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The Black Lives Matter Dayton group is responding to Republican State lawmakers' push for Issue 1, which we deem amounts to obstacles put in place by those Republicans to block citizens' attempts to amend the Ohio Constitution. BLMD recognize that Issue 1 would change how amendments to the Ohio Constitution would occur; however, BLMD believes the impact of Issue 1 would adversely affect holding government officials and police accountable if they violate citizens' constitutional rights.
On June 21, 2020, BLMD outlined a 10-point demand for Dayton police reform in response to the national outcry for police accountability after the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
"One of our demands was eliminating Qualified Immunity, which we soon learned had to be addressed on a state level via the Ohio Constitution."
Subsequently, BLMD, On September 2, 2022, joined forces with a group out of Columbus, Ohio, called Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity (OCEQI), pressing for amending the Ohio Constitution as a call to action to hold police and government officials responsible for violating citizens' constitutional rights.
Unfortunately, the Coalition has encountered multiple delays due to corrections needed to the petition summaries over the past year.
Today, the Coalition is on its fourth attempt at trying to amend the Ohio Constitution, which, if Issue 1 passes, we can't help but believe will stifle our efforts to reflect the people's will for accountability.
With the Republican's barriers to amending the Ohio Constitution, it would be impossible to hold local, state government officials and police accountable for violating our Constitutional rights if Issue 1 passes; we must vote NO on Issue 1!
Submitted by Black Lives Matter Dayton, a social justice and political organization established May 25, 2019 by a team of local Black activists to raise the awareness of issues that impact the Black community of Dayton through education, mobilization, and direct political action. Additionally, we serve the needs of the Black community acting as conduits for information in the event of community crises such as police brutality or inequitable actions that pose a direct threat to the community.