[ad_1]
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The LGBTQ+ community of Ohio has taken several shots in the past week.
The Ohio Statehouse passed House Bill 68 Wednesday night that will ban gender affirming care for minors and some trans athletes from competing. Then, Thursday Big Walnut Local Schools Board of Education passed a resolution to ban flags and symbols from the school that represent “activist” causes, including the pride flag.
“I think what it tells you is that we are continually divided and divisive in terms of how we see identity and how we create spaces for young people to thrive,” said Densil Porteous, the Executive Director of Stonewall Columbus.
Porteous works to provide resources, support, and community for LGBTQ+ people of Central Ohio. He has seen first hand the effects of bullying, and mistreatment of LGBTQ+ youth.
“I think when an adult is coming in and saying this is not acceptable, I think what a young person hears is you are not welcomed. You are not acceptable. When I walk into school I have to be someone I’m not. Or pretend to be someone I’m not. That my school truly doesn’t welcome me here. If you’re being told by your school that you don’t belong here or your identity doesn’t belong here, then where do you belong?” Porteous said.
Porteous looks at the flag ban as an attack on those students who see a Pride flag as a safe space to be who they are.
“A school should be that environment that provides that safe space for a young person to heal and heal quickly and fast in an environment that’s nurturing and welcoming. We forget that part of education is helping our students understand how to be emotionally mature. How to deal with challenges of difference in spaces that are safe and inviting to do that,” he said.
Porteous said the first thought he had when finding out about the flag ban was that this is just another thing that divides the community.
“The notion of changing hearts and minds so that people can understand or more than empathize, really truly put themselves in someone else’s shoes in a situation is a lot of work. It’s hard work. But usually it’s through example, meeting someone who they may not know or understand and making space to get to know who they are at their core. It takes time. but it usually is through examples. It’s through the concentrated effort of learning about someone who’s different than you are,” Porteous said.
Senator Sherrod Brown, (D) Ohio, weighed in on H.B. 68 Friday.
“I think the legislature should do its job. And should do things to improve the lives of Ohioans, not interfere in the personal lives and doctors and doctors and patients. This legislature, they’re like Washington. They want to change the rules. That’s why people hate state government… it’s why people hate Washington,” he said.
Brown added that in Washington and in Ohio, elected officials should focus on what they’re elected to do.
“We’re simply not doing our jobs in the House in Washington. We should be working on Ukraine. We should be working on Israel. We should be working on making the borders safe. Instead, too many Washington politicians are doing impeachment and transgender stuff and things that just don’t affect people’s lives,” Brown said.
Governor Mike DeWine, (R) Ohio, has nine days left to sign H.B. 68 into law or to veto it. Some groups are holding onto hope that DeWine will decide to veto.
Maria Bruno, Policy Director of Equality Ohio, issued the following statement about the status of the bill:
“Governor DeWine’s veto of HB 68 is crucial to preventing further harm to children and families in Ohio. If HB 68 becomes law, politicians would be overruling parents on their child’s most personal, important medical care. This bill is two bills in one: it would ban and even criminalize lifesaving medical treatment endorsed by every major medical association in the country, and overrule existing, thoughtful OHSAA and NCAA participation policies in order to prevent a handful of kids from playing school sports with their friends, further alienating and villainizing transgender and gender nonconforming youth. This isn’t just government overreach, it’s a cruel weaponization of state power against kids. Equality Ohio will continue to fight for trans youth, and we are grateful for the thousands of community members, businesses, and lawmakers who have spoken out against this bill. To the transgender youth in Ohio: we see you and we love you. Ohio is your home and we will never stop fighting for you.”
Porteous said a group of legislators who are not medical professionals are overreaching into spaces they shouldn’t be.
“Young people are seeing their joy stripped away from them. Right, and when a young person is looking to engage in sports they’re looking to find community and camaraderie and to be motivated and to be driven toward success for something. And when legislation like this is proposed, what we’re doing is ripping away joy from these young people. I think many people have probably met a trans or non-binary person in their lives and they just don’t know it,” he said.
Stonewall Columbus and Equality Ohio, among other organizations, are continuing to fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
“There are going to be people who fight against it,” Porteous said. “There will be spaces and places where we’ll continue to create safety for the queer community here in Ohio regardless of what legislation is proposed or passed.”
[ad_2]
Source link
