Ohio community hits back as anti-LGBTQ+ billboards appear in state
Anti-LGBTQ+ billboards in Ohio (Instagram/j_k_wood / katyfaustofficial / them_before_us)
Anti-LGBTQ+ billboards funded by the Seattle-based organisation Them Before Us have sparked widespread backlash across rural Ohio, with residents and advocacy groups launching their own campaign in support of LGBTQ+ families.
The billboards, which read, “No child has two dads. No child has two moms” appeared in several communities and quickly went viral after Northwest Ohio resident Megan Tucker-Manly shared a photo to her Facebook on 17 July.
Tucker-Manly told The Buckeye Flame in a 23 July interview that the messaging doesn’t just target same-sex parents, but also dismisses the experiences of children from foster families, blended families, divorced households and other non-traditional homes. Despite living with stage IV cancer, she said she felt compelled to speak out. “I’m not sitting down, even though I should be the one to sit down because I have stage IV cancer and should be focused on other things,” she said. “Instead, this has just lit a fire [in me].”
LGBTQ+ nonprofit Have a Gay Day purchased billboard space of its own to share an affirming message. A fundraiser they started to keep the supportive billboards up has raised more than $18,000, according to their 23 July Facebook announcement.
The nonprofit also shared on 26 July: “A peaceful rally will be held in front of the City Building in Lima at 50 Town Square Road at 6pm July 27th. Instructions are to bring positive signs of love and support for ALL families,” alongside a mock-up image of their intended billboard design which read “Many children have two dads. Many children have two moms”.
Lima Pride Alliance and Equality Ohio have also condemned Them Before Us’ campaign, with Equality Ohio releasing a statement on Tuesday (21 July) saying the billboards “don’t just attack LGBTQ+ families, they erase every Ohio kid whose home doesn’t fit a narrow, manufactured mould”.
A spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign described the billboards as “disgusting” and “desperate,” in a statement to The Buckeye Flame, pointing to polling showing that a majority of Ohioans support marriage equality.
Them Before Us has long opposed marriage equality, IVF and no-fault divorce, and says its campaign is intended to promote what it considers the ideal family structure.
Them Before Us is also one of dozens of organisations behind the “Greater Than” campaign, launched earlier this year with the goal of urging the US Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.
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