Latest news with #R-McDermott
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Gov. DeWine signs bill designating historic state airplane
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has signed a bill designating the 1905 Wright Flyer III as the state airplane into law. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Senate Bill 24, sponsored by State Senator Terry Johnson (R-McDermott and Steve Huffman (R-Tipp City), proposed that the plane first flown on June 23, 1905, near Dayton, Ohio, be declared as the Ohio state airplane. DeWine signed the bill into law Tuesday. TRENDING STORIES: Area packaging plant to close, plans to layoff over 130 workers Off-duty park ranger credited with finding child at center of Amber Alert Zelle shuts down standalone app transfers, can still send money through banks Built by Wilbur and Orville Wright, the 1905 Wright Flyer III was the first practical airplane, capable of sustained and controlled flight. The longest flight in the Wright Flyer III took place on October 5, 1905 and lasted 39 minutes and 24 seconds. It is the only airplane in the country to be designated as a National Historic Landmark, according to Huffman in an Ohio Senate news release. The bill celebrates the Wright Brother's nationally renowned innovation at the state level. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill expanding ‘ethnic intimidation,' defining antisemitism in Ohio reemerges at Statehouse
The Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by Jake Zuckerman, Ohio Capital Journal.) An Ohio Senate Republican has reintroduced a bill to expand criminal charges of 'ethnic intimidation' and define antisemitism in state law, aligning the definition with a previous executive order by Gov. Mike DeWine. State Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, brought Ohio Senate Bill 87 to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. He said one of the drivers for the bill was the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, after which, he said, 'a concerning wave of extremist demonstrations' on Ohio college campuses included 'disturbing displays of aggression and intolerance.' With antisemitism 'seemingly on the rise' particularly at 'pro-Gaza' protests on college campuses, Johnson said he wants Ohio law to include an expansion of the charge of ethnic intimidation, when combined with other charges. 'Ethnic intimidation is already against the law here in Ohio and can be added as an additional charge for violations such as aggravated menacing, menacing, criminal damaging, or endangering and criminal mischief,' Johnson told the committee. 'This legislation would expand that charge to also include aggravated rioting and rioting committed by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin of another person or group.' A charge of riot can be leveled when five or more people 'participate in a course of disorderly conduct' for the purpose of committing a misdemeanor offense. It can also be charged to a group of five or more people accused of intimidating a public official or employee 'into taking or refraining from official action, or with the purpose to hinder, impede or obstruct a function of government,' according to the bill. Rioting can also be charged when a group is accused of trying to 'hinder, impede or obstruct the orderly process of administration or instruction at an educational institution.' If someone is charged with a riot offense, the charge of ethnic intimidation would be a fifth-degree felony. A charge of aggravated riot would bring an ethnic intimidation charge considered second, third, or fourth-degree felony 'depending on the circumstances of the offense,' according to an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission. A bill on which S.B. 87 is based was brought by Johnson in the last General Assembly, and it received both praise and criticism in committee hearings. Those who stood against the bill called it 'un-American' and said it conflated 'legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with hatred.' Critics like the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Ohio chapter Executive Director Faten Odeh said the previous bill would dampen dissent and could have placed the government 'in the role of silencing political opposition.' Opponents also questioned how words used at protests will be interpreted, and who will decide what is considered illegal. 'Who will interpret my words,' asked Patricia Marida in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in December. 'How far can I go in criticizing the state of Israel? How might I be pointed out, sanctioned, or even targeted by those who disagree with me?' Along with expanding the criminal offense of ethnic intimidation, the bill codifies a definition of antisemitism 'for the purpose of investigations and proceedings by state agencies.' The definition is taken from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance — the same definition used in a 2022 executive order by DeWine. It encourages state agencies to use it for agency investigations, including those at higher education institutions. 'An executive order is a handy thing, executive orders are easier to change than things that are actually placed in law,' Johnson said when asked on Wednesday why the bill is needed if DeWine's executive order already exists. 'I think this is a weighty enough situation that it needs to be in law.' Under the definition, antisemitism is 'a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish Community institutions and religious facilities.' Supporters of the bill in its previous form included Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the group Ohio Jewish Communities, whose president and CEO, Howie Biegelman, said the alliance's definition would help authorities determine whether incidents rise to the level of 'actual antisemitism.' Biegelman said he was confident the bill would still allow First Amendment rights to continue, only jumping in 'when that hatred morphs into a crime or other action covered by a school or work policy.' Groups such as the Jewish Voice for Peace are opposed to the Holocuast remembrance alliance definition of antisemitism, saying it 'conflates criticism of the state of Israel with anti-semitism' and warning about the legislation 'possibly tying it to enforcement mechanisms like firing critics of Israel for organizations, and schools getting government funding.' In introducing the new bill, Johnson said it is 'explicitly stated that this legislation shall not be construed to diminish or infringe on any right protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or Ohio Constitution.' 