Ohio Fairness Act
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 […]
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 […]
Bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers attempt to make LGBTQ discrimination illegal
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. As the state continuously puts forward legislation that LGBTQ+ advocates say […]
Ohio’s fight for LGBTQ+ protections
When state Sen. Nickie Antonio was first elected as the first openly gay person to serve in Ohio’s General Assembly, her intention was to be the first but certainly not the last. Serving as a state representative in the Ohio House for eight years before being elected to the senate in 2018, Antonio says she […]
Ohio AG Yost joins another national lawsuit, this time to overturn LGBTQ protections
Joining 19 other state attorneys general, Ohio’s Dave Yost has jumped in on a lawsuit demanding that sexual orientation and gender identity not be included in discrimination protections. The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, argues “administrative agencies,” in this case the Biden administration, don’t have the power to […]
LGBTQ+ couples can adopt, but GOP rejects updating Ohio law to note that
Although it is legal in Ohio for LGBTQ+ couples to adopt, some GOP legislators want the state law to only acknowledge the adoption rights of heterosexual couples. A dispute over a single line in the 2,057-page state budget bill — passed by the Ohio House of Representatives on Wednesday — has some civil rights advocates […]
Anti-discrimination ‘Fairness Act’ back in legislature with more GOP support
A bill to add LGBTQ people to the list of those protected from discrimination in the state of Ohio is once again coming to the legislature, this time with more bipartisan support. As she has done in every General Assembly since she became a senator in 2011, State Sen. Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, is sponsoring the […]
Cavs’ Larry Nance Jr. says LGBTQ discrimination protection bill is about human rights
Like many Ohioans, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Larry Nance Jr. was caught by surprise when he learned the state has no law protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination. When he found out Ohioans could be evicted from their homes or denied service in a restaurant or other business solely because of their gender identity or sexual orientation, […]
This year, Ohio lawmakers can break lame duck’s bad reputation
Ah, lame duck. The name says it all. It is everyone’s, including many legislators, least favorite season — even with long, Ohio winters. As the election buzz begins to die down, every two years, our lawmakers come together for a final round robin of legislating before they head home for the holidays. Lame duck is […]
Pastors, religious groups speak to Ohio Fairness Act
Religious leaders across the state had their turn to speak on the Ohio Fairness Act, though many spoke on issues that were taken out of the bill as soon as the committee hearing began. The sponsors of House Bill 369, a bill that originally expanded state civil rights law to prohibit discrimination based on sexual […]
Ohio Fairness Act back in committee, supporters and opposition ready to continue fight
With supporters and opponents ready to jump in, a bill regarding LGBTQ discrimination is once again in front of an Ohio House committee, but the passage of the bill is still unclear. The Ohio Fairness Act will be heard by the House Civil Justice Committee exactly one year since it was introduced in the committee. […]
After U.S. Supreme Court decision, Ohio Fairness Act still awaiting hearings
A piece of Ohio House legislation on sexual orientation discrimination is sitting idle in a committee, even after the nation’s highest court said LGBTQ+ people can’t be fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ individuals are protected from job discrimination by the Civil Rights […]