Opinion: Ohio ‘anti-riot’ bill is an instrument of intimidation to silence free speech (The Columbus Dispatch) / Nov 19 2021
There are times in most self-reflective people’s lives when they look back and acknowledge that they overreacted to something.
In that vein, we ask the Ohio House and Senate to reflect on House Bill 109 and realize that it is an overreaction and unnecessary, and to reject it.
Virtually every “problem” this bill was supposedly written to solve is already addressed in Ohio law – with specificity and without the vague and broad language that could ensnare innocent protesters.
As reporter Anna Staver wrote in a recent news story, the sweeping bill would increase the charges, penalties and civil lawsuits that could be filed against protestors in cities and towns across Ohio.