State lawmakers have passed laws that seek to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth and enacted reporting requirements if students start to identify as a different gender in school.
In recent months, LGBTQ+ individuals and supporters have spoken at Dayton City Commission meetings to urge elected leaders to approve a proposed “safe haven” resolution that is similar to non-legislative enactments passed in Ohio cities including Athens, Cleveland Heights and Whitehall.
Multiple speakers said Dayton has a reputation and a track record of being a welcoming place that embraces and promotes diversity, inclusion and equitable policies.
Dayton added gender identity and sexual orientation to the city’s anti-discrimination law in 2007. The city outlawed sexual conversion therapy services in 2017.
One of the first same-sex marriages in the state of Ohio took place at Dayton City Hall in the summer of 2015.
Past actions matter but the city needs to renew its commitment to the LGTBQ+ community, especially to trans and gender nonconforming individuals who are under attack, said Elizabeth Hudson, staff attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality.
“The resolution asks Dayton to formally protect Q+ individuals who live, work and play in the city of Dayton and deprioritize support for state laws and federal regulations ... that are harmful or discriminatory to Q+ individuals,” Hudson said.
Ohio legislators last year passed House Bill 8 that requires school officials to report significant changes in a student’s mental health to the student’s parents, including if a student begins to identify as a different gender at school.
Proponents of the bill, like the Ohio Parents Rights in Education, said that discussions of sex and sexual identity should be between children and parents.
The Ohio General Assembly also approved a bill nearly two years ago that would ban gender-affirming medical care for trans youth and bar trans girls and women from participating in female sports.
Some supporters of the bill said children cannot understand the long-term consequences of what are permanent and life-altering decisions.
As drafted, the proposed safe haven resolution would declare that Dayton is committed to “protecting access to evidence-backed, gender-affirming health care.”
The resolution states that Dayton will not use city resources to assist in enforcing laws, rules or regulations that seek to punish individuals or organizations that help people get gender-affirming care. The resolution also says the city will not prosecute or penalize people who provide this assistance and the city will not penalize or help other groups penalize people who choose to use the restroom based on gender identity. Supporters say the resolution also seeks to protect the privacy and confidence of minors.
“This is not radical,” said Flynn, with the Greater Dayton LGBT Center. “This is responsible.”
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Dayton’s existing anti-discrimination ordinance leaves trans individuals vulnerable because it does not protect their rights to transition or access gender-affirming care, said Sophie Three, a transgender woman.
“It does not protect access to gender appropriate spaces and services,” Three said. “It does not protect the privacy of Q+ individuals from government overreach. It does not protect health care providers and other professionals who interact with the Q+ community.”
Gender transition can save lives for those who need it, said Reynard De Spain, a Dayton resident who helped draft a safe haven resolution in Athens.
“It saved mine,” De Spain said. “I wouldn’t be here without it.”
The resolution has been in development for nearly a year, and it was first submitted to the city in July.
Members of the Dayton City Commission have said the resolution is under review by the city’s law department and staff and commissioners are evaluating whether there are gaps that need addressed in the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance.
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