Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 12, 2023 in Blog
Equality Ohio, the state’s foremost LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, has expressed its profound disappointment with the recent news of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland’s policy against inclusion and basic civil rights.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on August 9, 2023 in Blog
In this analysis you will find a summary of the recent Federal Supreme Court Case, 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a detailed analysis of legal implications with examples, and recommended […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 29, 2023 in Blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 29th, 2023 Media Contact: MD Sitzes, [email protected], [email protected] COLUMBUS, OH – Today, Equality Ohio is proud to announce that Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 27, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 27, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 20, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 20, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 12, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 5, 2023 in Blog
Over the course of June, The Defenders of Equality are bringing you stories from Trans folks across the state of Ohio about the joys and very real struggles they are experiencing, often at once.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 1, 2023 in Blog
“By shedding light on the truth, these fearless advocates reshape the narrative surrounding transgender rights and create a more compassionate and equitable Ohio reflective of our values,”
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on April 17, 2023 in Blog
March 29th, 2023 Contact: [email protected], [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: LGBTQ+ Advocacy Organizations Respond to House Bill 6 Proponent Hearing. Partner Organizations Call On Legislature To Reject Anti-Trans Legislation COLUMBUS – […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on March 14, 2023 in Blog
For Immediate Release: Equality Ohio Responds to anti-LGBTQ+ terrorism at Community Event in Wadsworth Ohio
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on February 3, 2023 in Blog
The Equality Ohio Legal Clinic is excited to launch an all-new virtual meeting, held on the third Thursday of each month from 12-1 PM EST.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on January 26, 2023 in Blog
2023 is the starting point for Ohio’s 2-year long General Assembly (or State Legislature). This is the period of time during which bills can be introduced, and during which bills can die.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on December 19, 2022 in Blog
in the final hours of the House session, House
Bill 151, the most recent vehicle for a ban on transgender girl athletes in school sports,
was voted down on the House floor.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on November 15, 2022 in Blog
On Wednesday, November 16th at 10 am in room 121, HB 454, a bill that would ban gender affirming health care for minors in Ohio, will have its second opponent hearing.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 22, 2022 in Blog
For Immediate Release: September 22, 2022 Media Contacts: [email protected] [email protected] Equality Ohio Presents First Nonpartisan Statewide Candidate Forum for Ohio LGBTQ+ Community (September 29th) COLUMBUS (Sept. 22) – Equality Ohio […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 13, 2022 in Blog
EQUALITY OHIO AND GLAAD RELEASE LGBTQ+ RECORDS OF U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES; CALL ON MEDIA TO INCLUDE LGBTQ+ PEOPLE AND FACTS IN COVERAGE OF THE GENERAL ELECTION
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 12, 2022 in Blog
Equality Ohio Announces Formation of Historic Worker Union
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on August 10, 2022 in Blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: [email protected] August 9th, 2022 EQUALITY OHIO RELEASES 2022 ELECTED OFFICIAL SCORECARD Equality Ohio has publicly released its long awaited 2022 Ohio Lawmaker Equality Scorecard, which […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on July 22, 2022 in Blog
July 22, 2021 We stand with the family of Jayland Walker, as they have recently laid him to rest in Akron, Ohio—a place and community dear to our hearts. We […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 1, 2022 in Blog
Moments ago, Rep. Jenna Powell inserted an amendment that would prohibit transgender youth from participating in school sports into HB 151
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 1, 2022 in Blog
Equality Ohio applauds the Opposition Testimony submitted in today’s hearing against HB 454 from Ohio Children’s Hospital Association, Dr. Armand Antommaria, Dr. David Axelson, MD, and Dr. Patricia Manning-Courtney. We […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on May 19, 2022 in Blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19th, 2022 Contact: [email protected] Legislation Seeking to Ban Affirming Care Targets Already Vulnerable Ohio Youth with Medical Misinformation for Political Gain: Columbus– (May 19th) This morning, […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on May 3, 2022 in Blog
May 2nd, 2022 Updated May 6th, 2022 Community, We are angry, heartbroken, and more determined than ever after seeing the leaked draft version of Dobbs that seeks to overturn Roe […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on April 20, 2022 in Blog
Equality Ohio is disappointed in the outcome of the recent Shawnee State lawsuit, and we affirm that all transgender and non-binary students, staff and faculty deserve a safe, respectful environment […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on April 5, 2022 in Blog
Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Cruel LGBTQ+ Censorship Bill Targeting Free Speech in the Classroom
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on March 30, 2022 in Blog
For Immediate Release: March 30, 2022Contact: Eleanor Naiman, [email protected] Ohio Athletes, LGBTQ+ Advocates Launch Campaign to Change the Narrative about Support for Transgender Youth Athletics Ohioans from across the state […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on February 17, 2022 in Blog
COLUMBUS, Ohio (February 16, 2021) – Tomorrow at 11am, the Ohio House Families, Aging and Human Services Committee will hear testimony on HB454, a bill that would give politicians the power to […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on December 23, 2021 in Blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 23rd 2021 Media Contact: [email protected] Equality Ohio Celebrates Holidays by Announcing New Deputy Director, Siobhan Boyd-Nelson New Deputy Director Boyd-Nelson poised to increase organizational capacity and […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on November 12, 2021 in Blog
Recently our team at Equality Ohio has experienced an alarming increase in calls from parents, educators, and school counselors observing harassment and mistreatment of transgender students in our schools. We invited a guest attorney and expert in Ohio education law, Emily Spivack, Esq., to weigh in on the dos and don’ts that help schools protect their transgender school community members and stay in compliance with Title IX.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on November 10, 2021 in Blog
