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Mike DeWine Made Ohio Less Safe 

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Ohio Capital Journal covered a new study that suggests Ohio will become less safe after Mike DeWine caved to his gun lobby donors and weakened Ohio’s gun laws. Earlier this year, DeWine ignored the pleas of law enforcement officers and signed permitless carry legislation into law. According to the study, states that relax concealed carry laws, which the permitless carry bill does, experience a spike in gun violence. It’s just the latest example of how Mike DeWine’s weakness is hurting our state. 

“[Johns Hopkins University scientist Mitchell] Doucette said the study suggests that Ohio may experience more gun crimes in the future by removing its ability to screen out people who have been convicted of violent assaults from carrying a concealed weapon.” writes the Ohio Capital Journal’s Jake Zuckerman. 

“Once again, Mike DeWine’s inability to stand up to his own party and campaign donors is hurting Ohioans. Even though law enforcement officers asked him not to, DeWine caved to the gun lobby and signed legislation that makes us all less safe. At a time when too many families are worried about keeping their loved ones safe, DeWine’s weakness is putting more Ohioans in danger,” said Ohio Democratic Party spokesperson Matt Keyes.  

Read more from the Ohio Capital Journal here and below: 

  • Weakened concealed carry laws are associated with an estimated 9.5% increase in rates of criminal assaults with firearms, according to research published last week.
  • That relationship is most pronounced in places that allow people convicted of violent misdemeanor crimes to carry a concealed firearm. Those states are associated with an estimated 24% increase in assaults with a gun.
  • “What we saw was that prohibiting violent misdemeanors from obtaining a permit actually ended up mattering a lot,” said Mitchell Doucette, an assistant scientist at Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions, the lead author on the research.
  • Additionally, Doucette said the research indicates that states removing a requirement that applicants complete live firearms training, like shooting at a gun range, are associated with an 18% increase in assaults with a firearm.
  • The study analyzes 34 states that relaxed their concealed carry programs between 1980 and 2019, and compares them against predicted crime rates based on data from “may issue” states. The research was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
  • This summer, Ohio joined a list of 24 other states that do not require any special permit to carry a concealed weapon. The law passed solely with Republican support. Now, any adults who can lawfully possess a weapon may carry it concealed on their persons.
  • The recent research focuses on states that loosen concealed carry programs, but not those that remove licensure as a requirement to carry a concealed weapon. However, Doucette said the study suggests that Ohio may experience more gun crimes in the future by removing its ability to screen out people who have been convicted of violent assaults from carrying a concealed weapon.
  • “I do think that losing that screening ability is important,” he said. “I think it’s meaningful.”
  • Ohio’s concealed carry program still exists, but it’s no longer required in order to carry in-state. Applying gun owners must complete eight hours of training and pass a criminal background check to obtain a permit. While state law allows those convicted of violent misdemeanors to possess a weapon, it does not allow them to obtain a concealed carry permit.
  • Doucette said the research indicates if states want to reduce gun crime, they should ensure their concealed carry laws prohibit those with violent misdemeanors from carrying a weapon.

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Mother Jones: J.D. Vance’s Flip-Flop On The Nazi March In Charlottesville

Columbus, OH – A new report from Mother Jones’ David Corn highlights how J.D. Vance has “traveled a great distance in a few short years,” from castigating Trump for being “too cautious” in condemning the white supremacist violence at Charlottesville to calling the Charlottesville riot a “ridiculous race hoax.” 

As Corn notes, “Race hoax in Charlottesville? A rally was put on by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and a white nationalist did kill a counter-protester. Where’s the hoax?”

“J.D. Vance is a shameless phony who is only interested in furthering his own political career. With his positions changing by the day, how can Ohioans trust anything California Vance says?” said Michael Beyer, a spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party. 

