Official website for the Yes on Issue One campaign Issue 1 officially removed from ballot! "A victory for the families of Ohio" Columbus, OH - An eleventh-hour effort to keep alive a referendum on Sub. S.B.16, the Community Defense Act (CDA), is now officially dead. CDA therefore remains in effect. Although advised by the Secretary of State on October 17 that their referendum petition was insufficient, the owners of Ohio's sex businesses filed a string of groundless lawsuits in their last-ditch effort to keep the referendum alive. Late on Thursday, November 1, Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner issued a directive to the county boards of elections instructing them to remove State Issue 1 from their ballots, to put a notice at each polling place that votes on Issue 1 would not be counted, and to reprogram ballot programs so that votes cast on Issue one would not be tabulated. In describing his reaction to her directive, Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values (CCV), the organization that brought CDA to the Legislature in January by initiative petition, said that he was thankful that there finally was an end to all the confusion. "This is a victory for the families of Ohio," said Burress. "The purpose of CDA was to protect our families and communities by reducing the crime associated with sexually oriented businesses, to protect our property values, and to cut down on urban blight. These are the very reasons that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that communities have a right to regulate message parlors, pornographic bookstores, peep booths, strip clubs and other sex businesses." Burress also praised the Ohio legislature for working together to pass a law that would accomplish those ends. "Seventy-five percent of both the Ohio House and Senate - Republicans and Democrats alike - voted for this protective law," said Burress. He especially praised Speaker of the House Jon Husted and Senate President Bill Harris for insuring that CDA received fair hearings and then voting in favor of the law. During the campaign to secure passage of CDA, CCV became one of the ground-level partners in a coalition to fight human sexual trafficking in Ohio. "We learned that Ohio was a hub for this horrendous crime," Burress explained, "and also found that many trafficking victims ended up trapped in the sex industry. This is just another of the many crimes that stand to be reduced by this law." Burress said that immediate plans for the organization he leads include working in support of citizens seeking strict enforcement of CDA by local law enforcement officials, introducing strong human trafficking legislation for Ohio, and working in support of organizations that reach out to women seeking to leave the sex industry.
Sex businesses in Ohio (and nationwide) are attempting to repeal Sub. Senate Bill 16 passed by the Ohio General Assembly. If the initial signature effort is successful, the referendum will appear on the November 6, 2007 ballot as Issue 1. How we got here The road to the YES ON ISSUE ONE campaign actually began in 1986, in the halls of the U.S. Supreme Court, when it ruled that governments have a right to regulate sexually oriented businesses to protect themselves from the adverse secondary effects associated with these businesses. And such has been done thousands of times over since then. Fast forward to fall, 2006, and an initiative petition campaign in which over 220,000 Ohioans brought the Community Defense Act to Ohio’s 127th General Assembly for consideration…MORE HISTORY
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We can’t compete with the sex industry’s multi-million-dollar, multi-media campaign. But we can spread the truth through an effective grassroots campaign. Your participation is critical. Click here to see how you can TAKE ACTION.
Who's behind this repeal effort? Who’s behind this effort to repeal a protective, commonsense law? Who else, but the owners of Ohio’s sexually oriented businesses, represented by their trade association, the Buckeye Association of Club Executives (BACE). A close look at BACE’s president, Luke Liakos, says a lot…READ MORE.
Behind the scenes What really goes on inside a sexually oriented business? Those who were once trapped in the industry provide the most telling insight. Read what they have to say.
The 2 Sides Who’s supporting this bill, and who’s opposed? The two lists speak volumes. Take a look…
The Church reaches out So many suffer as a result of sexually oriented businesses in our communities. Individual lives are devastated, marriages are shattered, families are dismantled, entire communities experience increases in crime and economic hardship. When people suffer, the Church, in compassion, must respond. See how your church can help.
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