Human rights Campaign starts LGBTQ+ rights tour
By: Jordan Laird
Columbus Dispatch
USA Today Network
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Human Rights Campaign began its national tour advocating for LGBTQ+ rights with a stop in Columbus and a call for Ohio to reverse course in reducing that community;s rights.
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The city has deep LGBTQ+ roots an an urgent present-day fight, according to the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest national advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and queer people. The American Dreame Tour; Equality Across America liked off on July 30. [2025]
..... Columbus City Council President Shannon G. Hardin, who is gay, said it's appropriate that the tour started here, where the Republican-controlled state legislature is working to strip right s from LGBTQ+ people, but Columbus is taking the opposite approach.
..... In July, [2205] the city council authorized the formation of an LGBTQ+ commission to advise city leaders.
..... A report by Out Leadership ranked Ohio 39th in the country fir inclusion, and the Human Rights Campaign's State Equality Index puts Ohio in the worst category for equality protections.
..... But Ohio is also the home to Jim Obergefell, the plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriages, and one of the largest Pride celebrations "in the universe," said Human Rights Campaign President Kelly Robinson.
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"We're showing up in cities like this because the truth is, profess doesn't only happen in courtrooms or on Capitol Hill," Robinson said. "It starts in living rooms, on front porches, at city halls - where real people are telling the truth about their lives and demanding something better."
..... She said that in this moment of backlash and censorship of LGBTQ+ voices, sharing their stories is powerful.
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"(Stories) are how we build connections, break stigma, and remind this country that LGBTQ+ people aren't going anywhere," she said. "We belong in every conversation, every community and every vision for the future."
..... The tour's stop in Columbus included a sit-down with advocates at Stonewall Columbus, a round-table at City Hall with local LGBTQ+ leaders and a community celebration with Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty.
..... The American Dreams Tour is continuing with stops in a dozen cities.