Ohio Democrats held a press conference Wednesday to announce their plan to reintroduce the Fairness Act — which would protect LGBTQ+ Ohioans from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
First introduced in 2008, the Fairness Act has failed ten times in the Ohio legislature.
Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) — the first out lesbian to serve in the Ohio state legislature — has introduced the bill in every General Assembly since she was first elected in 2011.
Addressing media from the Ohio Statehouse Ladies’ Gallery, Leader Antonio and Rep. Michael Skindell (D-Lakewood) said it’s particularly important to reintroduce the act in light of record breaking numbers of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the country.
‘Out of Step’ Republican majority
While Republicans hold a majority in the Ohio House and Senate, Antonio said Ohio’s heavily gerrymandered congressional districts — which were ruled unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court last summer — provide a skewed narrative when it comes to LGBTQ+ Ohioans.
“We have a gerrymandered legislature, so what we’ve seen in the legislature is not reflective of the population of Ohio,” Antonio said. “The majority of Ohioans, and the majority of people in the United States, really don’t like limiting rights and freedoms.”
“As far as losing ground, I think what we have is a very vocal minority,” she added. “The Republican majority in the legislature is out of step with the majority of people in Ohio.”
Several national polls conducted over the last six years support Antonia’s statement:
A nationwide survey conducted by the Washington Post in May 2023 found that between 71-74% of Americans support legislation to protect transgender people from discrimination in housing, employment, healthcare and in colleges and universities.
In 2022, a Gallup Poll and a Pew Research Poll both found that the majority of Americans support same-sex marriage.
However, in Ohio, a handful of conservative Republicans and influential Christian political advocacy groups have publicly opposed the Fairness Act.
“Are we being used as a political football? Absolutely,” Antonio said. “It’s a political tactic, I believe, rather than a reality.”
LGBTQ+ legal protections offer economic benefits
Rep. Skindell and Minority Leader Antonio both cited LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws as a major necessity in Ohio’s plan to attract and retain young people in the workforce.
In 2017 — during the Fairness Act’s ninth round in the Ohio legislature — the Ohio Chamber of Commerce signed on to support the bill in a move Democrats said is indicative of widespread support for LGBTQ+ protections in the business community.
In 2022, the “pro-business, non-discrimination” received support from Ohio Business Competes, a statewide coalition of 1,300 major Ohio-based businesses and chambers of commerce.
Ohio is one of just 27 states that do not have LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination laws in place.
During a public hearing for the bipartisan bill in May 2022, conservative State Rep. Brett Hillyer (R-Uhrichsville) expressed his support for the bill and signed on as a co-sponsor.
Hillyer said Ohio is likely losing out on young, talented workers who would rather move to a state where they are fully protected from discrimination at home and in the workplace.
“Without nondiscrimination policies in place, Ohio falls behind economically,” he said
On Wednesday, Antonio and Skindell called the business community “supportive and ready for change.”
“It is imperative to protect the LGBTQ+ community from discrimination particularly in housing and employment,” said Skindell. “No one should live in fear of being bullied, fired or otherwise discriminated against based on who they are.”
Anti-LGBTQ+ opposition in Ohio
The bill to grant statewide LGBTQ+ protections is not without opposition, most notably with the Center for Christian Virtue (CCV),an Ohio-based conservative, Christian lobbyist group and former designated hate group.
CCV is the state-level affiliate of the national designed anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Family Research Council, and has vehemently opposed the Ohio Fairness Act.
In a 2019 statement, CCV President Aaron Baer called the Ohio Fairness Act, “the single greatest threat to religious freedom, parental rights, and the privacy and safety of women and children.”
State Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) has also vehemently opposed the bill, calling it a “threat to civil liberties and freedom via his Twitter account.
What happens next?
Currently the bill has eight co-sponsors and the support of the entire Ohio Democratic Caucus.
The bill was introduced in the Senate on Thursday – SB 132 – and the goal is to have it quickly assigned to a committee.
Following the bill’s committee assignment, hearings will provide opportunities for LGBTQ+ Ohioans to provide testimony on their experiences living without these protections.
Antonio said the cultural and legal landscape has shifted dramatically concerning LGBTQ+ Americans since the Fairness Act was first introduced, and that she remains optimistic about the bill’s passage this session.
“With statehouses across the country introducing legislation targeting the LGBTQ+ community at an unprecedented rate, including here in Ohio, we believe a shift toward hope, opportunity and fairness is necessary,” Leader Antonio said in a written statement Wednesday.
“Discrimination has no place in Ohio,” she added. “This legislation is a clear statement that we stand on the side of justice, inclusivity and equal opportunity for all.” 🔥
Ignite Action
- For information on how to find and contact your state representative, click here.
- If you are an LGBTQ+ person experiencing a mental health crisis, call the Trevor Project’s 24/7 toll-free hotline at (866) 488-7386.
- To connect with a trained trans/nonbinary peer operator, call Trans Lifeline’s hotline at (877) 565-8860.
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