- No one comes here to take in the hate
- The taxman howling at the gate
- We will not keep silent
The taxman howling at the gate
A little more than .5% of Ohioans identify as transgender. Just under 18.5% of us are 65 or older and earning a median income of $49,753.
Ohio Republicans proudly say they spent years on transgender legislation, getting the cruelty level just right.
Legislation addressing property tax relief for 50% of seniors can’t get a vote as the GOP-dominated legislature was wringing its hands, gnashing its teeth before finally raising its fists in victory over the great evil of being sexually different from the norm.
Whew, crisis averted, mission accomplished! Senior Ohioans can all sleep easy knowing it’s just the taxman, not the transgender wolf, howling at the gate.
Dave Schwendenman, Columbus
No one comes here to take in the hate
It’s been a “great” week for Ohio’s Gerrymandered Oppressive Party.
Taking away parental and transgender rights and announcing plans to end the state personal income tax and the commercial activity tax, all within days, must have taken huge amounts of concentrated greed and bigotry.
Some states with no state income tax like Florida attract non-residents to spend money, pay state sales taxes and hotel taxes to help fund their schools and Medicaid, should the States fund it at all, because of attractions like Disney and their weather.
Some like Nevada attract non-residents who also contribute revenue from gaming taxes.
What will bring non-residents to Ohio en masse? Our lovely weather?
Who will want to move their business to a state losing population and one soon to lose more for their treatment of women and the LGBTQ community?
Who will pick up the revenue slack? Probably the poor paying an increased sales tax. Still, it was a fine week for Republicans, though an extremely bad one for decency, Medicaid and the poor.
Greg Ward, Dublin
We will not keep silent
First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus is saddened and angered by the Ohio House and Senate’s decision to override the governor’s veto to pass House Bill 68, which creates overwhelming barriers for trans youth in Ohio to access gender-affirming health care and school sports.
As Unitarian Universalists, we believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and we pledge to replace systems of oppression that have created barriers for people based on their identities with ever-widening circles of solidarity and mutual respect.
We believe this law, in creating barriers for trans youth and their families to access basic human rights, is an abuse of our elected officials’ power.
We are a gentle, angry people, and we will not keep silent about this abuse of power.
We will continue to welcome, celebrate, and support the beauty and wholeness of trans youth, trans people, and their families in our congregation and across Ohio. And we will continue to spread a theology of love that proclaims that we flourish as a community only when everyone has the right to be their truest, most authentic selves.
Billy Davidson and Cindy Whicker, co-chairs, First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus Board of Trustees
