Marriage Equality is a losing game unless Ohioans take action

By Ainslee Johnson-Brown

In the card game Uno, a Draw 4 card changes everything in an instant. One player shifts the color, the balance of power changes and everyone else is forced to respond. For LGBTQ+ Ohioans, that card has already been played. The color is now rainbow.

Marriage equality in Ohio today sits in a dangerously familiar position. Before Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, reproductive freedom depended heavily on federal precedent, while many states lacked explicit constitutional protections. Americans watched longstanding rights disappear with startling speed once the political and judicial environment shifted.

Same-sex marriage now occupies a similarly vulnerable space.

Without constitutional protections in Ohio, LGBTQ+ rights remain exposed to the shifting priorities of courts, legislatures and political movements that target marginalized communities. Two proposed amendments from Ohio Equal Rights – to guarantee marriage equality and nondiscrimination protections in Ohio – represent an opportunity to establish the structural safeguards we need to protect our families.

Ohio organizers ‘optimistic’ as campaign launches to collect signatures for two equal rights ballot initiatives

The warning signs are already here.

Over the last three years, our General Assembly has subjected transgender and gender-nonconforming Ohioans to a relentless wave of legislation targeting healthcare, education and public participation. These measures are often discussed as isolated debates, but they collectively reshape the legal and political environment surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. Every restriction creates additional vulnerabilities. Every successful attack opens the door for broader ones.

National political organizations have made these efforts with increasing systematic coordination. Project 2025 openly outlines strategies for dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across every branch of government. In Ohio, we are already watching versions of that blueprint unfold at the state level. Senate Bill 1 did not emerge from nowhere. It reflects a broader campaign to weaken institutional protections and reshape public life around exclusionary ideology.

The consequences reach beyond politics. This month, the American Bar Association repealed its accreditation rule requiring law schools’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion; that decision may have profound long-term implications. Limiting pathways for LGBTQ+ scholars and advocates weakens future legal defenses for LGBTQ+ communities.

Meanwhile, recent court decisions continue to narrow protections for minority representation. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down the congressional map in Louisiana, centered on race and voting rights, but history shows that legal reasoning developed around one marginalized group rarely remains confined to that issue. Arguments used to weaken protections in one context often become tools to attack others.

Ohio’s LGBTQ+ community cannot afford to assume that existing rights will remain untouched simply because they exist today.

We have already seen how quickly established protections can disappear when they are not anchored in a state constitution. The lesson of the post-Dobbs era is immediate.

First, both Ohio Equal Rights amendments must reach the November 2026 ballot. Then, Ohio voters must decide whether equal protection belongs permanently in the foundation of this state or remains vulnerable to the next political Draw 4 card. 🔥

Ainslee Johnson-Brown is a constitutional law scholar and policy advocate focused on judicial interpretation, democracy, reproductive justice, and LGBTQ+ equity in Ohio. She is the co-founder of Ohioans Against Extremism, a nonprofit organization fighting extremism in Ohio’s state and local government by building community, not spreading hate.

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Ohio Equal Rights will have petitions available to sign at Pride celebrations and various events throughout the summer. For a full list of events, click here.
To learn more about Ohioans Against Extremism, click here to visit their website.