In 2014, our society failed Leelah Alcorn. Again. And Ohio lost one more young person full of potential to the heartbreaking LGBTQ+ youth suicide epidemic. After years of feeling mistreated—particularly […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on October 12, 2021 in Blog
We believe BIPOC staff when they share experiences of racism and anti-Blackness. Knowing you will be believed is empowering. We call on ourselves as an organization as well as our partners to always create space for people who have been harmed by racial injustice and offer the opportunity for staff to honestly name their experiences. It’s not easy to speak up without knowing whether your colleagues will believe you and stand alongside you. We unequivocally stand in solidarity with current and former BIPOC Equitas employees and commit to continuing the work of modifying our own organizational structure to model the working world we want to see.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on October 11, 2021 in Blog
A Commitment to Mission Means Not Just Condemning But Combating Racism In All Forms
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 24, 2021 in Blog
On September 22nd, Equality Ohio’s Public Policy Director, Maria Bruno, testified against HB322 and HB327, Ohio’s anti-honesty in education bills (or anti-critical race theory bills). You can read our testimony […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on September 22, 2021 in Blog
LGBTQ+ Ohioans are experiencing an uptick in legislative attacks in 2021. This general assembly, state lawmakers are attempting to pass bills that seek to exclude transgender and non-binary athletes from […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on August 26, 2021 in Blog
New Public Policy Director set to continue state and local advocacy and increase capacity to improve laws for LGBTQ+ Ohioans FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 26, 2021 CONTACT: MD Spicer-Sitzes, [email protected] […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on July 29, 2021 in Blog
As our community started to come out of 18 months of quarantine and COVID-19 restrictions and celebrated Pride Month, Equality Ohio’s advocacy team was working hard at the Statehouse to defend against some of the most aggressive attacks on LGBTQ+ Ohioans we’ve seen. All in all, with your help, we were able to stop one of the two attacks. The second—a provision allowing medical providers to refuse services they deem to be in violation of their beliefs—was snuck into the state’s budget bill and ultimately signed into law. Now, we are focusing on mitigating the harm that our community experiences as a result of the provision’s passage while pursuing all options possible to overturn it.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 16, 2021 in Blog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2021 CONTACT: Yunny Seo, [email protected] Ohio Faith Leaders Urge Senators Rob Portman and Sherrod Brown to Support the Equality and Protect LGBTQ People from Discrimination […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on June 15, 2021 in Blog
Today, we submitted testimony on SB182, which will reform Ohio’s unjust system of cash bail. The current system has left countless individuals stuck in jail for years, even before their trial, not because of anything they did, but because they couldn’t afford to pay the bail set by the courts. Because these long pre-trial detentions are based on the inability to pay, people of color and LGBTQ+ people disproportionately experience the dangerous knock-on effects of Ohio’s cash bail system. SB182 and companion legislation in the House, HB315, are important steps as we seek to create a more equitable and just legal system in Ohio.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on May 26, 2021 in Blog
Equality Ohio, in partnership with Equitas Health, Living With Change, OCTOPUS LLC, and TransOhio, will be working to assist those who want help changing their birth certificate to reflect their gender.
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Category Archives: Blog
By Siobhan Boyd-Nelson on April 20, 2021 in News
Today, we have witnessed a single act toward justice, and our hearts are still heavy. We celebrate the valuing of George Floyd’s life, and we are still in deep mourning […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on April 15, 2021 in Community
We pause once again, this time to honor the lives of Daunte Wright and Miles Jackson, two young Black men whose lives faced too many unnecessary risks. We grieve the […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on March 26, 2021 in Blog
The Board of Directors of the OHSAA, Executive Director’s Office and member schools do hereby reaffirm the following policy considerations respecting participation in interscholastic sports in Ohio: 1. Participation in […]
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Category Archives: Blog
By Siobhan Boyd-Nelson on March 19, 2021 in Blog
As Ohioans, we must continue the ongoing work to be truly anti-racist. Across party lines, leaders and communities alike are calling for an end to White Supremacy. Its destructive path has no place in public office or civic duty…
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on March 4, 2021 in Blog
This morning, a bipartisan, bicameral group of Ohio legislators announced that they are reintroducing the Ohio Fairness Act at the Ohio Statehouse, joined by faith leaders, community advocates, and over 1,000 businesses across the state demanding we protect LGBTQ+ Ohioans from discrimination.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on February 5, 2021 in Blog
The 134th General Assembly is only a month old, and extreme anti-LGBTQ+ lawmakers have already begun their attacks on transgender youth. This morning, Representatives Jena Powell and Reggie Stoltzfus reintroduced their blanket ban on transgender athletes in high school and college sports. In the face of an ongoing pandemic and calls for meaningful criminal justice reform, Reps. Powell (R-Arcanum) and Stoltzfus (R-Paris Township) wasted no time in bringing back this incredibly dangerous and discriminatory bill.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on February 4, 2021 in Blog
Today, members of the Ohio Senate, led by Senators Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Tina Maharath (D-Canal Winchester), introduced SB 50, which would prohibit the fraudulent and dangerous practice of attempting to change a young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, sometimes called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy”.
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Category Archives: Blog
By md spicer-sitzes on January 25, 2021 in Blog
Today, President Biden issued an Executive Order reversing the Trump administration’s policy banning transgender Americans from openly serving in the U.S. military. We celebrate this renewed reflection of equality as […]
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