Read more below:

Mother Jones: J.D. Vance’s Flip-Flop on the Nazi March in Charlottesville
David Corn
September 26, 2022

  • The infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, which was organized by white supremacists and neo-Nazis to celebrate white nationalism and that led to the tragic killing of counter-protester Heather Heyer, became an early defining moment of Donald Trump’s presidency when he declared there had been “very fine people on both sides.” Pundits, Republican and Democratic officials, and others recoiled at Trump’s both-sidesism and his inability—or unwillingness—to sharply and definitively condemn the racists, fascists, and antisemites who had gathered. The critics included J.D. Vance, the author and venture capitalist. But in the years since, Vance, now the Republican Senate candidate in Ohio, has changed his tune on Charlottesville to sync up with Trump and his denialism.
  • Days after the protest and the murder of Heyer by a white nationalist, Vance appeared on CNN to discuss what had occurred. Asked by host Wolf Blitzer for his overall reaction, Vance was straightforward:
    • Wolf, you see people marching around doing the Nazi salute. I come from a family with a large number of military veterans, and from back in the day, people who actually went and fought the Nazis. It’s really disturbing to see this display of white nationalism. And [it] became doubly terrifying and terrible because it led to somebody losing their life. Like a lot of people, I watched the TV, was horrified. And it forced me to think, what’s going on in our country and happening that this stuff is becoming seemingly more common.
  • Noting that in Trump’s initial response Trump had not specifically mentioned the Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists who had mounted this rally—Trump had criticized “hatred, bigotry, and violence” on “both sides”—Blitzer asked Vance to evaluate how Trump had handled the matter. Vance did not hold back:
    • The President really missed an opportunity to name this phenomenon and gives people a sense where it comes from and show the moral leadership people want from a president. The thing that’s important for folks from my political side, the conservative side of the aisle, have to keep in mind that a lot of the people who feel physically threatened by white supremacists, not people angry by it, the people who see it get upset by it, that’s all of us. The people who feel physically threatened by it are, by and large, not those who voted for Donald Trump. When they look to that movement, I think the President needs to show leadership saying you may not have voted for me but I’m coming out to deplore and criticize that particular movement as strongly as I would if it was on the other side of the political spectrum. Many, a lot felt the president could have spoken to that. Unfortunately, by not naming it what it was, white supremacism, he missed an opportunity.
  • Vance continued slamming Trump’s response and added,
    • If I was President Trump in this situation, I’d spike the football. This is one of the things that really unites the entire country. Racism is bad. Nazism is bad. We fought a war to defeat Nazism. And the president should not just be—there’s a sense in which he’s ambivalent or too cautious about coming out and criticizing this stuff.
  • Vance was not shy in castigating Trump for his reluctance to condemn racists and neo-Nazis. Yet as a Republican seeking a Senate seat, Vance has brazenly flip-flopped on this point. 
  • Last year, during a podcast with Breitbart, Vance expressed quite a different opinion on the Charlottesville march. Railing about identity politics, he accused Democrats of cynically and crassly playing the race card: “Basically, racism [for Democrats] is anything that doesn’t give the Democrats more power. And of course, the reason they use that accusation, it’s not because they care about minorities or not, because they care about racists or whatever the whatever the topic of the day is, it’s because they recognize it as a useful strategy to give them more power.” His No. 1 example of this: “the ridiculous race hoax in Charlottesville.”
  • Race hoax in Charlottesville? A rally was put on by neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and a white nationalist did kill a counter-protester. Where’s the hoax?
  • This is not the only race-related matter on which Vance has pulled a 180, as he has journeyed from Trump-basher to Trump toady. In a 2017 interview, he raised the issue of “white privilege” and said, “It’s always important to note that there are obviously still advantages to being white, there are still disadvantages to being black.” Yet in a conversation last year with right-wing talk show host Bill Cunningham, Vance referred to “white privilege” as “ridiculous terminology” and claimed the left uses it “as a power play” to “shut up” conservatives so “they get to run things without any control, without any pushback from the real people.” In an interview with Breitbart, Vance said, the leftist narrative of “white privilege” is “disgusting.” 
  • Vance has traveled a great distance in a few short years. In 2016, he told a former roommate that he viewed Trump as either a “cynical asshole” or “America’s Hitler.” Now he’s a full Trump acolyte and eagerly appeared with Trump at a recent QAnonish rally in Ohio. It’s not surprising that during this transformation, Vance jettisoned his criticism of Trump’s response to Charlottesville. 
  • I asked the Vance campaign if he had any explanation for his change of heart regarding Charlottesville. The campaign did not reply. 

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ICYMI: Ohio Veterans Slam J.R. Majewski For Lying About Military Service

“J.R. Majewski lying about fighting in combat absolutely disqualifies him from ever being able to serve in Congress.” 

