Jennifer Gross (politician)

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.[4] 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."[5]

In January 2021, Gross said that she opposes the nuclear bailout in House Bill 6 for having "too much baggage."[5]

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.[7]

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][6] 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."[8] 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.[6] The measure (House Bill 248) was co-sponsored by 16 House Republicans.[9] Gross described the bill as "a freedom bill" and "not a scientific bill"[9] and framed it as a way to stop "discrimination."[10]

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.[8] 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.[8]

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.[6][9] 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.[9][11] 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."[12]

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.[10] 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.[13] In the messages, Gross and Lipps closely coordinate,[13][14] 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.[14]