An Ohio House committee held a first hearing on Wednesday for a bill that would establish a hate crimes law in Ohio.
One of the co-sponsors specifically stated that the bill does not include protections for transgender Ohioans. It is up for debate whether sexual orientation would be a protected category.
HB 306 seeks to “prohibit hate crimes and to create a civil remedy for a person who is terrorized by another because of specific characteristics or beliefs.” Those found to have perpetrated a hate crime may have to pay a fine of up to $25,000.
The primary sponsors of the bill are Reps. Dontavius Jarrells (D-Columbus) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania Twp.). The bipartisan bill features 26 co-sponsors: 15 Republicans and 11 Democrats.
The specific characteristics or beliefs protected are an individual’s:
- Political affiliation
- Race, color, religion, sex, national origin or ancestry
- Age, familial status, military status or disability
- The person’s position in a labor dispute
- A perception that the person has any of the characteristics or beliefs above.
A question of inclusion
Sexual orientation is not mentioned anywhere in the bill, and the Ohio Legislative Service Commission – a nonpartisan agency that provides Ohio lawmakers with summaries and analysis of bills – did not list sexual orientation as a protected class in their bill summary.
But Rep. Williams specifically mentioned sexual orientation in his testimony.
“This bill establishes that no individual can legally terrorize other individuals for their political affiliation, religious background, sexual orientation, disability status, or even the perception of such characteristics,” Williams said on Wednesday.
Rep. Jarrells did not include sexual orientation in his testimony when he listed out protected classes in his testimony, but has previously said that sexual orientation is covered under the word “sex,” as supported by the Bostock v. Clayton County employment law decision.
“We were really intentional about making sure this bill reflects inclusive interpretation,” Jarrells told The Buckeye Flame in June. “But do it in a way where the bill is not politicized because hate is hate, regardless of whether you are Black, white, Jewish, religious or gay.”
Trans exclusion
Rep. Williams explicitly said that HB 306 would not protect transgender Ohioans from hate crimes.
In a later hearing on a bill that would increase penalties for politically motivated criminal offenses, Rep. Eric Synenberg (D-Beachwood) said that he supported HB 306, but wondered why there were no protections for transgender Ohioans.
“It’s obvious that that’s the one group, the one major identity [not included],” Synenberg said.
“ I don’t believe someone that can change something about themselves on a whim, on a daily basis, is constitutionally protected,” Williams said
Williams then said that he “has not seen violence, threats of violence or murders very often [of transgender people], other than national news.”
Data from the Williams Institute at UCLA shows that transgender people are over four times more likely than cisgender people to be victims of violent crime.
Williams further argued that there was “a large prevalence” and a “record number” of trans people “perpetrating violence against people because of their perceived political beliefs.” He provided no evidence or data to support that claim.
New data places Ohio among states with the highest number of anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in the country in 2025.
GLAAD’s ALERT Desk tracked 50 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents in Ohio, the fourth-highest in the nation – behind only California, New Hampshire and Texas. All of the incidents contained an explicit indication of anti-LGBTQ hate as a motivating factor. 🔥
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- The Buckeye Flame’s Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025 can be found here.
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