Jennifer Gross | |
---|---|
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives | |
Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Lisa Sobecki |
Constituency | 45th district |
In office January 4,2021 –December 31,2022 | |
Preceded by | George Lang |
Succeeded by | Gayle Manning |
Constituency | 52nd district |
Personal details | |
Born | June 7,1964 |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Chris |
Residence(s) | West Chester Township,Ohio,U.S. |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1987–2008 [1] |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Battles/wars | Gulf War |
Jennifer Lynn Sherwood Gross (born June 7,1964) is an American politician and former nurse serving as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from the 45th district. Elected in 2020,she took office in 2021. [2] During her tenure in the state House,she has been a leading supporter of anti-vaccine legislation. [3] Her voting record [4] has shown a general tendency towards big government. [5] [6] [7] [8] She has promoted white supremacist Nick Fuentes via social media. [9]
Gross served as a United States Air Force lieutenant colonel and worked as a nurse practitioner with IMA,Inc. [10] She spent 21 years in military service,nine of those years active and 12 in reserve. [11] Gross is a nurse practitioner. [12] When Ohio shut down for the pandemic in spring of 2020,Gross filed for unemployment. Afterwards,she was hired to perform COVID-19 tests. Afterwards,she was part of an Eli Lilly study on monoclonal antibodies. [11]
Running for the open seat in the 45th House District for the Ohio House of Representatives,she and her Republican primary opponent Mark Welch were both anti-abortion conservatives and supporters of Donald Trump. [10] In the November 2020 general election,Gross defeated Democrat Chuck Horn with 63% of the vote. [2] As a representative,she said she supports the three Christian "B's," or "businesses,babies,and bullets." [11]
In January 2021,Gross said that she opposes the nuclear bailout in House Bill 6 for having "too much baggage." [11]
In February 2021,she held a political event at Holtman's Donuts at West Chester. Ultimately,when attendees violated state COVID-19 protocols,police were called by the restaurant to end the event. Gross criticized the police response,although she did note she and some of the 20 attendees had been walking in the restaurant without masks in violation of state protocols,and that they had not warned the venue ahead of time about the event. [13]
In 2021,during the COVID-19 pandemic in Idaho,Gross was the primary sponsor of an anti-vaccine bill that would prohibit employers (both public and private) from requiring workers to receive vaccinations (for any disease). [3] [12] The bill,supported by anti-vaccination interest groups,would "prohibits people,public officials,governments,day-care centers,nursing homes,health care providers,insurers,and others from mandating vaccination or requesting people to do so." [14] The bill would also repeal a state law that requires college students to disclose whether they received the hepatitis B vaccine and meningococcal meningitis vaccine. [12] The measure (House Bill 248) was co-sponsored by 16 House Republicans. [15] Gross described the bill as "a freedom bill" and "not a scientific bill" [15] and framed it as a way to stop "discrimination." [16]
When introducing the legislation in May 2021,Gross attracted controversy when she described businesses requiring vaccination as "eerily similar" to the Holocaust and Nazis forcing Jews to wear identifying badges,and likened the vaccine to Nazi human experimentation. [14] Gross's remarks were condemned by the Anti-Defamation League,which said that they would "normalize dangerous rhetoric while diluting the true horrors of Nazi Germany and insulting the memories of the millions brutalized and murdered by Nazis" and added that "Comparing efforts to save the lives of Ohioans during this pandemic to Nazis is unconscionable." When asked in a separate interview with the Ohio Capital Journal about how the vaccine requirements and the Holocaust were similar,Gross declined to comment. [14]
At Gross' insistence,Republican state lawmakers invited Sherri Tenpenny,an Ohio doctor known for supporting anti-vaccine conspiracy theories,to testify an "expert witness" to the Ohio House Health Committee. [17] At the conspiracy theory-filled hearing, [15] Gross told Tenpenn that it was "an honor to have you here" [18] before Tenpenny gave testimony claiming that COVID-19 vaccines 'magnetize' people and create 5G "interfaces," [18] claiming the vaccinated "can put a key on their forehead,it sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and they can stick,because now we think there's a metal piece to that." [15] All of these claims are false. [17] [15]
