The August 8th Ohio Special Election on Issue One is happening right now, and there is a lot on the line.
At its core, Issue One raises the threshold to amend or change the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to a supermajority of 60%, and Issue One makes sure that if the Ohio Constitution is going to be changed, that EVERY county in Ohio has a say in the process.
Ohio Gun Owners is fully in support of Issue One and has outlined why voting YES in the pro-gun vote.
Sadly, and not by accident, Issue One has been made to become confusing by the Radical Left and their allies in the Fake News media, when it is actually very simple.
That’s why we wanted to give OGO members and supporters some information before casting your vote on or before August 8th.
Below is a list of resources that will help explain what Issue One says, would do, and how it affects our gun rights if it passes or fails.
What is Issue One and what does it have to do with gun rights?
How and where can you vote in the Special Election?
What are some objections to Issue One and OGO’s answers?
WATCH: Does Issue One take away our voice?
In addition, we also sat down and interviewed some of Ohio’s best pro-gun legislators and subject-matter experts to discuss how passing Issue One will benefit Ohioans on other issues in addition to gun rights:
- Representative. D.J. Swearingen
- Representative Jennifer Gross
- Representative Beth Lear
- Representative Thad Claggett
- Representative Angie King
- Representative Scott Wiggam
- Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom President, Stephanie Stock
Here are the basics:
- Issue One raises the threshold for amending (changing) the Ohio Constitution from a 50% +1 simple majority to a 60% +1 vote supermajority.
- Issue One requires that petition signature gatherers travel to all 88 counties to collect signatures (rather than 44 currently) in order to put a Constitutional Amendment on the statewide ballot.
- That includes counties like Harrison, Carroll, Monroe, Noble, Morgan, Vinton, Meigs, Wyandot, Paulding – all the rural counties that the interest groups usually ignore completely.
Article 1 Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution reads: “The people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security.”
This section of the Ohio Constitution is the foundation that all of Ohio’s gun laws are built upon, including Constitutional Carry, Stand-your-Ground, and our Preemption law.
The Radical Left has realized that it is very hard to advance their gun-control agenda legislatively or electorally in Ohio, and this is why they are switching tactics to attack our Constitution.
The reason why is simple: if they can have Article 1, Section 4 of the Ohio Constitution repealed, or even if they can get an amendment added creating a “right” to “common sense gun legislation,” their army of lawyers can cherry-pick judges in every corner of Ohio and have Ohio’s gun laws thrown out as “unconstitutional.”
This is not theoretical, either.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb was recently caught on camera saying that if Issue One fails, they will “exercise their political power” and put ‘common-sense gun reform’ on the statewide ballot for Constitutional amendment.
This is a real threat. And they have the financial backing to pull it off, too.
It is very easy for rich elites like Bill Gates, Bloomberg or the Soros family to fund an army of signature gatherers to collect over 413,000 signatures, and then use their tens of millions to convince 50% +1 of Ohio voters that their gun control proposals are ‘common sense.’
By passing Issue One, Ohioans will send a message to the billionaire Leftwing activists that our Constitution is not for sale, and safeguard our God-given, constitution-enshrined freedoms for generations to come in the process.
We are a Constitutional Republic, not a “Democracy.”
And Constitutions are supposed to function as the foundation of government, the bulwark that protects freedoms from the changing winds of current public policy.
In a Constitutional Republic, policy changes are supposed to be made by the Ohio General Assembly (which is elected by the people) and belong in the Ohio Revised Code, where laws that are passed by our General Assembly are placed.
That is the structure of government that the Founders gave us, and it is better than any other in human history.
That’s why between 1802 and 1912, there was no initiative petition process for Ohioans – a true republican form of government – until the Progressive movement of the early 20th century.
And safeguarding the Ohio Constitution isn’t radical, either. It is perfectly in line with what our Founders intended.
In fact, some of these same Founders also also wanted to protect the U.S. Constitution from rogue amendments, which is why to change the US Constitution they required a 2/3 majority vote in both chambers of Congress, and then further required such an amendment to be ¾ of all the states.
“A Republic, if you can keep it.” – Benjamin Franklin
A Constitution should be hard to change, because it is the foundation by which all laws are based upon and the courts must base their legal opinions on. If our gun rights are stripped from our Constitution, no pro-gun law in Ohio – and no Ohio gun owner – is safe from the legal system.
Ohio Gun Owners is urging every gun owner and gun voter to storm the polls on August 8th and vote PRO-GUN, vote YES on Issue One!
Let’s protect our gun rights and our Constitution!
Team OGO