Should Ohio allow signs on overpasses? Lawmaker proposes ban to combat antisemitism

Over St. Patrick's Day weekend, a banner hung over a Cincinnati road with the message: "Save Ireland from the Jews."

An Ohio lawmaker want to keep such hateful displays off buildings and bridges.

Rep. Sara Carruthers, R-Hamilton, introduced legislation that would prohibit Ohioans from projecting images onto a building without the property owner's permission. Offenders would face a third-degree felony if they intended to harass a person or group based on race, religion, sexual orientation or other protected classes.

House Bill 500 would also ban the display of signs, flags or banners on pedestrian bridges and highway overpasses. That tactic is common among groups wanting to protest or spread a message, including those for and against the failed effort last August to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution.

The legislation comes as protests over the Israel-Hamas war consume college campuses across the country.

Carruthers visited Israel last year with other members of the Ohio House − before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack − and said she's concerned about the antisemitism she's witnessed in recent months. She lost her March primary race to Hamilton pastor Diane Mullins, who referenced antisemitic conspiracy theories in her sermons.

"It never occurred to me how much hate had been hiding under wraps," Carruthers said.

Would House Bill 500 violate free speech?

House Bill 500 has already sparked concern about its potential effect on free speech − including from a Democrat who initially cosponsored it.

Rep. Terrence Upchurch, D-Cleveland, said he was drawn to the proposal because of his desire to combat hate speech. But he withdrew his support after talking with advocates who fear it could unfairly punish legitimate protesters, particularly people of color. Students, for instance, may erect signs on an overpass if they can't afford to pay for a billboard, Upchurch said.

"Everyone’s First Amendment right must be protected, and I realized this bill was not the best way to combat hateful rhetoric and antisemitism," he said.

Carruthers said the measure is a work in progress, and she acknowledged the importance of guarding people's constitutional rights. At the same time, she argued, banners like the one displayed around St. Patrick's Day go too far.

Rabbi Ari Jun, director of Jewish Community Relations Council, said the Cincinnati area currently sees an average of three antisemitic incidents per week. In recent days, the organization became aware of graffiti incidents, discrimination against Jews at businesses and people posting hateful content near where they know Jews live.

Jun said he's talked to Carruthers about House Bill 500, and while he doesn't expect it to fix the problem entirely, he contends it's an important step in the right direction.

"I think we all know the spirit of the First Amendment is to create space for controversial ideas," Jun said, "but it’s not to enable one group in an effort to push others out of the public sphere."

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio lawmaker wants to ban hateful signs on buildings, overpasses