{"id":735,"date":"2025-07-10T19:34:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/?p=735"},"modified":"2025-07-10T19:56:51","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T19:56:51","slug":"big-beautiful-bill-ohio-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/10\/big-beautiful-bill-ohio-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"When Freedom Isn\u2019t Free: What We Could Lose After the Big Beautiful Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"735\" class=\"elementor elementor-735\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d6e8a7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3d6e8a7\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d1cb731 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d1cb731\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Every year on July 4th<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a8b16e3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a8b16e3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>America paints itself in red, white, and blue. Firework shows are held in most cities. American flags are seen everywhere. We barbecue and play spades with family. It\u2019s a day wrapped in the language of <strong>freedom<\/strong>, <strong>independence<\/strong>, and <strong>patriotism<\/strong>.<\/p><p>But what happens when the very freedoms we celebrate on Independence Day begin to erode\u2014<strong>not from foreign threats, but from within our own government<\/strong>?<\/p><p>Last week, Congress passed what they call the <strong>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/whats-in-trump-big-beautiful-bill-senate-version\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Big Beautiful Bill.<\/a>\u201d<\/strong> On paper, it promises security, order, and national pride. Despite its poetic name, the law contradicts the concept of <strong>freedom<\/strong> in America.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9f2453d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9f2453d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Here\u2019s the real deal on the \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c107a48 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c107a48\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>Ohio\u2019s Medicaid expansion is threatened, meaning 300,000-510,000 Ohioans in this category could lose coverage by 2029<\/li><li>Ohio could lose 3 million current Medicaid recipients (1 in 4 Ohioans rely on this)<\/li><li>Ohio hospitals risk losing more than $1 billion annually, forcing service cuts, layoffs and even preventable patient deaths<\/li><li>Ohioans with disabilities must navigate paperwork hurdles and new work requirements, potentially blocking access to services<\/li><li>Ohio\u2019s SNAP funding may decrease by 30%, which would impact low-income families.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9ae3896 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9ae3896\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>It\u2019s being sold as \u201cfiscal responsibility.\u201d But let\u2019s call it what it is: a rollback of basic human rights.<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c02486 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5c02486\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Independence for Who? This Bill will: <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-82f3659 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"82f3659\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li>Allow government agencies to collect more personal data from everyday Americans without a warrant.<\/li><li>Expand restrictions on protest zones.<\/li><li>Monitor online critiques and disagreements with government policies\u00a0<\/li><li>Strip away protections gained during the civil rights movement<\/li><li>What was once unthinkable\u2014searching your private messages without consent, arresting protestors for \u201cdisturbing national morale,\u201d or tracking your location under vague \u201cpublic safety\u201d claims\u2014is now law.<\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-75e0eb9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"75e0eb9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4><strong>Let\u2019s be clear: This isn\u2019t just policy. <\/strong><strong>This is Authoritarianism.<\/strong><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70890b3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"70890b3\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f0eaeb3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f0eaeb3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The \u201cIndependence Day\u201d Hypocrisy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-229adc3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"229adc3\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16f7cce e-grid e-con-full e-con e-child\" data-id=\"16f7cce\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d2c1b9e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d2c1b9e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>For many African-Americans, Independence Day marks both a national celebration and a reflection on historical injustices. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p><p>While this weekend should have been spent celebrating our hard-won progress, we were given a painful reminder that our most vulnerable are still under attack from elected officials who desire to turn the clock back and \u201cMake America Great Again.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc6fdb5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"fc6fdb5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"671\" src=\"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-740\" alt=\"Family looking at bills\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2.jpg 940w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2-700x587.jpg 700w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/When-freedom-isnt-free-2-500x419.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b63a38b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"b63a38b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What Now?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44a32fe e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"44a32fe\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e75ace elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7e75ace\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>If we truly believe in freedom, then July 4th must be a call to action. Not just to wave flags, but to:<\/p><ul><li>Hold our elected officials accountable.<\/li><li>Stay vigilant about the erosion of civil liberties.<\/li><li>Educate ourselves on the laws being passed.<\/li><li>And most of all, remember that democracy only lives when the people are awake.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2857406 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2857406\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c8d8de elementor-button-success elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"3c8d8de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Contact us today!<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year on July 4th America paints itself in red, white, and blue. Firework shows are held in most cities. American flags are seen everywhere. We barbecue and play spades with family. It\u2019s a day wrapped in the language of freedom, independence, and patriotism. But what happens when the very freedoms we celebrate on Independence [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,30],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-big-beautiful-bill","category-government-laws","tag-big-beautiful-bill"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":750,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735\/revisions\/750"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}