Billboard advertisements from a Seattle-based organization called Them Before Us popped up across rural Ohio as part of its campaign against LGBTQ+ families.
The billboard reads, “No child has two dads. No child has two moms,” with the “two dads” and “two moms” in rainbow lettering.
Megan Tucker-Manly, a resident of Northwest Ohio, was one of the first to spot the billboards in Lima. Her post with a photo of the billboards quickly went viral reaching over 7,000 likes and shared widely. Tucker-Manly emphasized that the billboards go beyond targeting same-sex parents. The wording could affect kids in foster homes, partners in abusive relationships, and children with divorced parents.
“I’m not sitting down, even though I should be the one to sit down because I have stage IV cancer and should be focused on other things,” Tucker-Manly said. “Instead, this has just lit a fire [in me].”
A week later, after catching the attention Have a Gay Day – a Dayton LGBTQ+ nonprofit organization, resource center and meme page – bought billboard space of their own in support of queer families.
‘It’s about getting under the skin’
Them Before Us is an anti-LGBTQ+ organization that wants to end marriage equality, in vitro fertilization and no-fault divorce. The organization was founded by Katy Faust, who has a history of protesting against marriage equality and has ties to Southern Poverty Law Center’s designated anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom.
Tucker-Manly saw the billboard while leaving Walmart around three weeks ago, but she initially didn’t believe what she saw. When she saw the billboard again last week, she was shocked. After looking up Them Before Us, she was struck by how the organization used phrases like “protecting children” to hide behind their anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-feminist advocacy.
“What they want [sounds pretty], but it’s not reality,” she said. “It’s about getting under the skin.”
Them Before Us replied to a comment on Facebook that was protesting the billboards.
“Our movement is not about adult feelings, and, no, children do not have a right to ‘loving adults,’” the organization said. “They have a right to the one man and one woman that created them.”
The LGBTQ+ community responds
The billboards are “divisive” and “cruel,” said Glen Strobel, secretary with Lima Pride Alliance (LPA). He said community members have reached out to ask what they can do about the billboards.
“In some ways, it seems to pull people together in response to such a cruel message,” Strobel said.
Have a Gay Day announced that they bought a week of advertising space for a positive queer message online. After asking for funds to keep the advertisements up, founder Michael Knote said his nonprofit has raised over $15,000.
Strobel helped notify LPA’s followers and promote the fundraiser, he said. He was delighted by the response.
“I was really excited to see how quickly these donations seemed to come in,” Strobel said.
Equality Ohio released a statement on Tuesday to push back against the billboard’s messaging.
“These billboards don’t just attack LGBTQ+ families, they erase every Ohio kid whose home doesn’t fit a narrow, manufactured mold,” Equality Ohio said. “They tell real children with real families that they don’t count.”
A 2024 RAND study concluded that same-sex couples and their children benefit from pro-LGBTQ+ policies, and children were inclined to have a more positive view of marriage compared to heterosexual couples.
The billboards are “disgusting” and “desperate,” Delphine Luneau, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign told The Buckeye Flame. She cited one survey which found that two-thirds of Ohioans support marriage equality.
“These outside groups targeting the Buckeye State with fear and disinformation won’t ever win,” Luneau said.
‘I’m not sitting down’
Tucker-Manly’s public Facebook presence is mostly centered around her experience with cancer and her involvement in clinical trials, she said. Until last week, her most shared post was her 13-year-old dog getting six teeth removed.
The response to her viral post has emboldened her to speak at Lima City Council at an upcoming meeting about the billboards. She wants to “get the conversation started” about addressing hate speech at the county level.
“Something has to change,” Tucker-Manly said. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- To learn more about Lima Pride Alliance, visit their Facebook page.
- To learn more about Have a Gay Day, visit its website.
- To find Lima City Council meetings and councilors’ contact information, visit the council’s website.
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