The city of Lorain, Ohio unanimously approved a resolution on Monday, “affirms its commitment to human dignity, fair treatment, and an inclusive community for all residents.” LGBTQ+ residents are specifically named as one of the groups who should be able to live, work, participate, and contribute to community life “with dignity and respect.”
The resolution for the Northeast Ohio municipality was drafted by LGBTQ+ activist Brandon West and Councilmember Eileen Torres. They had previously submitted two ordinances in April for city council approval. The ordinances would have protected LGBTQ+ residents from housing and employment discrimination, protections which neither Lorain nor state law does currently offers.
After the city’s law director brought up legal concerns, the resolution was drafted as a compromise. A resolution is “formal written expression of the opinion or will” of the legislative body as opposed to an ordinance, which would be legally enforceable. Indeed, the language passed this week specifically states that nothing in the resolution “shall be construed to create a cause of action, private right of action, penalty, entitlement, or independent enforcement authority, nor shall it be construed to conflict with state or federal law.”
Still, Torres celebrated the resolution.
“I believe this resolution is tailor-made for Lorain,” Torres said during the meeting.
The resolution calls for the city to affirm and work towards preventing discrimination against LGBTQ+ residents, veterans, BIPOC and disabled residents, among others.
“It is appropriate and in the public interest for the City of Lorain to clearly affirm its values of fairness, inclusion, dignity, and equal opportunity, while continuing to evaluate lawful and workable policies that reflect those principles and complement existing state and federal protections,” the resolution states.
‘A great and significant first step’
The resolution is the latest step Lorain City Council has taken to protect LGBTQ+ residents. In 2024, Lorain became the 12th city in Ohio to ban conversion therapy on minors.
West and Torres had hoped that the next steps for the city would be the two legally enforceable pro-LGBTQ+ ordinances they had drafted. One ordinance would require businesses to accept LGBTQ+ customers and protect residents from housing and employment discrimination. The other would establish a volunteer-run Human Dignity Commission that would hear Lorain residents’ civil rights complaints.
Torres told The Buckeye Flame the ordinances had “so many unknowns” for the law director and council, such as how much creating an enforcement mechanism for an antidiscrimination ordinance would cost.
By proposing a resolution first, West said it would help the city “feel more open to the idea.”
“I’m not going to let it rest as a resolution,” he said.
Torres said the resolution was a “great and significant first step” and celebrates the city’s diversity – something that should be natural for “all municipalities, all cities, all states to abide by.”
This is the first time a resolution or an ordinance affirming LGBTQ+ residents passed unanimously on its first reading instead of the usual three-reading process, West said. He had originally planned a rainbow-light-filled September demonstration outside Lorain City Hall calling for City Council to pass the resolution..
But since the resolution passed on Monday night, the September demonstration will instead celebrate the resolution’s passage. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- 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.
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