COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Republican members of the Ohio Ballot Board have changed a proposed constitutional amendment that would provide equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community, including marriage equality, by asking supporters to double their efforts to get to voters.
The "Protecting Ohioans' Constitutional Rights Amendment" aims to enshrine an equal rights protection clause into state law. It would prohibit discrimination by state and local governments because of race, sex, pregnancy status, sexual orientation, disability or other attributes. It would also specifically remove a provision from the Constitution that prohibits same-sex marriage.
Ohio follows federal law regarding marriage equality. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples have the fundamental right to marry.
But the state constitution has never been updated to reflect that. This citizen-led proposal would repeal the provision saying that "only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this state and its political subdivisions."
The Ohio Ballot Board, led by Secretary of State Frank LaRose, met Wednesday in a routine evaluation of whether the amendment only covered one topic, which is required by law. LaRose said that the meeting was not to discuss the merits of the content of the amendment, but rather whether it followed the one-subject rule.
Amendment attorney Corey Colombo started his testimony by saying that all the provisions in the proposal are under equal rights protections.
State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) disagreed, saying that marriage equality was much different from transgender rights.
"How is it the same purpose to allow biological men in the same locker room as girls — and when they're not consenting? How is that the same general purpose as allowing people of the same sex, consensually, to get married?" Gavarone asked Colombo.
There is nothing in the amendment that mentions bathroom usage, Colombo responded, adding that this is only one topic because it is about rights for everyone. The proposal text also doesn't mention transgender people at all.
"It fits under the umbrella of equal rights that each person, each Ohioan, will be treated equally," Colombo responded.
LaRose asked Colombo: "It seems to me reasonable that there are voters in Ohio that may be supportive of repealing the marriage amendment to allow, in the Ohio Constitution, the institution of marriage between any two loving couples that want to be together," LaRose said. "But that may not want to support creating 12 new protected classes under a bunch of different listed circumstances ... Is it conceivable that there are voters out there that would support one part of this, but not support the other part of this?"
Colombo said that is common.
"If that were the standard, then that would be true of every proposal that goes before Ohio voters," Colombo said. "There would be aspects they like and don't like, but that doesn't change the fact that this is all under the same umbrella, all under the same general purpose of equal rights."
LaRose proposed a motion separating the marriage equality provision from the rest of the equal rights provisions. He then asked for a discussion. Both Democrats on the board, state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) and state Rep. Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland), did not speak. Upchurch spoke to reporters after to explain he thought it was "cut and dry," only one subject.
"This is about protecting all the Ohioans under the law, right?" Upchurch asked rhetorically. "If the intention was not to get into the merits, the secretary and Senator Gavarone jumped right into the merits, and here we are."
GOP ballot board member Tony Schroeder joined LaRose and Gavarone to approve the move. DeMora and Upchurch voted no.
This means that instead of only needing to collect about 415,000 signatures for one constitutional amendment, supporters would need to get that amount for each of the two amendments. For all ballot proposals, campaigns need valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio’s 88 counties.
For years, advocates on each side of the aisle have shared how difficult it is to get something on the ballot — with successful campaigns costing millions of dollars.
RELATED: Here's what won't make the November ballot in Ohio
Organization Ohio Equal Rights leader Lis Regula said this decision wasn't fair.
"How can you say that you have equal rights if people are not allowed to marry the person that they love and benefit from the privileges of marriage, whether those be tax incentives, easier access to healthcare insurance and all of the other things that come along with being a married individual," Regula said.
In 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas said that the Supreme Court of the United States should reconsider landmark cases such as Obergefell. I asked if this was a catalyst for the amendment.
"That decision, if it changes, I think there's going to be a lot of people who are surprised that, 'Oh crap, cousin Joe and his husband aren't married anymore. What does this mean?' That is a rude awakening that I don't want to see people have to struggle with," Regula said.
I also asked about the uptick in federal and state legislation creating restrictions on the transgender community, and if Regula thought the country was at a point where — as trans people are targeted — that same-sex marriage was acceptable but trans rights weren't.
RELATED: Ohio GOP wants to require ‘biological sex’ on driver's licenses
"There's definitely political will for using trans people to divide Ohioans," Regula said, adding that hundreds of millions of dollars were spent nationally in the 2024 election targeting the transgender community.
This isn't the first time LaRose and the Republicans on the board have edited proposals. In 2024, LaRose changed the anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment to say that the independent redistricting commission would be "required to gerrymander." In 2023, the secretary and the board changed the ballot language of the reproductive rights amendment from fetus to "unborn child."
Ohio Equal Rights is in the process of deciding how to move forward.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
