{"id":6418,"date":"2022-08-10T10:26:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T16:26:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suggestedbylocals.com\/?p=6418"},"modified":"2023-06-01T17:41:46","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T23:41:46","slug":"is-columbus-ohio-a-liberal-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suggestedbylocals.com\/is-columbus-ohio-a-liberal-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Columbus, Ohio a Liberal City?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Liberal goals and perspectives center around individual rights and legal equality in addition to social progressivism and the promotion of social welfare. How “liberal” a place is can often be determined by the elected officials, population demographics, and public opinion surrounding a specific topic, but it can just as often be determined by comparing specific concerns to other locations, be they similar in size, population, or geographical location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Columbus, Ohio is a liberal city. The majority of its elected city officials are Democrats and it has no specific laws that drastically impact at-risk populations. The attitude of its citizens towards women and minorities is positive, though it struggles to pass more liberal legislation.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gun control and abortion are two hot-button topics in the current political climate, so those will be discussed specifically, but the rest of this article will look at different elements that are in play when determining how liberal or conservative a place is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elected Officials <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The city government of Columbus includes seven City Council members, a Mayor, a City Auditor, and a City Attorney that are elected and serve in four-year terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The election of the mayor in Columbus is officially nonpartisan, but the current mayor, Andrew Ginther, has Democratic affiliations. He was originally elected in 2015 and reelected in 2019, carrying almost 94% of the vote. The City Council, while also officially nonpartisan, has Democratic affiliations among most of its members. Additionally, the City Auditor, Megan Kilgore, and the City Attorney, Zach Klein, are also Democrats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gun Control <\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

There aren’t any laws specific to Columbus individually, though the City Council has proposed a set of Common Sense Gun Laws\"Opens<\/a>, though they haven’t been ruled on. The mayor of Columbus, Andrew Ginther, recently declared\"Opens<\/a> gun violence to be a public health crisis, and the city’s population<\/a> seems to be in favor of gun control. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ohio as a state has allowed the concealed carrying of weapons since 2004. Generally, other changes in Ohio gun laws\"Opens<\/a> since then have been to expand the rights of gun owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, Governor Mike DeWine signed a “Stand Your Ground” law in 2021 that allowed Ohioans to use deadly force (ie, their gun) in a public place without first trying to retreat, and in 2022 he signed a bill eliminating the need for a background check and training course as prerequisites to obtaining a concealed carry permit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 1, 2022, both the Ohio Senate and House passed a bill\"Opens<\/a> that allows teachers to carry guns in school with consent from a board and just 24 hours of training unless the board requires more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the city itself has specific gun laws that better enforce or inhibit existing state gun laws, the general attitude of citizens and elected officials suggests that it has a more liberal view of gun control compared to the rest of the state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abortion <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Abortion is currently legal in Ohio. According to the Guttmacher Institute\"Opens<\/a>, as of May 2022, the following restrictions on abortion access were in place: <\/p>\n\n\n\n