'The freedom of speech and public demonstrations are ingrained in our American way of life,' Johnson told the committee. 'It is crucial for such protests to adhere to the principles of respect, empathy and constructive dialogue between all perspectives.' While the previous bill passed the Ohio Senate, it didn't make the cut as the General Assembly term drew to a close at the end of 2024. Johnson also said the bill hit some 'unexpected roadblocks from House leadership' that kept it from moving forward, though he didn't specify what those roadblocks were. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ohio Republican proposes unconstitutional push for public schools to display the Ten Commandments
State Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, during an Ohio Senate session in the Senate Chamber at the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Graham Stokes for Ohio Capital Journal. Republish photo only with original story.) Ohio's lawmakers might decide whether to join Louisiana and Kentucky in passing laws that push public school classrooms to post the Ten Commandments. Such laws have repeatedly been struck down as unconstitutional violations of the First Amendment's prohibition of governments' 'establishment of religion.' Republican state Sen. Terry Johnson of McDermott thinks he can maneuver around these court precedents by claiming his bill is simply one requiring schools to post 'historical displays.' Given our current federal court leanings, he may well succeed. But in doing so his SB 34, the Historical Educational Displays Act, will institutionalize the very sort of indoctrination the GOP claims to oppose. Johnson's clever solution to get around a chain of Supreme Court decisions striking down such displays is to have every school board choose from a state list of 'historical documents,' one of which just happens to be the Ten Commandments. Others on this list include perennial favorites, many already gracing many classroom walls, such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. A few less popular charters, such as the Magna Carta, and Northwest Ordinance, and the Articles of Confederation, round out the list. While few citizens will pack into their school auditoriums to argue over whether the Magna Carta or the Northwest Ordinance should be posted in their little one's classroom, many will fight over the Ten Commandments. Some, of course, will fight because they believe with Thomas Jefferson that there should be a wall between the state and the church. Others will fight over whose Ten Commandments should have the privilege and stamp of authority that posting in a public space by the government provides. It is often forgotten in the course of these debates that every Abrahamic religious tradition has a different version of the Decalogue that is found in two places in most, but not all, Bibles, the twentieth chapter of Exodus or the fifth of Deuteronomy. Just to illustrate how even small differences of translations can produce large differences in meaning, let me look at what is often described as the Fourth Commandment, which as legally required by Louisiana reads 'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Of course, these are not the words that Moses told the people on Mount Horeb that God told him. According to the King James version, what Moses actually related was 'But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.' Nothing about being 'holy' here. While the King James version is widely seen by many Christians as authoritative, the Contemporary Torah, a closer English translation of the original Hebrew, chooses not the softer terms 'manservant' and 'maidservant' but uses 'slave' instead. The New Catholic Bible hews closer to the Hebrew as well using the phrase 'nor your male slave, nor your female slave.' Likewise the bible generally used by those of the Orthodox faith also uses the word slave. There seemed to be some desire on the part of some faiths to disguise the language of slavery with euphemism. Like the King James Version, the English Standard Version popular with American Evangelicals avoids the word 'slave' and uses the word 'servant' in place of the more antique 'manservant.' So, when complying with SB 34, which wording should a school board choose? Should schools teach their children to be kind to their slaves by giving them Sunday off or not? Or should we just unleash this bill on Ohio and reopen the Bible wars of the 19th Century that violently raged over the question of whether the Catholic or King James Bibles should be used in school? In some ways, Johnson's end run around the Constitution is actually more threatening to the separation of church and state than Louisiana's law that simply required the display of the Commandments. Louisiana made no excuses for their imposition of a religious doctrine upon the schools, and such pure religious indoctrination can be readily seen for what is, the establishment of religion in violation of the First Amendment. But SB 34 justifies the placement of the Ten Commandments as a 'historical document' essential to understanding the nature of American government, falsely implying that the United States republic was founded on a particular understanding of Christianity. In fact, of course, the Founders were well aware of how mixing church and state can spark religious fights that fracture both. If SB 34 passes, the truth of the Founders' wisdom will be on display as will be evident by the shouting matches and worse coming to a school board meeting near you. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
