Local elected officials in rural Ohio have submitted testimony to the state House of Representatives in support of the “drag ban,” House Bill 249.
At least one official, Mayor Jeff Whitaker of Greenville, did not inform the City Council or his constituents of his letter, which called violators of the proposed bill “degenerates.” He wasn’t the only official to submit testimony. South of Greenville, Butler County Auditor Nancy Nix sent a letter, and so did the mayor along with the council president of Celina which lies between Toledo and Cleveland.
Whitaker’s letter was spotted by Ryan Acker, the board president of LGBTQ+ Community Center of Darke County. The letter opens with Whitaker establishing that he is sharing his opinion “as mayor” and as his responsibility to his “oath of office” and God “to provide a safe, healthy environment in which our citizens can live, work and raise our families.”
“To have to worry about our children being subject to indecent exposure by the degenerates of our society is ridiculous,” Whitaker wrote. “[Society’s] level of decency has significantly declined over the years, and the moral fabric of our communities is constantly being challenged and compromised, which it need not be. This bill needs to be passed.”
Acker spoke at Greenville City Council’s next regular meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Greenville’s daily newspaper, the Daily Advocate, wrote that council members seemed surprised about the letter and were unaware that the mayor submitted testimony. Acker asked whether Whitaker did indeed write the letter, and to whom he was referring when he used the word “degenerate.” Whitaker stayed silent throughout the meeting.
Acker explained how HB 249 was going against the county’s Suicide Prevention Plan, gave historical context to how such laws were enforced in the past through random strip searches and explained how parents have a responsibility to watch their children at a Pride celebration. The ban would affect a local breast cancer awareness group who hosts drag events to raise funds.
“The City Council, I will say, did a really good job,” Acker said. “They listened, and they invited our center to provide the law and rationale for why we believe [HB 249 is] going to impact people that way.”
After the meeting, Whitaker told the Daily Advocate that he was the author and sent a copy to council members.
He defended his use of the word “degenerate” because it was not referring to a group of people, even though he is referring to violators of the bill as such.
“The word ‘degenerates’ was used in expressing my belief that indecent exposure in public constitutes lewd and obsene (sic) behavior,’” Whitaker wrote to the newspaper. “‘By the very definition of the word, such acts ‘fall below a normal or desirable level of moral quality and lead to the moral deterioration and decline of society.’ I contend that adult cabaret performances belong inside a cabaret and nowhere else.”
Whitaker did not respond to The Buckeye Flame’s requests for comment.
Nic Hollopeter is organizing a protest in response to Whitaker’s comments. A volunteer with the LGBTQ+ Community Center of Darke County, she helped organize the first Darke County Pride. She is involved with organizing the drag show every year.
She learned of the mayor’s letter after a friend sent her the Daily Advocate article.
“‘You might want to get informed on this,’” Hollopeter recalled her friend saying. As Hollopeter read the letter, one word stood out — “degenerate.” She “took personal offense” to the word and thought it was “cowardly” of the mayor to wait until after the meeting to say he wrote the letter. Tim Stewart, Hollopeter’s romantic partner, thought the mayor was using a social issue to “score brownie points with the far-right.”
But Hollopeter also knew the bill and the mayor’s testimony could directly impact her as a Pride organizer.
“Tim and I started talking about it more, and I was like, ‘We should do something about this,’” she recalled.
A county auditor weighs in
In nearby Butler County, Auditor Nancy Nix, who oversees finances and taxation for the county, also submitted testimony, as a “Butler County resident and elected official.” She opined that drag is a “sexually oriented performance” that is taking place “in the presence of minors.”
“Our community expects public and family events to remain safe and appropriate for all ages,” Nix said.
The board of directors for Hamilton Pride, Butler County’s foremost LGBTQ+ organization, said HB 249 “does not represent the values of a caring, inclusive community that we value in Hamilton.”
“We witness firsthand the joy, creativity, and light that drag artists and other performers bring to our city,” the statement said. “They are our neighbors, friends, and small business owners. To label them a threat is not only incorrect but deeply harmful, fostering division where there should be unity.”
