In 2015, a landmark Supreme Court decision established federal protections for same-sex marriages. Despite this, many states, including Ohio, retain unenforceable legislation that prohibits same-sex marriage. Grassroots organizations like Ohio Equal Rights are working to change this.
Ohio Equal Rights is currently gathering signatures to put two amendments to Ohio’s constitution on the ballot this November.
The first aims to protect Ohioans from discrimination and to “close existing loopholes and ensure maximum privacy and protection for Ohioans,” according to their website. The second aims to both repeal previous legislation against same-sex marriage and establish legislation protecting same-sex marriage in its place, thereby codifying 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges.
Lis Regula, co-chair of Ohio Equal Rights, said that the organization wants to use these amendments to help Ohioans in every part of the state.
“We have made it a goal to be as community-minded as possible throughout this entire process,” Regula said.
According to Professor Chris Banks, director of the Pre-Law center at Kent State, the passage of an amendment protecting same-sex marriage would provide legal clarity and remove the inconsistency between federal and state law.
“It makes sense to get rid of the law that doesn’t exist in practice,” he said, “It would just make more practical sense.”
He also noted that codifying same-sex marriage rights would provide more long-term protection. “The more you have everything lined up in terms of a clear statement about what the law is,” Banks said, “the less chance it’s gonna be overturned.”
Ohio Equal Rights will need to collect about 413,487 signatures to get these amendments onto the ballot in November, but the organization has set a goal of over 725,000 signatures from across the state.
“We wanna make sure that we are leaving room for some signatures that will be thrown out as they do in every one of these campaigns,” Regula said, “We want to make sure that we are reaching out to all of the counties so that we can have those conversations with folks in their communities.”
Regula expanded on the importance of including all Ohioans in this process.
“We do still exist in rural communities, and Ohio is a very mixed state,” he said. “We have lots of rural spaces as well as the urban centers that we’ve got to have rights that help everybody.”
These amendments also arise in the presence of clashing perspectives in Ohio legislation.
There have been many items of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced in the past year, including HB 262, to establish “Natural Families Month”; SB 1, to restrict politically divisive language in higher education; and HB 68, now blocked by Ohio’s State Court of Appeals, to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.
Regula commented on the effects HB 68 could have had on his family. “That year, the bill was in process [and] my daughter and I joked more than a couple of times. ‘Hurry up, honey. This is a race … are you gonna turn 18 or is this gonna go into effect?’”
Ohio Equal Rights relies on partnerships with volunteers and organizations in Ohio, and Regula encouraged anyone interested to reach out through their website at ohioequalrights.org.
“We don’t wanna make the mistake we did with Roe v. Wade and assume that things are settled when that’s not the case,” he said. “You can’t stop fighting until the job is 100% done.”