Gross's bill was strongly opposed by healthcare providers,hospitals,and others,who cited the risks of the bill to public health and to children. [12] [15] The bill was also criticized by business leaders such as the Ohio Chamber of Commerce,Ohio Manufacturers Association,and others who cited the risk of low vaccination rates to the state's economy. [15] [19] Gross's legislation was also opposed by Democrats;for example,Representative Beth Liston said that the legislation was "a dangerous bill that will lead to death" and,if enacted,would lead to "worsening measles outbreaks,meningitis in the dorms,and children once again suffering from polio." [20]
In June 2021,the Ohio House Health Committee lacked the votes to advance Gross' bill. Gross discussed the measure with Speaker Bob Cupp and said she planned to introduce amendments. [16] The bill was again debated in August 2021. [3]
In September 2021,text messages between Gross and Representative Scott Lipps,the chairman of the House Health Committee,were obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer through a public records request. The messages show the pair's behind-the-scenes efforts to advance the bill. [21] In the messages,Gross and Lipps closely coordinate, [21] [22] but at times Lipps appeared frustrated,accusing Gross of failing to control rumors circulating among anti-vaccination activists and of coordinating with Candice Keller,a far-right Republican who has promoted anti-vaccine disinformation and threatened to generate a primary challenger to Lipps. [22]
In November 2023,after Ohio voters approved a measure that would enshrine reproductive rights in the state's constitution,Gross was one of several Republicans who claimed that "[t]o prevent mischief by pro-abortion courts with Issue 1,Ohio legislators will consider removing jurisdiction from the judiciary over this ambiguous ballot initiative. The Ohio legislature alone will consider what,if any,modifications to make to existing laws". [23] She added,without evidence,that the result was "foreign election interference,and it will not stand." [8]
In October 2024,Gross promoted the theory that the government can control the weather and the Biden administration is directing storms to Republican areas. [24]
On December 1,2022,Gross invited a local "associate pastor" to cast out witchcraft from the statehouse. [25]
She lives in West Chester,Ohio. She has a husband and two sons. [10]
Robert Richard Cupp is an American politician who served as the Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2020 to 2022. He served in the House of Representatives from 2015,representing District 4 (Lima). He was elected as speaker on July 30,2020,replacing Larry Householder who was removed from the position following his arrest on federal bribery charges. Cupp is a former justice of the Ohio Supreme Court.
Janice Bowling is an American politician in Tennessee and senator for Tennessee's 16th State Senate district. Bowling is a Republican. Bowling has been a public official and community activist in her hometown of Tullahoma,Tennessee.
William J. Seitz III is the state representative for the 30th district of the Ohio House of Representatives. He is a Republican. The district consists of Cheviot,Delhi Township,Green as well as portions of Cincinnati,in Hamilton County. Formerly,Seitz represented the same seat from 2001 to 2007. He served in the Ohio Senate from 2007 to 2016. He has also served as Majority Leader since 2017 serving under five different speakers and two interim speakers. After 24 years in the Ohio General Assembly,Seitz has decided to retire at the end of his term in 2024.
Kelly Townsend is an American author,childbirth educator and birth doula who was a Republican politician. She was a member of the Arizona Senate representing District 16 from 2021 to 2023,and previously was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021,acting as Majority Whip from 2017 to 2018.
Sherri J. Tenpenny is an American anti-vaccination activist and conspiracy theorist who promulgates disproven hypotheses that vaccines cause autism. An osteopathic physician by training,she is the author of four books opposing vaccination. In 2023 the State Medical Board of Ohio indefinitely suspended Tenpenny's medical license for failure to participate in its investigations. Her license was restored in 2024.
Candice Keller is an American politician and former state representative for the 53rd District of the Ohio House of Representatives,which includes part of Butler County. A Republican,in 2019,she proposed legislation to ban and criminalize abortion in Ohio.
