Stay engaged, involved, and up-to-date: Week of 08/14/17
Friday, August 18th, 2017
In our weekly updates from the Women’s Public Policy Network, we highlight some of the work our partners have been up to this week, share updates on bills affecting women that are moving at the Statehouse, and provide a call to action on proactive bills pending in the Legislature. Sign up for our email list to receive these updates in your inbox every week!
GALVANIZED FOR GENDER EQUITY
This past weekend, we joined over 500 women from across the state for the United State of Women Galvanize Ohio Summit in Columbus. These women came together to take the next step to turn their passion for gender equity into action.
Former Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, Tina Tchen, kicked off Sunday’s plenary stating that “now is the time for us to stand up and be counted”. Take a stand for women’s equality and social justice by joining us in our efforts to advance public policies that create economic security for women and strengthen families!
YOUR STORY MATTERS
The Galvanize Ohio Summit was an important reminder that while there have been concrete steps forward in achieving gender equity, there is still a long way to go. When it comes to full equality for women: reproductive health care matters, paid leave matters, equal pay matters, and your story matters.
Share your story to be featured on the Ohio Story Bank of our website, and help us make a difference on the policy landscape for Ohio’s women and families.
#OHLEG ALERT
We are tracking the progress of any state bills affecting women in the Ohio Legislature for the 132nd General Assembly. Since the Legislature is officially on summer recess, we have only a few updates and expect it to be relatively quiet at the state level until they are back in session.
- SB 180 (Uecker, Hottinger) – A stand-your-ground gun law, which expands the areas for gun owners to use deadly force in self-defense and eliminates the duty to retreat before using force. It also places the burden of disproving self-defense claims on the prosecution.
RAISE YOUR VOICE TO PROTECT MEDICAID ACCESS
On Tuesday, the Ohio Senate will come back to vote to override Governor Kasich’s budget vetoes. While the Senate cannot take up the Medicaid expansion enrollment freeze (since the House did not vote on this specific veto), they are expected to vote on a number of vetoes that would weaken the state’s Medicaid program.
Find your state senator and urge them to vote ‘NO’ on any veto overrides that would weaken Ohio’s Medicaid program. Use our blog post for more information about the process and what’s at stake.
