COLUMBUS, Ohio — Republican lawmakers want to require Ohioans to have their "biological sex" listed on their licenses and state IDs. This is just one of the bills impacting the LGBTQ+ community being heard during Pride Month.
Pride Month is meant to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, but Arienne Childrey isn’t feeling very proud of Ohio.
"Stop attacking me and people like me," Childrey said. "Let us live"
The state lawmakers are debating a slew of LGBT-related bills — ones that she says could be harmful for transgender people like her.
A provision in the Senate's proposed budget would require driver’s licenses and state IDs to have a person’s sex assigned at birth on them, regardless of whether someone had changed their name or birth certificate.
This would misidentify and demean people, she said.
"These things are to push trans people out of public life in every aspect, because let's face it, if you don't have a legal ID, you can't do much of anything," Childrey said.
The legislation also tries to stop funding for both youth homeless shelters and mental health services that support transgender or nonbinary identities.
Another bill, H.B. 262, promotes heterosexuality. The bill would designate the weeks between Mother's Day and Father's Day as "Natural Family Month."
"The natural family — a man and a woman united in marriage, raising their biological and/or adopted children — is the foundational institution in our free society," state Rep. Beth Lear (R-Galena) said during testimony.
Democrats are proposing bills to combat the GOP.
S.B. 70, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood), would make LGBTQ+ discrimination illegal. It has a companion bill in the House sponsored by state Reps. Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) and Crystal Lett (D-Columbus).
H.B. 300, introduced by state Rep. Karen Brownlee (D-Symmes Township) and Lett, would ban conversion therapy for minors. Bigger cities like Cleveland, Akron, Cincinnati and Columbus already have these as ordinances, but they are not in Ohio law.
H.B. 327, sponsored by state Rep. Darnell Brewer (D-Cleveland) and Brownlee, would repeal several bills they deem as anti-LGBTQ+. This includes repealing the state's ban on gender affirming care for minors and on using the bathroom that someone identifies with.
Plus, state Reps. Eric Synenberg (D-Beachwood) and Anita Somani (D-Dublin) have introduced H.J.R. 4, which would allow voters to choose if marriage equality should be in the state constitution. When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage in 2015, it superseded Ohio’s ban. If the court were to overturn that ruling, the state would go back to same-sex marriage being illegal.
"We cannot assume that the current protections under federal law will last forever," Synenberg said.
Speaking at the Statehouse, Cleveland drag queen Veranda L'Ni said another bill would make it a crime to perform in drag outside of “adult cabarets,” like a strip club or sex shop.
"It's an attack on expression, on identity and on art," L'Ni said. "It implies that gender nonconformity is inherently inappropriate, shameful, or sexualized, and that it is both false and dangerous."
H.B. 249, introduced by state Reps. Angie King (R-Celina) and Josh Williams (R-Sylvania), is meant to protect children from events like brunches or story hours, the sponsors said.
"An important piece of legislation that will give Ohio families a safe place within their communities where they can take their children without fear of their children being exposed to explicit material and performances, they’re not yet mature enough to understand," King said during testimony.
This is a reintroduction of a bill we covered extensively last General Assembly.
RELATED: Proposed Ohio bill banning drag shows may have wide-ranging impact on theater performances
But House Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) said he doesn’t know if the drag bill would be constitutional.
"These are usually tough bills to make sure that they don't violate the First Amendment," Huffman said in late May.
This is why Pride Month is also about continuing to fight for rights, Childrey said.
"I'm an Ohioan by choice, and my choice is to stay — no matter how bad it gets, I stay, because guess what? Those rainbow colors, they don't run either," Childrey said.
Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on Twitter and Facebook.
