No “Don’t Say Gay Bill” in Ohio. Oppose HB 8.

Please vote against HB 8. What started as a simple education bill about “sexually explicit” content in schools has since morphed into covering all “sexuality content,” essentially a “Don’t Say Gay Bill” for the State of Ohio. Per Cynthia Peoples of Honesty for Ohio Education: “What the most recent amendment did was specifically identify that school districts need to essentially give families an opt-out from sexuality content. It also specifically identified that districts must out any student that identifies as transgender, gender diverse or non-binary, which we know can cause so much harm and danger to the child.” Per Mary Gorski of the Kaleidoscope Youth Center: “By calling it sexuality content it is clear that it is targeting LGBTQIA+ youth and even something as simple as a story that they might be reading in English class, if there is a queer character in that story, that can be flagged as sexuality content. If the same plot was happening with a straight couple, it might not be flagged as sexuality content.” Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst): “The way this definition reads to me… is this amendment is intended to be an anti-gay, anti-trans bill that’s targeting these most vulnerable children.” According to the Trevor Project, nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary children attempted suicide in the past year. This bill is entirely unnecessary. Whatever supposed benefits the bill’s authors think they’re giving parents are outweighed by the hostile environment it creates and the risk of harm to our children. Enough. Vote no on HB 8.