As a referendum on abortion rights takes shape in Ohio, disparate groups are lining up on both sides of the issue at the Ohio Statehouse.
File photo | The Lima News
COLUMBUS – Republican lawmakers, abortion opponents and a constitutional rights organization that want to make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution have added a new group to their coalition that had not yet publicly voiced its support: gun rights advocates.
Rob Sexton testified Wednesday at an Ohio House committee on behalf of two organizations: the Buckeye Firearms Association, an influential gun group on Ohio Capitol Square; and the Sportsmen Alliance, an organization that defends hunting, fishing and trapping throughout the U.S., founded in late 1977 in Columbus to defeat a constitutional amendment proposal that would have banned trapping statewide.
He testified alongside anti-abortion activists, a law professor and a constitutional rights organization in support of the proposal that failed in December in the waning hours of the two-year legislative session but has reemerged this year.
Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate are considering bills that would require a 60% supermajority at the ballot box, up from the current 50% plus one vote simple majority, to pass a state constitutional amendment. The Senate bill, Senate Joint Resolution 2, also would schedule an Aug. 8 special election for the proposal.
If the change were to pass in August, it could scuttle a possible November vote for an abortion-rights amendment proposal. Abortion-rights supporters have prevailed in constitutional amendments in “red” and “purple” states in the 52% to 59% range.
But it’s still unclear whether state lawmakers, who last year voted to eliminate most August elections over concerns about cost and low turnout, will put it on the ballot this summer. Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman is pushing the idea, and Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens has softened his position against it. Some Ohio House Republicans are trying to override Stephens to advance the resolution out of committee and directly to the House floor for a vote.
Sexton testified separately for each organization, suggesting that without a change “wealthy interests” could pursue new limits on guns in Ohio.
“Now more than ever, our fundamental right to defend our own lives must be protected,” Sexton said, at the time representing the Buckeye Firearms Association.
He said that the gun group depends on a part of the Ohio Constitution that says, “The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security.”
“It’s this freedom that wealthy gun control advocates like New York billionaire Mike Bloomberg would most like to target,” he said. “Ballot issues have become increasingly utilized by wealthy interests in Ohio and across the country. With their ability to outspend virtually any grassroots coalition of Ohioans, people like Bloomberg and organizations he finances are able to rewrite our constitution, erasing freedoms that the people actually support.”
For the Sportsmen Alliance, Sexton also talked about the importance of protecting the Ohio Constitution from wealthy outsiders. The group has been involved in 29 ballot issues across the country, he said.
In 1912, when the current process to amend the Ohio Constitution was created, there wasn’t as much money in politics and people weren’t as politically divided, he said. People can win a referendum or initiated statute with a simple majority, he said, but the Constitution is a different matter.
“It must be held to a higher significance and a higher import,” he said.
Democrats on the committee that vetted the bill were skeptical.
“Where in this resolution does it stop big money?” asked Sen. Bill DeMora, a Columbus Democrat. “There’s nothing in this resolution that stops big money from doing anything.”
Sexton acknowledged that the bill does not mention campaign finance directly, but he said a 60% threshold provides a deterrent to most frivolous ballot issues.
“Historically speaking, the reason for the reference to money is because that’s just been the deciding factor on all ballot issues that we’ve been a part of,” he said, referring to the Sportsmen Alliance.
Sen. Nickie Antonio, a Lakewood Democrat and leader of Democrats in the Senate, said there’s no guarantee that a 60% threshold will stop excessive campaign finance. A group opposed to the abortion-rights amendment proposal, which hasn’t yet made the ballot because backers just began gathering signatures, announced it is spending $5 million on digital and television ads. Antonio said she doesn’t know if the money comes from inside or outside Ohio.
“I think a lot of people can really relate to what you were saying about having to fight for your right to hunt, fish and trap,” she said. “Because I think there’s a lot of people, especially women in the state of Ohio, are feeling right now like their fight to make decisions about their own bodies is on the line.”
SJR 2 opponent Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said after the hearing the bill is not just about gun or abortion rights, but other issues, too. Her organization is part of a coalition of more than 170 groups opposing the change.
“This is about roads, schools, conservation, and economic development,” she said. “This is about the right of Ohioans to grab their clipboards and pass ballot initiatives when politicians aren’t respecting our interests or needs – a right we have had for over a century. We call on every lawmaker to uphold this rich tradition in Ohio, by rejecting any effort to make citizen ballot initiatives harder, because it is unnecessary, unpopular, and undemocratic.”
