City Club draws heat for booking anti-LGBTQ+ group leader
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The City Club of Cleveland is facing pushback after inviting Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), to headline a Jan. 16 forum.
Why it matters: CCV has been labeled an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its rhetoric and lobbying around issues like gender-affirming care and school policy.
State of play: Under Baer, CCV has grown into one of Ohio's most influential conservative advocacy groups, credited with helping pass House Bill 68, which banned gender-affirming care for trans youth.
- Axios reached out to CCV for comment Monday.
What they're saying: City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop told the Buckeye Flame that the invitation aligns with the organization's mission to host "conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive."
Flashback: In 2017, Moulthrop offered the same defense when the City Club hosted Trump campaign manager and Fox News personality Corey Lewandowski.
- "If we value free expression and the civil exchange of ideas, then we are called on to embrace and practice these values inclusively, not selectively," he wrote at the time.
The other side: Critics have questioned the decision and said giving Baer the stage legitimizes harmful rhetoric.
- "We don't need to make more space for the lobbyists already exercising disproportionate power over our Statehouse and successfully legislating Christian nationalism into our state laws," Maria Bruno, executive director of the nonprofit Ohioans Against Extremism, told the Buckeye Flame.