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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“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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For Immediate Release: Equality Ohio Responds to anti-LGBTQ+ terrorism at Community Event in Wadsworth Ohio
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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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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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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.
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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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 […]
Read MoreEquality Ohio Announces Formation of Historic Worker Union
Read MoreFOR 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Cruel LGBTQ+ Censorship Bill Targeting Free Speech in the Classroom
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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 […]
Read MoreAcross the country, the politicians are increasingly using gender idenity, specifically transgender youth, as a flashpoint in their conservative movement. Last year was reported to be the worst year for […]
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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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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.
Read MoreToday, 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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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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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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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…
Read MoreThis 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.
Read MoreThe 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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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”.
Read MoreToday, 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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We, like so many, are in shock at the terrorist attacks of the past twenty-four hours that sought to undermine our democracy.
Read More Last week, the Queer Partnership for Black Liberation, a group of Black LGBTQ+ leaders in Columbus sent a letter to Columbus Mayor, Andrew Ginther in response to the murder of Andre Hill by Columbus Division of Police officer, Adam Coy.
Read More For years, LGBTQ+ people have been involuntary victims of various political conflicts, and unfortunately, the Ohio Fairness Act suffered that same fate this General Assembly. Despite knowing that they had the support they needed to pass the Ohio Fairness Act, these leaders let politics prevent the Legislature from doing what is right for Ohio in Lame Duck.
Read MoreToday, the Ohio House Primary & Secondary Education Committee held a sponsor testimony hearing on HB527, which seeks to ban transgender athletes from high school and college athletics. The bill, sponsored by Representatives Jane Powell and Reggie Stoltzfus, is one of the most extreme legislative attacks on transgender Ohioans that we have seen. Today, those Representatives were given an opportunity to share their anti-transgender rhetoric with the committee and the state.
Read More One week after one of the most important presidential elections of our lifetimes, we have a clear winner. Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris are now President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris.
Read MoreWe made it. Voting in the 2020 Election has finally concluded, and Ohioans’ voices have been heard. There’s a lot to talk about and a lot we still don’t know yet, but Equality Ohio’s policy team has been up with you through the past 48 hours to help figure out just what happened and how it will impact LGBTQ+ Ohioans.
As a reminder, Equality Ohio is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse candidates or parties. We do have an Elected Official Scorecard that graded candidates for President and Vice President, as well as incumbent members of the Ohio Legislature. We’ll use those grades a lot in this analysis.
Read MoreEquality Ohio stands firmly in solidarity with those demanding police accountability in Columbus and urges a Yes vote on Issue 2 as part of the ongoing dialogue and process to increase police accountability.
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Right now, as people are facing job loss and evictions due to COVID-19, it is more important than ever to ensure that those experiencing homelessness have access to shelters and other services. The last thing we should be doing is taking those resources away.
Read More Our 2020 Elected Official Scorecard is ready to help you prepare to vote this November! It grades current members of the Ohio General Assembly, as well as candidates for President […]
Read MoreToday, Representative Tavia Galonski (D-Akron) and 29 of her colleagues introduced HB729, which will permanently designate June as Pride Month in Ohio. Designating Pride Month would be an important first […]
Read MoreThese are some tangible steps, among others, that we are actively engaging in to live out our values of anti-racism. But I think the important thing to convey to you is this: We understand that being anti-racist is not a “check-list.” It is an everyday practice; a state of mind. We have and are continuing to embed these values into the very fabric of our organization. They include actively using equitable hiring practices; supporting our staff of color in a variety of ways, including taking labor off our Black and POC staff at this emotionally difficult time to support their full selves; ensuring our internal culture recognizes and actively works to not perpetuate the habits of white supremacy; and onboarding staff and Board members to understand, agree to, and exemplify this culture.
Read More Today, the Ohio Senate Committee on Health, Human Services, and Medicaid is holding a second hearing on SCR 14, which will designate racism as a public health crisis. We submitted […]
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Here’s what I know about youth: They have the best environment to thrive when they are supported and can get the health care they need. Instead, this bill promises burden and harassment.
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Cuyahoga County Council just made history for its LGBTQ residents. The council––the first county in Ohio, and only one of two that can enact such a law, the other being […]
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