COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed in Ohio are among a “disheartening trend” nationwide hindering the ability of businesses to thrive and attract a competitive talent pool, a new report shows. 

Ohio was ranked 34th in the nation for LGBTQ+ inclusion by Out Leadership’s 2023 State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index, an annual study assessing each U.S. state on markers like nondiscrimination policies, healthcare accessibility and if the state bans conversion therapy. The Buckeye State’s score of 50.35 out of 100 marks a decrease from 2022, when it was given a score of 53.43 and ranked 31st. 

“It really is no mystery to me why Ohio’s score has dropped,” said Maria Bruno, public policy director for Equality Ohio. “We have spent the last few years facing a barrage of attacks against the LGBTQ+ community.”

New York received the highest ranking, 93.67 points, for the third year in a row, while Arkansas was given the lowest score of 35.93 points. Regionally, Ohio placed ninth in the Midwest, also a decrease from 2022, while Minnesota and South Dakota took the top and lowest spots, respectively. 

A ‘less friendly environment’

Out Leadership argues that businesses operating in LGBTQ+-friendly states are more likely to prosper from top-tier employee recruitment and retention, given an increasing number of Americans identify within the community. 

States with LGBTQ+-inclusive nondiscrimination protections attract a large number of investors, who in turn produce about 30% more patents than their peers, according to Harvard Business Review. In addition, 79% of non-LGBTQ+ millennials, who will make up 75% of the U.S. workforce by 2030, said they want to see protective policies for their peers. 

However, for the second year in a row, the report found several dozen states are becoming hostile to LGBTQ+ people. 

More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills are moving through legislatures across the nation, breaking the record for the most bills introduced in a single year impacting the minority community. The proposals continue an unprecedented wave of legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people after 268 bills were introduced in 2021 and 315 in 2022. 

“The disheartening trend shows a solidifying — if not worsening — stratification of states’ attitudes and policies toward LGBTQ+ equality, which could significantly impact the ability of businesses to thrive in a growing number of locations across the United States,” said Todd Sears, Out Leadership CEO, in the report. 

In Ohio, a bill heading for a floor vote in the House of Representatives is the “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which would ban transgender athletes from participating in school sports aligned with their gender identity. The “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” is also moving forward and would prohibit various medical treatments for trans minors. 

In addition, House Bill 183 has been introduced to ban trans students from using a restroom aligned with their gender identity at schools, along with the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” which advocates said would force educators to out LGBTQ+ students.

“LGBTQ people in the state really can’t seem to catch a break, and it seems to have almost become an obsession,” Bruno said. “It’s no surprise to me that [Ohio] is seen as a less friendly environment to a workforce that is increasingly LGBTQ+.”

More than 1,000 Ohio businesses 

Ohio Business Competes, a nonpartisan coalition of more than 1,000 businesses, echoes Out Leadership and has advocated for nondiscrimination policies to attract the best talent. As the second largest business coalition in the country, Ohio Business Competes includes OhioHealth, Huntington, American Electric Power, Jeni’s Ice Cream, the Ohio State University, the Cleveland Clinic and many more companies, universities and institutions.

Still, Ohio lawmakers sponsoring anti-LGBTQ+ legislation reject that their bills could impact the state’s economy. Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville) asked during a May hearing for the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” how anti-LGBTQ+ policies drive away prospective employees, given recent billion-dollar investments from Intel and Honda. 

“I have had families call me upon the introduction of this bill every single year and ask me if they need to leave now,” said Kathryn Poe, public policy and digital communications manager for Equality Ohio, at the hearing. “I actually do have friends that have left because of anti-trans legislation in Ohio.”

A Greater Ohio Policy Center report found the state’s population is decreasing and growing older. Outside of central Ohio, the report shows that cities across the state experienced a decrease in people under age 54 in recent years, and did not experience income growth at the same rate as the nation. In addition, Ohio’s labor force has decreased by 91,000 workers.

“It is a fact that Ohio continues to lose population year after year and that young people are fleeing the state,” Bruno said. “While we may have lots of job opportunities, those are only so good as long as we have the talent to actually fill them.” 

Lacking statewide protections

To combat continued loss, Ohio Business Competes has long advocated for the Ohio Fairness Act. The bill clarifies that sex discrimination includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression without creating new protected classes or infringing on religious liberty.

An individual can be fired from their workplace, denied services and rejected or removed from housing based on their sexual orientation or gender identity under Ohio law. The Buckeye State has also not installed a ban on anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy and has not removed antiquated HIV criminalization laws passed in the 1980s. 

The Ohio Fairness Act has been pending in the legislature for the past 10 years and was last introduced in the Senate in 2022, where it received only one hearing. 

Without statewide legislation, Bruno encourages city and local governments to pass ordinances protecting the LGBTQ+ community. For example, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Akron, Toledo and several other cities have approved resolutions prohibiting licensed medical professionals from subjecting LGBTQ+ youth to conversion therapy.

“It is imperative that local governments are doing everything within their means to push back against some of these harmful efforts at the state level,” Bruno said. “It’s really important that people are uncompromising and unwavering in their affirmation for LGBTQ+ people.”