A new Ohio organization wants to prevent ‘ridiculous, harmful’ legislation by getting to the root of the problem

Political polarization is a hot topic in the Ohio LGBTQ+ community. An emerging nonprofit hopes to help stem the tide of extremism in local communities.

Ohioans Against Extremism was created by Maria Bruno earlier this year, who previously worked as the public policy director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy and legal aid organization Equality Ohio. While issue-based nonpartisan organizations like Equality Ohio do good work, Bruno doesn’t think they’ve been “moving the needle.”

“It really does feel like it’s the same names coming up over and over again that are pushing [extremist legislation],” she said. “It just really felt like we need to start getting to the root of the problem.”

Legislation like HB 68, which bans both gender-affirming care for minors and transgender females from participating in school sports, had a host of organizations speaking out against when it was introduced in the Ohio statehouse.

Judge: Ohio’s ban on trans female athletes and gender-affirming care for minors is legal

Connecting citizens with nonprofits

Bruno doesn’t want Ohioans Against Extremism to be reactive–she wants the organization to be proactive. By being a connector to local community organizations like Red Wine & Blue, she said a future HB 68 could be prevented.

“We also know that we’re not going to be the subject-matter expert in 20 different issues, but I think there’s a real need for an entity that is just pointing out the really ridiculous, harmful stuff,” Bruno said.

Ohioans Against Extremism officially launches with a four person staff on Aug. 20. One way the nonprofit will work is by serving as a connector to a network of other nonprofits, said Bruno. If a member of the community wants to connect with a women’s rights organization, an Ohioans Against Extremism worker could connect them with a local chapter, for example.

Ohioans will also be able to access information through the nonprofit’s consolidated voter-education tools, and a statehouse podcast to keep citizens updated on what’s happening at the capitol.

“We’re going after extremism on the ground,” Bruno said. “We are wanting to reach otherwise disengaged Ohioans through more accessible mediums.”

Extremism eclipses true public service

Some far-right extremist lawmakers in the statehouse hail from rural areas, but Bruno isn’t convinced that rural areas are a breeding ground for extremism. Rather, the polarizing, extremist attitude in politics is rather a reflection of people tuning out of politics, she said. Those extremists take advantage of disengagement.

Ultimately, it’s structural, she said. Lawmakers are first brought up through the county- and state -level party apparatus. 

And if they want to make a name for themselves, she said, they will push for extreme legislation to get noticed by mainstream media and vie for a higher office.

“It’s really very insidious,” Bruno said.

Most rural lawmakers Bruno has worked with are “doing brilliant things to represent their community,” she said. 

“I think that there needs to be a way for people to engage in politics that can both confront terrible things, but not make it a terrible time for everyone in the process,” she added.

Part of not making it a terrible time is by keeping politics in the minds of people year-round, rather than just during an election year, Bruno said. 

Bruno said the feedback for Ohioans Against Extremism thus far has been largely positive.

The nonprofit has no megadonors, though it is partnered with the brand Ohioans Against the World, she said. It relies on community support to survive, and Bruno is hopeful that her organization is filling a gap.

“I think that there’s a real hunger for this,” she said. ️‍🔥

IGNITE ACTION

• To learn more about Ohioans Against Extremism’s launch party event, click here.
• To register to vote or to check your voter eligibility status in the state of Ohio, click here.
• To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
• To find contact information for your Ohio senator, click here.