By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Due to enormous pressure from the pro life community, an Ohio legislator who prevented a teen from receiving an award because of her pro-life stance has reversed himself and will now allow the award to be presented.
According to Ohio Right to Life, in June 2009, Shelby County teen Elisabeth Trisler won the National Right to Life (NRLC) Oratory Contest at the NRLC annual convention in North Carolina. As is customary in Ohio for young people who win academic and/or athletic contests, Trisler’s representative, John Adams (R-Sidney) scheduled her to receive the award on the floor of the House on Feb. 3, 2010.
However, on January 29th, Rep. Adams’s office was informed that the presentation was canceled because pro-abortion Speaker Armand Budish “had a problem with the subject matter.”
The decision caused a firestorm of criticism from all corners.
“Surely Speaker Budish can put aside his partisanship for 10 minutes to honor the accomplishments of talented and optimistic teenage girl,” said Ohio Right to Life Executive Director Mike Gonidakis. “Perhaps his real message to Ohio’s teens is that excelling in public speaking isn’t worth being honored if their views are different than his.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also joined the fight. “By declining to recognize Ms. Trisler’s achievement, Speaker Budish has created a troubling precedent that anyone who is deemed ‘controversial’ by House leadership will not be honored,” said ACLU of Ohio Executive Director Christine Link. “Instead of teaching young people that the answer is to silence those who disagree with us, legislators should be modeling how to address difficult issues thoughtfully and listen respectfully to others.”
Pro-family groups such as the American Family Association and the Family Research Council also got involved in pressuring the Speaker to put ideology aside and honor a talented young American.
As a result, on Feb. 10, the Speaker reversed himself.
“Speaker Budish recently called me to convey his change of heart and I thanked him on behalf of the pro-life community,” said Gonidakis. “Blocking speech because you don’t like what someone is saying or what they stand for goes against the very fabric of who we are as Americans. And, while the speaker got there the hard way, at least he got there.”
Gonidakis went on to applaud the efforts made by the pro-life community to correct this situation. “When the pro-life community speaks with one loud voice, elected leaders quickly address our concerns.”
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