Old saying is true: Freedom is certainly not free

Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 10, 2011

For the Fourth of July, I was fortunate enough to participate in several parades and attend a patriotic church service in Lawrence County.

I thoroughly enjoy all of the activities and am honored to be a part of them year after year. It’s also wonderful to see that patriotism is alive and well in our area of the state.

When I attended the service at First Baptist Church, one of the things that struck me was the number of veterans who were there. If it was not for the sacrifice of these men and women, our world would be a much dimmer and darker place.

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For this reason, I was proud when the Ohio House recently passed House Bill 162, which I had co-sponsored. This bill allows all military veterans to receive the veterans’ preference on civil service exams, rather than just those who are residents of Ohio.

By extending the military service credit, our state is ensuring that Ohio natives who have taken up residence where they are stationed are not hindered for doing so.

We should be encouraging well-qualified service members to come and work in Ohio.

The bill also allows for service members and their spouses to receive temporary professional licenses—cosmetology, for example—when they relocate to Ohio because of one’s military service.

I think military service members and veterans deserve all the credit and support that we can give them.

As we celebrate our freedom, we cannot forget to thank them. House Bill 162 is one more way of doing so.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are rights that we have as Americans. It means that we have the right to choose our own path and to fail or succeed accordingly.

The gifts and talents of each individual in the United States are what make this country great.

As citizens, we create and are responsible for the government that we have from the White House to the statehouse to the court house. Government is a tool of the citizens, and patriotic holidays remind us that we must remain informed and diligent to protect it.

It was nice seeing so many people celebrate our nation’s birthday, and I hope that you and your family celebrate our independence every day by exercising the God-given freedoms that are protected in our Constitution.

John Carey serves in Ohio’s 87th District of the House of Representatives, which includes eastern Lawrence County. He can be reached at (614) 466-1366, by writing to: Ohio House of Representatives, 77 S. High St., Columbus, OH 43215, or via e-mail at District87@ohr.state.oh.us.