Weeks into the upcoming Pride Month, the Cincinnati City Council Healthy Neighborhoods Committee will vote on the creation of the city’s first LGBTQIA+ Commission, with the purpose of addressing community concerns and inequality.
This commission, the first-known of its kind in Ohio, will assist the mayor, council and city administrators “in their review of policies and programs that will make a positive change in the lives of LGBTQIA+ individuals,” according to the ordinance language.
Members of the commission will be appointed by the mayor, subject to council approval, and would include representatives from the Greater Cincinnati Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Cincinnati Pride, Caracole, Cincinnati Black Pride, TreeHouse Cincinnati, Inc. and six at-large members.
This ordinance was originally introduced March 5 after a group of students from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine approached City Council with the goal of bringing more awareness to local LGBTQ+ issues, according to the original motion. Since the departure of ex-councilman Reggie Harris last October, City Council has been without open LGBTQ+ representation among its members. The draft ordinance passed unanimously.
The city points to rising hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community in the motion, citing data from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that shows such hate crimes increased 189% in Ohio from 2022 to 2023. Since June 1, 2022, GLAAD has reported 76 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents, eight of which were in Cincinnati. These numbers do not take into account the hate crimes that have gone unreported.
“In a time when our state government has been actively hostile to the LGBTQ community, specifically towards trans kids, and now we have a federal government that is doubling down on targeting all members of the LGBTQ community […] it is more important than ever that we as a city stand strong in our stance that we welcome, we love, we support our LGBTQ community,” said Councilmember Anna Albi at the March 5 council meeting.
Since the initial draft, this LGBTQIA+ Commission ordinance has been expanded upon to include clarifications on member requirements, goals and procedures. These goals include coordination on educational programs, improvement of quality of life initiatives and representation on issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.
This ordinance comes amid concerns of a new piece of legislation introduced in the Ohio House that would criminalize public drag performances with children present deemed to be “obsence.” Many have criticized this bill for waging an unnecessary culture war on the Ohio LGBTQIA+ community.
Despite growing state and nation-wide tensions, Cincinnati City Council has remained supportive of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Council passed a resolution in support of gender-affirming healthcare in 2023 and helped fund mental healthcare for transgender youth in 2024.
“We look to the future and there’s dark days that may lie ahead. Things like this matter,” said Councilmember Seth Walsh during the March 5 council meeting. “We know we’re going to bring the brightness to it.”
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This article appears in May 28 – Jun 10, 2025.