Columbus – State Senator Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo) announced that citizens and non-profit organizations will convene at the Statehouse on November 10, 2010 to rally for Senate Bill 235, a bipartisan bill that will make human trafficking a stand-alone felony. S.B. 235 was introduced during this General Assembly by Senator Fedor and Senator Grendell (R-Chesterland). The bill is currently still in committee and it must be voted on this year or it will die at the end of December.
“Ohioans cannot allow political wrangling to stop this bill from being heard and voted on during this General Assembly,” said Senator Fedor. “Now is the time for legislators to take action to protect Ohioans from becoming victims of human trafficking.”
Advocates of human trafficking legislation are meeting on November 10 in an effort to remind their legislators of the importance of S.B. 235. Human trafficking is a rapidly growing and under-reported problem affecting both inner cities and affluent suburbs. Trafficking occurs where laws are the weakest, and Ohio’s laws will remain weak unless something is done.
November 10 also marks the first anniversary of the Dayton Human Trafficking Accords and Mark Ensalaco, a professor at the University of Dayton, will mark the anniversary by announcing the launch of the Miami Valley Rescue & Restore Coalition, a non-profit group organized to aid victims of human trafficking.
