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Statehouse lockout: Senate Bill 5 foes denied entry
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Groups of protesters gathered Tuesday outside the statehouse in Columbus to voice their opposition for Senate Bill 5, which would eliminate collective bargaining for state workers in Ohio, Only about 1,500 people were allowed inside the building, which left more than 3,000 people standing out in the cold.
The Vindicator (Youngstown)
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Demonstrators against Senate Bill 5 were locked out of the Statehouse on Tuesday.
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Busloads of union protesters were locked out of the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday as deliberations continued on legislation to eliminate collective bargaining for state workers.
More than 1,500 people were allowed into the Statehouse Atrium and Rotunda but 3,000-plus others were left out in the cold after the State Highway Patrol and the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board deemed the crowd too large to allow into the building.
“I have my coat on right now because I’m going to have to go outside, and that’s because they’re not letting people in here to the Statehouse,” said Senate Minority Leader Capri Cafaro, a Democrat from Hubbard. “This house belongs to the people of the state of Ohio. They are here to express their concerns pertaining to Senate Bill 5, and we should enable them to come in.”
She added, “We work for the people of the state of Ohio and to keep any of them out of this house is an absolute miscarriage of justice.”
Cafaro, House Minority Leader Armond Budish and a large group of other Democratic lawmakers went as far as to threaten legal action if the protesters were not allowed into the building.
“It’s a sad day when we have to go to the attorney general or the courts and ask for help,” said Budish, a Democrat from the Cleveland area. “And we are doing that. We are preparing an injunction ... to require these doors to be open. We shouldn’t have to go to court for that.”
Rep. Robert F. Hagan, from Youngstown and several other Democratic lawmakers at one point did persuade the State Highway Patrol to allow entrance to 500 additional people. And doors later were opened to allow others in. But large crowds remained outside, while hallways and hearing rooms throughout the Statehouse and Senate Office Building were empty.
“We are sick and tired of being shut out,” Hagan said, adding later, “There’s enough room to drive a bus right through [the building] and not run over anyone.”
House and Senate Democrats also criticized the decision by Senate Republicans to limit committee testimony to about 15 people. Hundreds of protesters on hand Tuesday filled out witness slips hoping to offer comments to the Senate’s Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee.
“These are people who were turned away who want to come testify,” Budish said, holding an inches-thick stack of witness slips over his head. “These are teachers. These are cafeteria workers. These are bus drivers. These are police. These are [firefighters]. These are people who put their lives on the line.”
“This is not a police state,” said Rep. Matt Lundy, a Democrat from Elyria. “This is a democracy. This building belongs to the public. Let’s stop the police state.’’