Bill expanding ‘ethnic intimidation,' defining antisemitism in Ohio reemerges at Statehouse
An Ohio Senate Republican has reintroduced a bill to expand criminal charges of 'ethnic intimidation' and define antisemitism in state law, aligning the definition with a previous executive order by Gov. Mike DeWine.
State Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, brought Ohio Senate Bill 87 to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. He said one of the drivers for the bill was the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, after which, he said, 'a concerning wave of extremist demonstrations' on Ohio college campuses included 'disturbing displays of aggression and intolerance.'
With antisemitism 'seemingly on the rise' particularly at 'pro-Gaza' protests on college campuses, Johnson said he wants Ohio law to include an expansion of the charge of ethnic intimidation, when combined with other charges.
'Ethnic intimidation is already against the law here in Ohio and can be added as an additional charge for violations such as aggravated menacing, menacing, criminal damaging, or endangering and criminal mischief,' Johnson told the committee. 'This legislation would expand that charge to also include aggravated rioting and rioting committed by reason of race, color, religion, or national origin of another person or group.'
A charge of riot can be leveled when five or more people 'participate in a course of disorderly conduct' for the purpose of committing a misdemeanor offense. It can also be charged to a group of five or more people accused of intimidating a public official or employee 'into taking or refraining from official action, or with the purpose to hinder, impede or obstruct a function of government,' according to the bill.
Rioting can also be charged when a group is accused of trying to 'hinder, impede or obstruct the orderly process of administration or instruction at an educational institution.'
If someone is charged with a riot offense, the charge of ethnic intimidation would be a fifth-degree felony. A charge of aggravated riot would bring an ethnic intimidation charge considered second, third, or fourth-degree felony 'depending on the circumstances of the offense,' according to an analysis by the Legislative Service Commission.
A bill on which S.B. 87 is based was brought by Johnson in the last General Assembly, and it received both praise and criticism in committee hearings. Those who stood against the bill called it 'un-American' and said it conflated 'legitimate criticism of Israeli government policies with hatred.'
Critics like the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Ohio chapter Executive Director Faten Odeh said the previous bill would dampen dissent and could have placed the government 'in the role of silencing political opposition.' Opponents also questioned how words used at protests will be interpreted, and who will decide what is considered illegal.
'Who will interpret my words,' asked Patricia Marida in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee in December. 'How far can I go in criticizing the state of Israel? How might I be pointed out, sanctioned, or even targeted by those who disagree with me?'
Along with expanding the criminal offense of ethnic intimidation, the bill codifies a definition of antisemitism 'for the purpose of investigations and proceedings by state agencies.'
The definition is taken from the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance — the same definition used in a 2022 executive order by DeWine. It encourages state agencies to use it for agency investigations, including those at higher education institutions.
'An executive order is a handy thing, executive orders are easier to change than things that are actually placed in law,' Johnson said when asked on Wednesday why the bill is needed if DeWine's executive order already exists. 'I think this is a weighty enough situation that it needs to be in law.'
Under the definition, antisemitism is 'a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish Community institutions and religious facilities.'
Supporters of the bill in its previous form included Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the group Ohio Jewish Communities, whose president and CEO, Howie Biegelman, said the alliance's definition would help authorities determine whether incidents rise to the level of 'actual antisemitism.'
Biegelman said he was confident the bill would still allow First Amendment rights to continue, only jumping in 'when that hatred morphs into a crime or other action covered by a school or work policy.'
Groups such as the Jewish Voice for Peace are opposed to the Holocuast remembrance alliance definition of antisemitism, saying it 'conflates criticism of the state of Israel with anti-semitism' and warning about the legislation 'possibly tying it to enforcement mechanisms like firing critics of Israel for organizations, and schools getting government funding.'
In introducing the new bill, Johnson said it is 'explicitly stated that this legislation shall not be construed to diminish or infringe on any right protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution or Ohio Constitution.'
'The freedom of speech and public demonstrations are ingrained in our American way of life,' Johnson told the committee. 'It is crucial for such protests to adhere to the principles of respect, empathy and constructive dialogue between all perspectives.'
While the previous bill passed the Ohio Senate, it didn't make the cut as the General Assembly term drew to a close at the end of 2024. Johnson also said the bill hit some 'unexpected roadblocks from House leadership' that kept it from moving forward, though he didn't specify what those roadblocks were.
