Hate in Ohio: Threats to the LGBTQ Community Continue to Rise

In some ways, a Portage County woman (who we will refer to as “Jane”) feels more comfortable about herself than ever. A few years ago, she decided to take a chance and come out as transgender. But now, with a political climate she declared “toxic,” she is afraid for herself and her friends.

“I’m afraid of what people are capable of,” Jane said.

Hate in Ohio: An Interview with “Jane” from Mitchell F Felan on Vimeo.

 

Last year, the Human Rights Campaign confirmed at least 29 transgender people were killed with “fatal violence,” the highest number on record. The organization said 2018 could be even worse.

“Of course I’m afraid,” Jane said. “When you’re part of a marginalized community, any perceived actions toward you have to be scrutinized to just make sure that you’re going to be able to stay safe.”

But it is not just transgender people who are becoming victims of hate-based crimes. The entire LGBTQ spectrum has also been experiencing increased danger and harassment.

Though hate crime reports have been steady for the past few years, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) reports a record-high 52 hate-motivated homicides of LGBTQ individuals in 2017. That is up from 28 the year before.

Aaron Eckhardt is the interim executive director of the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization or “BRAVO,” which is a founding member of the NCAVP and is one of many agencies to contribute data to it.

“What we’re seeing here more in Ohio is street-based harassment, hate and violence. People being yelled at, told slurs, told they don’t belong in this country,” Eckhardt said. “It was starting to die down, but I’d say we saw a trend starting to happen again around November 2016.”

Eckhardt also reports increases in harassment. Also reporting increases in harassment is Equality Ohio.

“From my perspective, we are getting a whole lot more nasty messages (and comments) on our social media in the past few years,” EqualityOhio Communications Director Grant Stancliff said. “We’re also very worried about transgender members of the community.”

What is the cause?
Jane had a clear answer as to what she believes created many issues for the LGBTQ community: President Trump’s administration.

“People that supported figures like Trump that, even then, said they don’t explicitly stand against LGBTQ people and would even stand up for them if something were to happen, yet time after time after time we see that those were nothing but hollow promises,” she said.

Much data, including LGBTQ homicides, shows an increase in incidents shortly after the Trump administration took office.

“There has been an emboldened sense of entitlement in the country starting throughout 2016. People feel more empowered to essentially be mean, say what they’re thinking under the guise of “telling the truth,’” Eckhardt said, explaining the trends of increased harassment following Trump’s taking of office.

But Eckhardt is hesitant to place the blame solely on the administration and said a “number of factors” were at play.

 “I think the issue of hate and violence is systemic and has been prevalent throughout our country’s history,” Eckhardt said. “But certainly, I think the current political environment plays into people’s fear and people’s anger.”

EqualityOhio also acknowledges some changes after Trump took office.

“We think some of the choices of this administration have a part in this,” Stancliff said.

But even though Jane finds some issues with the current administration, she said the rising problem of hate-based crimes is something that needs to be tackled by everyone. She said the biggest issue the community faces is apathy.

“It is usually not the out-and-out bigot that is the problem. More often than not, it is the thousands of other people that are standing by and letting happen and defending their right to harass,” she said. “Until our priorities are in the right place, things like this are just going to continue.”

 

The problem with Ohio
Federally, hate crime statues are instituted through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Act, named after two famous victims of hate-based crimes. But that only applies to federal crimes. Ohio is much different.

“According to the state of Ohio, there are no hate crimes based on (LGBTQ) identities since the state was founded. We know that’s not true,” Eckhardt said. “We don’t have a law, so we can’t count that.”

Ohio’s hate crime laws only extend to “ethnic intimidation” statutes, which mostly deal with race. Sexual orientation, gender identity and disability are all excluded. While those crimes do not go unpunished, a lack of hate crime laws means that reporting and protection from hate-based crimes is harder to accomplish in the state. No felony, except for a state charge, can be charged as a hate crime in Ohio.

“It’s terrifying,” Jane said. “I live in a state where I am not protected properly.”

Jane also points out a separate problem with Ohio that could prove deadly for some: “gay panic” or “trans panic.” This defense, used in a few notable cases in Ohio, argues that unwanted sexual advances from a LGBTQ-identifying person caused the defendant to go into a “panic” that led to a murder or attack.

 An even more pressing issue –and one that many in the LGBTQ community claims enables discrimination – is the lack of housing, public accommodation and work protections for LGBTQ Ohioans.

“When you can be removed from where you live, when you can be denied a loan or you can be denied access to public accommodations, you just literally don’t have the same rights as everybody else,” Jane said.

Eckhardt points out that some cities, including Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton, have created their own ordinances to provide those protections. But many smaller cities in Ohio do not have them.

“Literally, (depending on) where you’re standing on the sidewalk, you’re civil rights change,” Eckhardt said.