LGBT advocates push anti-discrimination law

Measure would help Ohio’s economy, diversity, they say.

A recently COLUMBUS — released report places Ohio in the lowest possible category for LGBT anti-discrimination laws a ranking

— that advocates say could be improved with the passage of an anti-discrimination bill.

The State Equality Index (SEI) is a yearly study compiled by the Human Rights Campaign and the Equality Federation, organizations that advocate for LGBT rights. The report examines state policies and places states into four categories based on their pro or anti LGBT status.

Ohio, along with 27 other states, was placed in the lowest of the four. According to the report, states in this category “do not have non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation or gender identity protections; few have hate crime laws.”

At a press conference Wednesday, Representative Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, and other LGBT advocates said the Ohio Fairness Act could improve the state’s SEI rating.

House Bill 160, introduced in March of 2017 by Antonio, would ban discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodation.

“Ohio can do better,” Antonio said. “We can do better than this report shows us.”

Alana Jochum, the executive director of Equality Ohio, another LGBT advocacy group, said Ohio’s lack of anti-discrimination laws could hurt the state’s economy.

“Outdated laws stunt economic growth,” she said.

Jochum said businesses are actively lobbying the state to change its policies, with nearly 300 businesses joining a coalition to advocate for LGBT rights, claiming anti-discrimination laws would help bolster both diversity and the state’s economy.

Melissa Alexander, the co-chair of Trans Ohio, an organization that provides education and support for transgender people throughout the state, said anti-discrimination laws would help the transgender community, around 26 percent of which are impoverished.

“Employers seek a diverse workforce,” Alexander said. “Members of the transgender community are talented people. They add to the diversity that is sought in organizations. There is no better message that Ohio can send ... than with the passage of this legislation.”

The legislation has been introduced in the past, but without success. Antonio said the same bill has been introduced and failed to pass in every General Assembly since she was elected in 2011, attributing its past failure to a conservative legislature.

“We have a majority Republican legislature that in the past has not seen passing this bill as a priority,” she said. The GOP still dominates both chambers.

Antonio said she’s seen a greater level of support for this iteration the bill than in the past, partially due to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce’s support.

According to a Dispatch questionnaire of the gubernatorial candidates in mid-December, all of the Democrats support the legislation, and all of the Republicans oppose it.