On Tuesday, Ohioans voted to make abortion a constitutionally protected right in their state and to legalize recreational marijuana. Dubbed Issue 1 and Issue 2, respectively, the measures passed with room to spare. Dismayed Republicans have announced that this is not the end of the abortion conversation, however, and stated that they have plans to reverse the people’s decision:
“The national abortion industry funded by wealthy out-of-state special interests spent millions to pass this radical language that goes far past abortion on demand,” said Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman. “This isn’t the end. It is really just the beginning of a revolving door of ballot campaigns to repeal or replace Issue 1.”
Setting aside the GOP’s blatant, repeated disregard for the will of Ohioans exercising their right to vote on issues that materially affect them: What, exactly, is the “national abortion industry”? I guess Big Abortion is right up there with Big Renewable Energy and Big Universal Healthcare on the list of things that scare Republican legislators.
Ohio has now joined seven other states in protecting abortion rights in the wake of Roe v. Wade‘s overturning. President Biden applauded the decision of Ohioans, saying in a statement, “Tonight, Americans once again voted to protect their fundamental freedoms—and democracy won.”
Issue 2 on the ballot addressed the legalization of recreational marijuana, making Ohio the 24th state to do so. Ohio Republican leaders opposed the bill with warnings that legalizing weed would lead to child endangerment and car crashes—a bold and baseless set of claims to preach to the 70% of Americans who support legalized recreational marijuana.
Scott Milburn, spokesman for Protect Ohio Workers and Families, said: “This ticking time bomb crafted in secret by a Columbus law firm will now be cracked open by the legislature in the full light of day so they can defuse it in an open, public process before it blows up in Ohio’s face.”
While overturning a constitutional amendment would be a long, difficult undertaking for Republicans, they might actually be able to reverse the decision made by their constituents regarding legal weed—and to repurpose those funds for some truly nefarious projects. USA Today writes:
Since Issue 2 is an initiated statute, lawmakers can easily change it − and were promising to do so even before the election. House Speaker Jason Stephens, R-Kitts Hill, said Tuesday night that the Legislature should reallocate tax revenue from the adult-use program to invest more in jail construction and law enforcement training.
For now, at least, both approved measures are set to take effect 30 days after the vote, so mark your calendars for December 7th to:
1. Get a legal abortion, and/or
2. Roll one.
(featured image: Andrew Spear/Getty Images)
