Local
It was worth the long wait this past Saturday morning at Trinity Baptist Church on the Eastside for those with way too many guns on their hands. The City was buying any gun a citizen had to offer – even 3D printed guns, which are illegal – with no questions asked. Some of these same citizens walked away with hundreds, and in some cases, thousands-of-dollars’ worth of gift cards from the City.
“It took me about three hours to get to where the police were,” said a source who did want to offer his name for publication. He lives outside Columbus and walked away $2,000 richer. “I went right to the gun store and bought some more guns.”
The City was offering up to $750 per gun, and the source told us he was able to get a gift card for a 3D printed gun. He had not printed and assembled the gun just for this buyback, but it’s certainly possible other sellers had done so. The City bought 344 guns for $136,600.
Before the buyback Mayor Andrew Ginther touted its potential for success.
“This will be one of our biggest buybacks ever,” he told NBC4.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 10:00 AM
House Bill 259 (H.B. 259), one of two bipartisan bills to end Ohio's death penalty, will have its first of four expected committee hearings in the house this week. Every time we have a hearing on our bill, it demonstrates that there is legislative momentum behind ending the death penalty. Each hearing we have is a step closer to a vote. Ohioans to Stop Executions is asking us to come to the Statehouse, in person, to be present for H.B. 259's first hearing.
Our organization's team will work with folks in the major metropolitan areas of Ohio to organize carpools and transportation, as needed. If you can attend the hearing, please add your information here.
The Columbus Coalition for Rent Control (“the Coalition”), a local nonprofit organization advocating a citizen ballot initiative, filed more than 4,200 petition signatures with the Columbus City Clerk at 11am on Tuesday, October 3, seeking a vote on a legislative proposal designed to empower citizens and encourage property owners and residential landlords to moderate rental price increases.
The group has determined that it will cease collection of petition signatures and will withdraw the petition, instead asking the City Council and council candidates for election to enact the legislation, which the Council could do on any Monday. Members of the Coalition released the following statement:
Tuesday, October 3
Afghan refugee Donya (Anaita Wali Zada) lives in Fremont but works at a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. Seeking connection, she decides to send a message out to the world through a cookie in this offbeat vision of the universal longing for home.
As youth violence continues to rise in Columbus, and parents of teenagers are “begging and pleading” with legal and elected authorities to arrest and lock them up (WBNS TV “Mother of son who keeps stealing cars: Please lock him up” September 27, 2023) what options are these parents being provided with if any?
As mayor of Columbus, I will allocate $3 million into our Columbus Public Health Departments budget that will provide grants to families to obtain behavioral health and social supports through the OhioRise program.
Monday, October 2, 12noon, several different locations across Ohio
On Monday, October 2 at 12noon, students across Ohio will be walking out and attending the Day of Action. We will be registering students to vote, listening to speakers, and engaging with our communities. You can register your school below.
Click this link to register your school.
RSVP for this event by using this link.
Hosted by Ohio Student Activist Alliance.
“Well, what you wanna do?” I asked Jean again.
We were still standing in the same spot. Wasting time. For all we knew the shooter was watching our butts while here we stood in plain sight, like dummies, because of her.
Jean took one more look towards the alleyway and one look up the street before responding.
“Ok, let’s look, but after we look, we got to hurry home before Mom comes looking and embarrasses us by beating us all the way home.” I sure didn’t want that to happen to us again. Once in life is enough to have to live down.
In 1946 the Supreme Court ruled in Morgan v. Virginia that segregated travel on interstate buses was unconstitutional, thus sending the separate-but-equal doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) teetering.
In spite of the ruling, the states of the Old Confederacy refused to comply. In 1955 the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) ruled in Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company formerly overturned the practice, but did nothing to enforce the decision. Finally, in Boynton v Virginia (1960) the Supreme Court outlawed segregated waiting rooms and restaurants in terminals that served buses that crossed state lines. Taken together, these three rulings clearly overturned the Plessy case. Some places in the upper south complied with the rulings, but for the most part the south thumbed its noses at the Supreme Court as it had been doing since 1887, the end of Reconstruction.
An interracial group of men and women, who came to be known as the Freedom Riders, challenged that lawlessness with a campaign that sent teams of activists on buses throughout the south to highlight the intransigence of the region and force compliance with the ruling.
Every Sunday until Election Day, we’re canvassing for reproductive freedom and to enshrine the right to an abortion in the Ohio Constitution.
We need your help to talk to our neighbors about making a plan to vote YES on Issue 1 this November.