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, WEWS-TV in Cleveland shared the disappointment, anger and outrage of Ohio military veterans after a bombshell Associated Press report alleges J.R. Majewski lied about his military service record, including his record in Afghanistan. Majewski often uses his military service as a campaign talking point and ads by Majewski supporters used the words “Afghanistan War Veteran” on screen. Following the AP report, national Republicans pulled down ads they had scheduled for Majewski and now veterans across Ohio are demanding answers from Majewski. 

“He just does a disservice to his brothers and sisters. You don’t have to puff out your chest and say, ‘Well, I did this, but it’s a secret.’ No, it was not a secret,” said veteran Bob Shields in the story. 

Read more from WEWS-TV below and watch the interviews with Ohio veterans here: 

  • Military veterans in Ohio are reacting with disappointment and anger following congressional candidate J.R. Majewski’s alleged misrepresentation of his Air Force service. Military documents obtained by the Associated Press do not tell the story that Majewski has been sharing on his campaign trail.
  • The candidate from Toledo has been representing himself as an Air Force combat veteran who served in Afghanistan after 9/11. Northeast Ohio vets said he is acting against the Air Force honor code.
  • “I’m disappointed that anybody should claim more than what they did,” 30-year veteran Bob Shields of Bay Village said. “Take pride in what you did.”
  • Majewski’s military experience shows he was deployed but far away from any combat. He spent six months in Qatar loading planes, which Shields said is a valuable job but definitely not combat.
  • “Integrity always,” Shields added, referencing the Air Force honor code. “If he’s claiming something that he cannot support, he’s going against his core values.”
  • During a rally on Friday, the candidate doubled down on his claims.
  • Both Republican and Democratic leaders seem to not be buying the story. The National Republican Congressional Committee announced it will cancel an approximate $1 million ad buy in the race.
  • “He just does a disservice to his brothers and sisters,” Shields said. “You don’t have to puff out your chest and say, ‘Well, I did this, but it’s a secret.’ No, it was not a secret.”
  • Veterans are asking for the documents that prove he was in Afghanistan, but until then, many are asking for an apology, saying this isn’t a party issue — but an issue of honesty and service.
  • “J.R. Majewski lying about fighting in combat absolutely disqualifies him from ever being able to serve in Congress,” said Lucas County Marine veteran Ralph Green.
  • The Majewski team reached out to News 5 to offer an interview with a service member it claimed would corroborate that Majewski served in Afghanistan. The interview would have to be conducted with the condition that News 5 not reveal who this person is, due to “concern about harassment,” according to a campaign spokesperson. News 5 declined that interview because it does not reach the station’s standards for providing anonymity.
  • We asked for additional information, such as a supervisor who was stationed in Afghanistan whose records prove that they were physically there, or for an on-camera interview with full documentation, but those requests were not answered by the Majewski campaign.

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Chair Walters, Domestic Violence Survivor and Advocate Call Out Republicans for Disgusting Ad Misrepresenting Sykes’ Record

Columbus, OH — Today, Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters and Ms. Diona Clark, a domestic violence survivor and advocate, held a virtual press conference to denounce disgusting Republican ads that lie about Rep. Emilia Sykes’ record. Rep. Sykes has been a leading champion of legislation that better protects victims of domestic violence and keeps Ohioans safe. 

“Rep. Emilia Sykes has spent her whole career championing the people of Ohio, leading on issues ranging from investing in working Ohioans to healthcare to public safety to standing up for victims of domestic violence. Republicans are scared of running against that record. So they simply make up lies. And the latest ad coming from the Republican camp shows just how scared they are,” said Chair Walters. 

“Rep. Sykes is really invested in domestic violence survivors. She really cared. I never really thought I would be working with someone who makes policies. Our friendship, it grew through that and I’m grateful for her,” said Ms. Clark. 

The false ads in support of Sykes’ far-right opponent distort Sykes’ record in a naked, partisan attempt to distract from her opponent’s extreme record on abortion and critical issues that matter most to working Ohioans. 

Here’s a sampling of Madison Gesiotto Gilbert’s extreme record:  

Rep. Emilia Sykes has led bipartisan efforts to protect victims of domestic violence. She passed legislation through the Ohio House that would allow victims of dating violence to secure a civil protection order against their attacker. Before Emilia’s bill, only spouses, people living as spouses or people who shared custody of children could do so. She also sponsored a bill that would criminalize tracking another person without their consent. In an age where so much of our information lives online, we shouldn’t be enabling domestic abusers to use that information to track their victims online. 

