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LGBTQ+ Ohioans prepare for a second Trump term
By: Stephen Langel | Ideastream Public Media
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CLEVELAND (Ideastream Public Media) — LGBTQ+ Ohioans say they are concerned about Donald Trump’s second term as president, given the rhetoric he used during the campaign and various policy promises.
Members of the Rainbow Pioneers met recently at the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland on Cleveland’s West Side. Many members of the social support group, aimed at older LGBTQ+ individuals, voiced worries for the coming years.
“I feel like we’re going to have to hide and pretend that we’re couples to go out in the public,” Felecia Anderson said. “I really feel I fear that. I really hope it’s not true.”
Another senior, Jacqueline Faulkner, said she and other older LGBTQ+ people have seen significant strides toward equality through the years, and they’re now afraid that will all be erased.
“We’ve made so much progress in not being marginalized,” she said. “That feeling, that return of being marginalized, just does not feel good.”
Rising fears surface over issues for LGBTQ+ Ohioans
Trump often focused on the trans community in his campaign ads against Vice President Kamala Harris, frequently using the tag line, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Such rhetoric has already increased risks for the LGBTQ+ community, said Dwayne Steward, executive director of LGBTQ-rights organization Equality Ohio.
“We have seen a huge increase of hate, harassment, discrimination, the physical harassment and violence against the LGBT community since the election rhetoric and since the results have come in,” he said.
Equality Ohio saw requests for assistance from its legal clinic in response to discrimination and threats nearly triple after the election, from 37 requests in October to 108 in November, Steward said.
The Republican response
Republicans in the Ohio statehouse, like Rep. Kellie Deeter (R- Norwalk), argued the community’s concerns are likely overblown.
“I don’t think it’s as much of a concern as the media or those trying to get the Democrat elected for president let on,” she said. “I think they did fearmongering quite a bit.”
Deeter, who represents Huron and Lorain counties, doubts the federal government will restrict the rights of adults in the LGBTQ+ community.
“President Trump was already president for four years and he did not do that,” she said. “He’s already said during the campaign that is just not on his radar in any way, shape or form.”
Dara Adkison, executive director of TransOhio, disagreed.
“Just in the last couple of weeks, he talked about wanting to have numerous executive orders targeting trans people on day one,” Adkison said. “I think it’s extremely either intentionally harmful or naive for people to think that the Trump administration is not going to try to target trans people in some way.”
Trump promised such executive actions in a speech to young conservatives in late December.
“With a stroke of my pen on day one, we’re going to stop the transgender lunacy,” Trump said. “I will sign executive orders to end child sexual mutilation, get transgender out of the military and out of our elementary schools and middle schools and high school. And we will keep men out of women’s sports.”
The next steps for LGBTQ+ Ohioans
TransOhio and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Ohio are responding by holding a series of legal clinics to help the trans community update identification forms, including birth certificates and passports, to match their gender identity before Trump takes office.
“Having a document that instantly outs you as being trans can be very dangerous, can lead to discrimination in workplace and health care,” Adkinson said. “Just having that stuff match, it’s a safety thing. It’s an affirmation thing.”
Organizations like Equality Ohio are working to increase legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community, Steward added.
“We are very much trying to work with our legislature to create more space for laws against hate crime,” he said. “We are really working with our partners within the authorities, police authorities and other authorities across the state, to ensure that they are moving forward their practices of protecting us.”
Steward is not hopeful about the prospects for greater protections.
“Ohio is headed into a rough period,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. Our legislature is extremely Republican-led and is not focused on creating widespread equality for our community. But we are standing up and we’re going to continue to fight.”
Developing a youth-oriented policy
Republican Rep. David Thomas, who represents Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, does not believe the Ohio Republican party will restrict the rights of LGBTQ+ adults.
“I have not seen actions or rights or targeted legislation on adults,” he said. “So, with that kind of in perspective, I don’t necessarily see the overarching idea of the state rushing to take away rights or abilities or privileges.”
Mallory Golski, of the LGBTQ youth facility Kaleidoscope Youth Center, is skeptical, citing the Republican-dominated legislature’s last session, where they prohibited youth from receiving gender-affirming care and students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity.
“Unfortunately, they’re trying to push that boundary just a little bit with every piece of legislation that they pass, so people start to become numb to the realities as these things are passing,” Golski said.
A survey of Ohio youth found 92% of LGBTQ+ young people said their well-being was negatively impacted due to recent politics, according to the Trevor Project. Over half of LGBTQ+ young people said that they or their family considered moving to a different state because of anti-LGBTQ+ politics and laws, while 61% of transgender and nonbinary young people said that they considered moving.
Anderson said that’s why she is acting now.
“I’m just going to have to go down swinging,” she said. “I can’t go back in the closet and hide. I have to be me.”