LGBTQ+
DeSantis, in Iowa, says GOP stance in culture wars will help win elections
IOWA – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told Iowa Republicans Friday that standing strong in the culture wars around issues like education, criminal justice, and health care in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic will help their party win elections. DeSantis, along with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, spoke to more than 600 Iowans at the Iowa […]
National ban on transgender athletes in girls’ sports passed by U.S. House panel
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee early Thursday passed a bill on a party-line vote that would block transgender girls from competing in school sports consistent with their gender identity, a reflection of a broader push in multiple states to curb the rights of transgender student athletes. The bill, H.R. 734, introduced by Rep. […]
Ohio GOP to reintroduce bill to prohibit transgender girls from school sports
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. A bill to prohibit transgender girls in Ohio from playing school sports will be […]
LGBTQ kids need protection from bullies and violence, not adults targeting and bullying them too
I grew up in a struggling, post-industrial Ohio town in the 1990s where ignorance and intolerance often reigned. I stood up to bullies my whole life, and when put under physical threat, I fought them. No bully can intimidate me, and so even though I was definitely a weird kid, I was also funnier, smarter, […]
Anti-LGBTQ discrimination bill enters Ohio Senate again
An effort to include sexual orientation into anti-discrimination language in Ohio entered the Senate yet again, making the second such effort in currently in the General Assembly. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, presented the Ohio Fairness Act as Senate Bill 119 Wednesday in the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee. The bill is modeled after […]
Week of criticism for state board of education ends with offer of LGBTQ training
After Ohio’s State Board of Education heard days of criticism, along with legislation to potentially strip them of powers, the body is now preparing for yet another discussion on a resolution being seen as anti-trans. With that in mind, several groups representing LGBTQ youth and adults have offered a little education of their own. In […]
Anti-LGBTQ discrimination bill with bipartisan support introduced again in Ohio House committee
State Rep. Michael Skindell, D-Lakewood, set off Tuesday on his 20th year leading the charge to provide anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ Ohioans. With the introduction of HB 208 in the Ohio House Commerce & Labor Committee, Skindell and his Republican co-sponsor, state Rep. Brett Hillyer, said they have more bipartisan support than they’ve ever had […]
Jeopardy champion Ohioan, others testify against anti-LGBTQ health care bill
A packed and stuffy Families, Aging and Human Services committee room was flanked by multiple overflow rooms, where applause could be heard after parents, trans advocates and individuals implored the committee not to approve of House Bill 454, a bill created by committee member state Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery. One of the testimonies came from […]
Ohio bill limiting health care for LGBTQ+ youth would create registry of trans kids, activist says
The following article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland. Ohio Republicans updated a bill that severely limits healthcare for LGBTQ+ youth with […]
Ohio Board of Education punts anti-federal LGBTQ inclusion measure to December
Ohio’s State Board of Education’s full board won’t consider a resolution condemning a proposed federal rule to include LGBTQ individuals as protected classes until December, with a slim majority shooting down an effort to declare the issue an emergency. Supporters of the measure, led by Dr. Jenny Kilgore, tried to pass the emergency declaration so […]
Amended anti-LGBTQ resolution headed for full Ohio board of education vote
A resolution urging the removal of a federal rule change seen as supporting of trans and other LGBTQ+ individuals is headed back to the Ohio State Board of Education after committee approval on Monday. The resolution went through proposed amendments in the board’s executive committee, one of which, authored by board chair Charlotte McGuire, shifted […]
State board of ed president, husband both oppose LGBTQ inclusion in federal law
Opposition to a federal policy change involving the LGBTQ community seems to be a family affair when it comes to the president of Ohio’s state board of education and her husband, who is a member of the Republican State Central Committee. Though Ohio Board of Education President Charlotte McGuire attempted to alter a resolution against […]