Local LGBTQ+ community reacts to two controversial Ohio Bills

DAYTON — With pride month now underway, Americans all over the country are uplifting the LGBTQ+ community.

However amid the celebrations, in Ohio there are some pieces of legislation some believe are doing the complete opposite.

News Center Seven’s Brandon Lewis went to Courthouse Square where the Greater Dayton LGBT center kicked off its pride events.

We went to get reactions on these two controversial bills.

>>Ohio House passes bill that would ban transgender female athletes from playing female-only sports

Greater Dayton LGBT Center President, J McKay, told us, “This is where we really can show our strength as a community, bring people together, and just celebrate who we are really without fear.”

The celebrations come just a few days after the Ohio House passed a bill that would ban transgender girls and women from participating in high school and college athletics across the state.

The bill’s primary sponsor, State Representative Jena Powell from Arcanum, said in a statement, “All these girls ask for is a fair shot, and to be given the chance to play and win by the rules in the sports that they love. The opportunity is being ripped from them by biological males.”

McKay said, “Any legislation that tries to take the rights away from any individuals, it just goes against everything that we as Americans stand for.”

In April, lawmakers introduced a bill in the Ohio House that would prohibit instruction of sexual orientation or gender identity in some elementary school grade levels.

One of the primary sponsors of the bill tweeted that the “curriculum about gender identity and sexuality has no place in K-3 classrooms period.”

Kelly Sodders from Bethel Township said, “It really forces people to not be honest, you’re expecting people to hide a part of themselves, that they shouldn’t have to.”

Some say events like the one at Courthouse Square Friday are important so the LGBTQ2+ community can make their voices heard on issues that matter to them.

Aliff from Springfield said, “We’re not choosing to be different; we just want to be able to exist. Gay rights and trans rights are human rights.”

Both bills are still making their way through the Ohio legislature.

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