As bad as it gets

It's appropriate for the board of trustees at The Ohio State University to respond to Republican lawmakers' asserting themselves in areas in which they have no expertise, little knowledge and a political agenda. There is so much that is wrong with Senate Bill 83 — the so-called "Higher Education Enhancement Act." In typical fashion, the title given the legislation is a misrepresentation of it, like so many politically driven proposals from gerrymandered lawmakers. Westerhold In typical fashion, professionals who are educated and trained in the field are opposed to it. But for lawmakers, the red meat of politics is more important than common sense. Demonizing professional, dedicated people is one price they extract, among others. Trustees said the bill "threatens to impair (higher education) by proposing limitations on faculty speech not 'favoring or disfavoring' controversial views," which would hurt academic rigor. Limiting challenging classroom dialogue will diminish the rigor of teaching, according to trustees. The university should strive to appoint professors who challenge students to think deeply and analytically, the trustees said. Enhancement, no. Diminishment, yes. The same is true for Ohio's "Stand Your Ground" law these same lawmakers approved under cover as an amendment to another bill a few years ago. It changed the very definition of self-defense, and more accurately is called the "Chase and Kill" law. The inevitable result of it — as has been shown in other states in which the same copycat legislation was approved years earlier — will be homicides that in the past were crimes now being categorized as "justified." A jury in 2012 acquitted George Zimmerman of murdering an unarmed Black teenager — Trayvon Martin — after it was instructed about Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which like Ohio's removed an armed person's "duty to retreat" from what they perceive as a dangerous situation and gives them the right to pursue and kill. Trayvon was just walking to a relative's home and he presented no threat to Zimmerman, at all, except to Zimmerman's fear of Black skin. In Florida — the same in Ohio and more than 30 other states, now — the law was titled to be deceptive but worked as it was designed to work. Open season. The same as how professional educators who oppose SB 83, law enforcement and prosecutors associations opposed "Stand Your Ground" laws. No matter, the benefits of gerrymandering make common sense unnecessary and obsolete. Go ahead, chase and kill. Another proposal, the "Divisive Concepts Act" is a clumsy, disjointed effort introduced last year to outlaw any discussion in public schools that this nation includes people who are not Christians or not heterosexuals. Here again, it is more correctly called the "Don't Say Gay" bill. Mental health experts contend teen suicides and suicides among LGBTQ+ community will increase as a result of it, if it's approved. It's a sacrifice of no concern for the lawmakers who support this proposal. State Rep. Gary Click's proposal to ban medical services to families with children suffering from gender dysphoria is properly titled the "Anti-trans" law, again, copy cat legislation developed to shame people who are not more like Click, a Christian pastor who in the past has promoted the obscene — "conversion therapy" — as a way for people to not be gay. And again, the testimony from medical professionals is overwhelming, and ignored. Arming teachers laws are not about keeping children safe; they're about keeping the gun lobby happy. They're not about protecting the Second Amendment; they're about pretending this is a solution because the "thoughts and prayers" mantra after each school massacre is no longer effective. Renaming the state's education department is not about improving education in Ohio; it's about wresting control from professionals in the field and giving it to gerrymandered politicians.