulation by law enforcement, opening officers up to felony charges.
The bill comes as police actions in Ohio and elsewhere are being analyzed.
“If we remember the actual history of policing, we haven’t really come to terms with how it needs to change and how you can actually protect and serve the community,” one of the bill’s cosponsors, state Rep. Tavia Galonski, D-Akron, told the OCJ.
Galonski said the bill’s concept was inspired by bans in her home district on chokeholds, and a lack of state-level bans.
Under the new bill, law enforcement officers would be charged with a third-degree felony, strangulation by a law enforcement officer, which accuses an officer of causing “serious physical harm to a person by knowingly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of the person by applying pressure to the throat or neck, or by blocking the nose or mouth, of the person,” according to the bill language.
A third-degree felony can carry a sentence of nine months to three years. READ MORE