Nix, the Butler County commissioners and Hamilton’s mayor and council president did not respond to The Buckeye Flame’s requests for comment.
Celina officials support drag ban
Mayor Jeffrey Hazel and Councilman Jason King submitted separate testimonies in favor of the drag ban. Hazel’s letter used the city’s official seal and City Hall’s letterhead. King mentioned he is an elected official — though not his in-law relation to State Rep. Angie King.
In his letter, Hazel uses scare quotes when calling drag shows entertainment, and calls the drag performance “uninhibited and uncensored,” despite the shows not featuring any nudity.
“While this event continues to result in divisive and emotional community reactions, the ultimate concern is how to protect our community’s children from exposure to obscene and lewd performances, and adult imagery,” Hazel wrote. “While adults can choose to freely participate or view such lewd and lascivious behaviors, our inherent duty is protecting children from exploitation and the robbing of their innocence, whether mental or physical, and is a matter of utmost importance.”
Hazel’s evidence for the “lewd and lascivious behaviors” was a video published online in 2022 that showed “adults and children” alike” handing dollar bills to performers. He erroneously compares the act to “‘tucking’ bills at an adult strip/dance club.”
While Hazel did not provide the video he’s referencing, it is most likely a video Shawn Meyer, pastor of Aletheia Christian Church, shared in 2023 with a Facebook group called “Defend Celina” that shows clips from a 2022 drag show in Celina. The children in the video hand the bills to performers. The video does not show children tucking dollar bills into performers’ clothing.
Hazel also referenced a 2023 video where he said a drag performer, “twerked, thrust his hips, and gyrated on the ground where he revealed a tight-fitting thong.” A similar performance was in the 2022 video, and each of the moves Hazel describes appear for a second or less as part of a longer dance routine. Some of the moves used by the performer — such as high kicks, flips and using their leg to gain momentum and stand back up — are used by cheerleading squads, including Celina High School. During a Celina cheer team’s showcase on February 20, 2025, high school athletes “thrust their hips,” spread their legs and use almost the same moves as the drag performer during a cheer showcase.
The council president Jason King’s sister-in-law, Rep. Angie King, stood next to neo-Nazis protesting against the Pride celebration that year, noted Small Town Pride President Kyle Bruce in a statement sent to The Buckeye Flame.
“Let this be a reminder that those who are in support of HB 249 have opposed our Pride event since before there was a drag show in 2020, and have continued to oppose it this year when there was no drag show,” Bruce said. “These people are attempting to mask their blatant homophobia and transphobia by presenting their side as the ones who are protecting the children, yet they are the ones who fill their kids with hate towards a group who does them no harm.”
Bruce highlighted vendors who spread awareness on community health issues such as mental health, substance abuse and domestic violence, alongside handicrafts and live music.
“Every year, we spend a day surrounded by the most kind-hearted, loving people that we know,” he said. “Small Town Pride’s annual event draws a crowd of hundreds every year, demonstrating that the views of Jason King, Angie King, Jeff Hazel and Shawn Meyer are not the views of the entire population.”
Back in Greenville, Hollopeter and Stewart have planned a protest at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 outside Greenville City Hall. They believe not enough people are aware how HB 249 could potentially affect transgender people presenting differently than their assigned gender at birth in public.
They want to bring attention to the bill, but they also want to speak towards the partisan divide in Greenville to shift focus away from the culture war towards the “real dividers,” Stewart said.
“The strategy we’re going for right now is cross-dressing and holding signs that say, ‘Hey, we want affordable housing, affordable groceries, childcare,’” and all that,” he said. “We actually agree on all these economic issues.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food to help support the Center’s food pantry, Hollopeter said. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- To learn more about the protest at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 outside Greenville City Hall, click here.
- To learn more about the LGBTQ+ Community Center of Darke County, click here.
- To learn more about Hamilton Pride, click here.
- To learn more about Small Town Pride – Celina, click here.
- The Buckeye Flame’s Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025 can be found 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 state senator, click here.
- If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are an transgender adult in crisis, please contact the National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
Know an LGBTQ+ Ohio story we should cover? TELL US!
Submit a story!
