1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

Oppose HB 249, which would criminalize transgender people, drag performers, and anyone perceived as gender nonconforming simply for existing in public spaces. This bill creates a new crime, "unlawful adult cabaret performance," that applies to anyone who expresses a gender identity different from their birth assignment through clothing, makeup, or other markers outside of an adults-only club. That is not a narrow restriction on obscenity. It is a felony charge waiting to happen for a trans person at a concert, a drag performer at a community event, or a cis man in a kilt. Ohio already has obscenity laws that protect children. HB 249 adds nothing except a legal weapon to harass people for how they look. Courts have already struck down nearly identical laws in Montana, Tennessee, Florida, and Texas as unconstitutionally vague violations of the First Amendment. Ohio taxpayers should not be funding litigation over a bill that is designed to fail in court. The Senate Judiciary Committee should refuse to advance HB 249, and if it reaches the governor's desk, it must be vetoed.