Texans for Vaccine Choice (TFVC) is an anti-vaccine Facebook group turned political action committee in Texas which advocates for personal belief exemptions to vaccination requirements,based on "a collection of fake news,half- truths,and conspiracy theories". Andrew Wakefield,the disgraced former medical researcher and originator of the MMR autism hoax,and infectious disease specialist Peter Hotez,both describe TFVC's lobbying as very effective,with the rate of Texas students opting out of at least one vaccine at least doubling in around five years and over 50,000 Texas schoolchildren not being vaccinated.
George F. Lang is an American politician. A Republican,he became the state senator for Ohio's 4th senatorial district in 2021. He was previously the representative for the 52nd District of the Ohio House of Representatives. The district consists of West Chester Township,Liberty Township,Fairfield Township and part of the City of Sharonville,Ohio in Butler County.
Matthew Maddock is an American politician in the Republican Party serving as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. His district,the 51st,represents areas covering part of Oakland County. In his first term,Maddock was appointed to be the Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation,as well as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules. A Republican,Maddock was first elected in 2018. Prior to being elected to the 110-member Michigan House of Representatives,he was a businessman in Oakland County.
Sue Allor is an American politician from Michigan. A Republican,Allor was a member of the Michigan House of Representatives from 2017 to 2023,elected from District 106.
Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) is a lobbying organization focused upon implementing conservative Christian sexual morality in public policy. It was originally known as Citizens for Community Values until Feb 2021. It operates primarily in the US state of Ohio and is the Family Policy Council for that state,with branches in Indiana,Wisconsin,and Kentucky.
Scott Cepicky is an American politician and former athlete who serves in the Tennessee House of Representatives,representing the 64th district. Cepicky is a member of the Republican Party.
Anne Dauphinais is an American politician. She is a Republican currently serving Connecticut House of Representatives District 44,comprising the towns of Killingly,Plainfield,and Sterling. Dauphinais grew up in Killingly and graduated from the Northern Maine Vocational Technical Institute and from Eastern Connecticut State University. She worked in nursing,sales,and for the Connecticut Department of Correction before being elected to the House in 2016,2018 and 2020. Beginning in 2019,Dauphinais was a prominent leader opposing vaccine legislation in Connecticut and later protesting public safety measures put in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marjorie Taylor Greene,sometimes referred to by her initials MTG,is an American far-right politician,businesswoman,and conspiracy theorist who has been the U.S. representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party,she was elected to Congress in 2020 following the retirement of Republican incumbent Tom Graves and was reelected in 2022 and 2024.
Kay Allison "Kate" Shemirani is a British conspiracy theorist,anti-vaccine activist and former nurse who lost her licence to practise in 2020 for misconduct. She is best known for promoting conspiracy theories about COVID-19,vaccinations and 5G technology. Shemirani has been described by The Jewish Chronicle as a leading figure of a movement that includes conspiracy theorists as well as far-left and far-right activists.
Suzie Pollock is an American politician who served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 123rd district. A member of the Republican Party,she was elected in 2018 and assumed office in 2019.
Laurel Dawson Munsell Libby is an American anti-vaccine activist,Republican politician and interior designer from Maine. She is the representative for Maine House District 64,representing Minot and part of Auburn. She was elected to the Maine House in November 2020,2022 and 2024.
Heidi Hilgartner Sampson is an American politician and anti-vaccine activist. A member of the Republican Party,she has served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives since 2016,representing the 136th district since 2022.
In many countries a variety of unfounded conspiracy theories and other misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines have spread based on misunderstood or misrepresented science,religion,and law. These have included exaggerated claims about side effects,misrepresentations about how the immune system works and when and how COVID-19 vaccines are made,a story about COVID-19 being spread by 5G,and other false or distorted information. This misinformation,some created by anti-vaccination activists,has proliferated and may have made many people averse to vaccination. This has led to governments and private organizations around the world introducing measures to incentivize or coerce vaccination,such as lotteries,mandates,and free entry to events,which has in turn led to further misinformation about the legality and effect of these measures themselves.
Tracy Quint is an American politician from Hodgdon,Maine. She is currently serving in the Maine House of Representatives from the 8th district,having first been elected in 2020 from the Republican Party.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)