Sen. Nickie Antonio wants to be part of the change. The Lakewood Democrat and her wife chose to raise their two daughters in Ohio and fight the fight for LGBTQ equality. As the state’s first openly gay lawmaker, she sees Pride Month as a time to celebrate the LGBTQ community’s contribution to their cities, counties and state. Pride is also a time for protest and action. In Ohio, advocates are calling on lawmakers to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and weed out archaic policies that harm LGBTQ residents. But they say progress is hampered by leaders who put LGBTQ people in the crosshairs of political debates and push divisive policies that advocates believe don’t reflect the interests of most Ohioans. “As communities, as sort of individual entities, people across Ohio seem to be more accepting than our lawmakers,” said Densil Porteous, executive director of Stonewall Columbus. Ohio’s LGBTQ policies —…
Continue Reading: Ohio LGBTQ advocates push for non-discrimination law but say divisive politics are getting in the way
