FREE SPEECH WINS: City Club of Cleveland Will Host CCV President Aaron Baer!
CLEVELAND—Despite pressure from LGBTQ+ activists, the City Club of Cleveland announced it will still host Center for Christian Virtue (CCV) President Aaron Baer on Friday, January 16, 2026, for his presentation on "Faith, Policy, and Influence."
More than 100 LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations across Ohio circulated an open letter demanding the City Club either cancel the event, include an LGBTQ+ activist, or restructure the forum in other ways. Signatories include HRC Cleveland, Equality Ohio, GLAAD, and Plexus LGBT & Allied Chamber of Commerce.
City Club CEO Dan Moulthrop confirmed with The Daily Signal that the event will proceed, saying, "We’re not canceling, and we have never had any intention of canceling this. We’re gonna continue to do what we always do, and have done for 113 years, which is convene conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive and do that with the leadership of relevant organizations who are shaping our communities."
'WE'RE NOT CANCELLING': The City Club of Cleveland is defying LGBTQ+ activist pressure to cancel or substantially alter an event featuring a conservative Christian leader next month, and Ohio’s attorney general is standing with the venue. @Tyler2ONeil https://t.co/lmepSkYhRj
— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) December 11, 2025
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also publicly defended CCV in a letter to the City Club, stating: "The City Club has long prided itself as a citadel of free speech… the reason for your very existence as a forum will evaporate if you give in to the demands to cancel Mr. Baer’s talk." US Senator Bernie Moreno lent further support, amplifying Yost's statement on his personal X account.
The new, illiberal, left: preventing free speech for the place *they* claim is the bastion of free speech. https://t.co/rX48F5R699
— Bernie Moreno (@berniemoreno) December 10, 2025
The following statement is from Aaron Baer, President of CCV:
"Cancel culture's day is done. The LGBT groups that launched this coercion campaign are afraid of the simple facts that Americans don't want boys in girls’ sports. Since the science and the public aren't on their side, all they had left was to try to cancel the event.
"Yet the City Club stood by their principles, and I'm looking forward to the conversation. I'm grateful that they chose free speech over censorship, and I'm especially grateful for Attorney General Dave Yost and Senator Bernie Moreno's support!"
Purchase tickets today for Faith, Policy, and Influence: A Conversation with the President of the Center for Christian Virtue on Friday, January 16. Online ticket sales for this forum will conclude on Wednesday, January 14.
For more information, contact CCV at 513-733-5775 or contact@ccv.org. For media inquiries, email media@ccv.org.
As Ohio's largest Christian public policy organization, Center for Christian Virtue seeks the good of our neighbors by advocating for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel.
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