Most recently, legislation supported by Emilia helped secure almost $3 million for the Summit County Sheriff’s office to help crack down on violent crime. But facts don’t seem to matter to the Republicans spreading these lies.

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ICYMI: Cleveland.com Editorial Board Endorses All Three Democratic Nominees for Ohio Supreme Court

Columbus, OH — In case you missed it, the Cleveland.com Editorial Board endorsed all three Democrats – Justice Jennifer Brunner, Judge Terri Jamison and Judge Marilyn Zayas – for the Ohio Supreme Court. 

The Cleveland.com editorials point to a robust record of Republican justices putting party interests over the rule of law, including the most egregious example of ruling in favor of clearly GOP-gerrymandered maps time and again from the bench. The Cleveland.com Editorial Board also took special care to point out the conflicts of interest that have been created by Pat DeWine’s refusal to recuse himself from cases involving his own father.

Ohio is the only state in the country with the opportunity to flip the Court from Republican to Democratic control. That’s especially noteworthy with so much on the line for Ohio in the coming months – from abortion rights to redistricting to rejecting extremism from statehouse Republicans. 

“Ohioans have an opportunity this year to reject the extremism of Republicans on the bench and put the Court back in the hands of judges like Jennifer Brunner, Terri Jamison and Marilyn Zayas who believe in the rule of law. For too long, we’ve seen the GOP-led court use the bench to play politics, and it’s time to restore integrity and justice back to the Supreme Court,” said Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party.

Read more from the Cleveland.com endorsement of Justice Jennifer Brunner HERE and below:

  • Jennifer Brunner is the clear choice for chief justice.
  • Brunner said her first instinct would be to try to restore cordiality simply by talking “with existing members of the court” about their ideas for moving forward.
  • Brunner’s experience in a range of courts, from trial to appellate levels, and her managerial experience, make her the best-qualified candidate to lead Ohio’s judiciary in a collegial, constructive manner. Voters should elect Jennifer Brunner as chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court on the Nov. 8 ballot. Early voting begins Oct. 12.

Read more from the Cleveland.com endorsement of Judge Terri Jamison HERE and below:

  • Appellate Judge Terri Jamison, 62, the Democrat seeking to unseat one-term Ohio Supreme Court Justice Pat Fischer, can be emphatically described as living the American dream. In her early 20s, when most future judicial candidates were deciding which law school to attend, the West Virginia native was working in a coal mine – deep underground as an assistant roof bolter and then material loader.
  • Several years and several jobs later, she enrolled in Columbus’ Franklin University while working for an insurance agency, graduated with honors, and in 2004, at age 45, received her law degree from Capital University. After seven years as a public defender and then defense attorney, she was elected a Franklin County Domestic Relations judge in 2012, then last year won election to the 10th Ohio District Court of Appeals. Now here she is, running for a seat on the state’s highest court.
  • Jamison seems more than up for the job. She is thoughtful, collegial and in command of the issues, with a strong commitment to equal justice, an end to racial disparities and criminal and civil justice reforms. 
  • Terri Jamison would be an asset to the state’s highest court. Ohio voters should elect her to the Ohio Supreme Court in the Jan. 1 term on Nov. 8. Early voting begins Oct. 12.

Read more from the Cleveland.com endorsement of Judge Marilyn Zayas HERE and below:

  • However, there can be no wiggle room on first-term Justice Pat DeWine’s decision to violate judicial canons by refusing to recuse himself in redistricting cases involving his father, Gov. Mike DeWine, a member of the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
  • Now, the voters can weigh in. And when they do, they should elect 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals Judge Marilyn Zayas, a Democrat, in place of DeWine, 54, who seeks a second term.
  • Zayas, 57, an engineer, switched careers in the 1990s to apply her reasoning skills to the law. She displays a well-honed instinct for ferreting out errors — and injustices. And she (politely) dings DeWine for more than just his recusal error. Zayas says it was DeWine’s 2017 vote, as a brand-new justice, to reconsider two recent high court rulings in which he had heard none of the arguments himself that made her start thinking about a high-court run. “The only thing that changed” in those cases, she said — one involving juvenile due process protections and the other an accurate weighing of drug evidence — “was the composition of the Supreme Court.”

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