Let’s face it: 2024 ended pretty terribly for LGBTQ+ Ohioans.
On December 19, Republican lawmakers in Ohio passed a bill that would force teachers and school staff to exclude LGBTQ+ youth and limit mentions of LGBTQ+ identities in school curricula.
The 11-hour attack ended a two-year legislative session in which Republican lawmakers promoted a national trend of limiting the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender youth. The acts passed into law included:
- ADOPTED: Act prohibiting gender-affirming care for minors.
- PASSED: A bill requiring the forcible removal of LGBTQ+ youth to their families.
- ADOPTED: Act limiting mentions of LGBTQ+ in primary and secondary school curricula.
- ADOPTED: Act banning transgender people from using shared toilets in kindergartens and universities.
- PASSED: A bill banning transgender athletes from competing in kindergarten through college.
Even as someone who spends my daily life immersed in the text of these bills and their consequences for LGBTQ+ state residents, I feel overwhelmed reading this list of attacks on our community.
2024 is coming to an end and we only have a few weeks off before Ohio lawmakers reconvene. During this brief moment of respite, let’s look at the year ahead and what it holds for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. Five questions immediately come to mind.
1. What will most Republicans in Ohio do next?
In addition to the above bills that have become law, Ohio Republicans have also introduced:
- PROPOSED: A bill banning drag queen performances in public places.
- PROPOSED: A law banning library books containing “inappropriate” content.
- PROPOSED: A bill that would criminalize teachers and school librarians for displaying “obscene” material.
- PROPOSED: A bill to allow public schools to employ unlicensed chaplains to provide student supports, services and programs.
- PROPOSED: Banning public universities from using preferred pronoun uses.
- PROPOSED: A bill allowing any Ohioan to protest the eligibility of any candidate for office would specifically introduce additional challenges for transgender candidates.
Looking at anti-LGBTQ+ legislative activity in other states, Ohio Republicans will certainly continue to introduce anti-LGBTQ+ bills. Here are the most likely areas of concern:
- Further Criminalization of Affirmative Teachers and School Employees: The above laws banning “inappropriate” and “obscene” content are sure to return, with language as vague as in previous versions. Please also note that non-U.S./Ohio flags are prohibited in the classroom.
- Restricting Gender-Affirming Care for Adults: The Rev. Gary Click (R-Vickery) is already publicly saying that banning all gender-affirming care – from hormones to gender-affirming surgery – is a last resort, and he advocates for “small bites” to get closer to that goal. The next little bite will surely come.
- Pride Restrictions: In 2024, several local Ohio municipalities attempted (unsuccessfully) to restrict LGBTQ+ organizations from revoking permits for Pride events. We fully expect the proposed ban on public performances to return – which will change the face of Pride celebrations forever – along with possible legislation to make it easier for local governments to deny Pride permits.
2. Will pro-LGBTQ+ equality laws continue to be introduced?
Over the past two years, a number of LGBTQ+ equality laws have been introduced, including provisions aimed at:
- Establishing protections against LGBTQ+ discrimination that are not currently provided in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations (Fairness Act).
- Create marriage equality, currently banned in the Ohio Constitution but federally recognized… for now
- Statewide ban on conversion therapy
- Consider June your pride month
- Modernize and decriminalize HIV laws in Ohio
- Create an exception for trans candidates so they don’t have to provide their names on election materials.
However, while a total of 44 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Ohio received hearings, LGBTQ+ equality bills received eight hearings. And only one of those bills – a bill creating an exemption for transgender candidates – made it through its first hearing and accounted for a total of three of the eight hearings.
We should celebrate that it took decades for the HIV decriminalization bill to pass in the House of Representatives, but we should also acknowledge that the Integrity Act – which has actually been in the works for decades – has somehow even reached an advanced stage less in 2024 further than in previous years.
Yes, the introduction of such laws undoubtedly increases awareness. But it’s also a low-key embarrassment that you can’t get a second hearing on something as basic as declaring June Pride Month – when the Legislature recently easily passed “Food Allergy Awareness Month,” “Lupus Awareness Month,” “Elderly Awareness Month.” “Ohio Month”, “Hindu Heritage Month” and “Ukraine Independence Day”.
That said, we expect our Sisyphean Democratic lawmakers to start rolling rainbow boulders up the legislative hill in 2025.
3. What will queer activism look like??
In 2023, LGBTQ+ Ohioans repeatedly gathered outside the Statehouse to shout their disapproval during anti-LGBTQ+ hearings, often disrupting proceedings and clearly frustrating lawmakers.
In 2024, queer activism seemed quieter, but no less lively. LGBTQ+ Ohioans flooded Governor DeWine’s voicemails urging him to veto the trans bathroom ban, held extremely well-attended legal clinics to facilitate trans Ohioans with name change processes, and testified in trucks to try to stem the tide. anti-LGBTQ+ legislation .
Trump’s second presidency is on the way – along with his he declared that he would attack trans-Americans on his first day in office – Queer activism in Ohio will likely go into defensive mode for the foreseeable future.
That said, a few weeks ago, more than 100 LGBTQ+ organizations across the state published a joint open letter to LGBTQ+ Ohioans with the message: “We stand with you.”
Our hope is that in 2025, these organizations can work even more together to leverage their collective power and facilitate create a more viable state for LGBTQ+ Ohioans to live in.
4. How many Ohio Pride celebrations will there actually be?
In 2024, there were over 130(!) LGBTQ+ Pride events across the state. From record attendance numbers in Cleveland, to the first Pride in Lebanon, to plenty of Pride drama in Brecksville/Broadview Heights, LGBTQ+ and allied Ohioans have proudly shared the message that in every community there are LGBTQ+ neighbors with the right to be seen and heard.
With Pride planning already underway, we look forward to learning about the location of the next Pride event for the first time. If your local community is hosting an inaugural Pride event, tell us!
5. Where can we find queer joy?
We know it’s demanding to see sometimes, but there’s a lot of queer joy to be found right here in Ohio in 2024.
Performing on stages throughout Ohio Balla groundbreaking comic about lesbians receiving flowers, a gay couple building community with plants, LGBTQ+ Ohioans finding time to not only survive but also celebrate their queer identity.
While The Buckeye Flame is committed to discussing LGBTQ+ legislation both locally and in the House of Representatives, we are equally committed to showcasing queer joy in 2025. To start the year, we added a up-to-date category to our website to make these stories easier to find.
We need your facilitate to complete this section. We rely on you, the readers, to tell us what’s happening in your corner of Ohio. If there’s something LGBTQ+ happening in your community – ecstatic or otherwise – submit a story idea.
We have some really stimulating things in store for 2025 – regular video content! A podcast with a wide reach! New employee! – but for now, we end 2024 with pure appreciation for our wonderful LGBTQ+ community in Ohio.
No, 2024 wasn’t basic. But together we moved forward. And that makes the Flame burn brilliant. 🔥
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