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Women legislators fight for ‘potty parity'
For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female legislators — 41 of the 138 member Legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues face the same dilemma because, of course, multiple men's bathrooms are available. The Legislature even installed speakers in the men's bathrooms to broadcast the chamber's events so they don't miss anything important. In a pinch, House Speaker David Osborne allows women to use his single stall bathroom in the chamber, but even that attracts long lines. 'You get the message very quickly: This place was not really built for us,' said Rep. 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When Tennessee's Capitol opened in 1859, the architects designed only one restroom — for men only — situated on the ground floor. According to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks, the toilet could only be 'flushed' when enough rainwater had been collected. 'The room was famously described as 'a stench in the nostrils of decency,'' Weeks said in an email. Today, Tennessee's Capitol has a female bathroom located between the Senate and House chambers. It's in a cramped hall under a staircase, sparking comparisons to Harry Potter's cupboard bedroom, and it contains just two stalls. The men also just have one bathroom on the same floor, but it has three urinals and three stalls. Democratic Rep. Aftyn Behn, who was elected in 2023, said she wasn't aware of the disparity in facilities until contacted by The Associated Press. 'I've apparently accepted that waiting in line for a two-stall closet under the Senate balcony is just part of the job,' she said. 'I had to fight to get elected to a legislature that ranks dead last for female representation, and now I get to squeeze into a space that feels like it was designed by someone who thought women didn't exist — or at least didn't have bladders,' Behn said. The Maryland State House is the country's oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, operational since the late 1700s. Archivists say its bathroom facilities were initially intended for white men only because desegregation laws were still in place. Women's restrooms were added after 1922, but they were insufficient for the rising number of women elected to office. Delegate Pauline Menes complained about the issue so much that House Speaker Thomas Lowe appointed her chair of the 'Ladies Rest Room Committee,' and presented her with a fur covered toilet seat in front of her colleagues in 1972. She launched the women's caucus the following year. It wasn't until 2019 that House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones, the first woman to secure the top position, ordered the addition of more women's restrooms along with a gender-neutral bathroom and a nursing room for mothers in the Lowe House Office Building. 'No longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic' As more women were elected nationwide in the 20th century, some found creative workarounds. In Nebraska's unicameral Legislature, female senators didn't get a dedicated restroom until 1988, when a facility was added in the chamber's cloakroom. There had previously been a single restroom in the senate lounge, and Sen. Shirley Marsh, who served for some 16 years, would ask a State Patrol trooper to guard the door while she used it, said Brandon Metzler, the Legislature's clerk. In Colorado, female House representatives and staff were so happy to have a restroom added in the chamber's hallway in 1987 that they hung a plaque to honor then-state Rep. Arie Taylor, the state's first Black woman legislator, who pushed for the facility. The plaque, now inside a women's bathroom in the Capitol, reads: 'Once here beneath the golden dome if nature made a call, we'd have to scramble from our seats and dash across the hall ... Then Arie took the mike once more to push an urge organic, no longer do we fret and squirm or cross our legs in panic.' The poem concludes: 'In mem'ry of you, Arie (may you never be forgot), from this day forth we'll call that room the Taylor Chamber Pot.' New Mexico Democratic state Rep. Liz Thomson recalled missing votes in the House during her first year in office in 2013 because there was no women's restroom in the chamber's lounge. An increase in female lawmakers — New Mexico elected the largest female majority Legislature in U.S. history in 2024 — helped raise awareness of the issue, she said. 'It seems kind of like fluff, but it really isn't,' she said. 'To me, it really talks about respect and inclusion.' The issue is not exclusive to statehouses. In the U.S. Capitol, the first restroom for congresswomen didn't open until 1962. While a facility was made available for female U.S. Senators in 1992, it wasn't until 2011 that the House chamber opened a bathroom to women lawmakers. Jeannette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to a congressional seat. That happened in 1916. Willner insists that knowing the Kentucky Capitol wasn't designed for women gives her extra impetus to stand up and make herself heard. 'This building was not designed for me,' she said. 'Well, guess what? I'm here.' ___ Associated Press writer Brian Witte in Annapolis, Maryland, contributed. ____ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. 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