Letters: Anti-LGBTQ Hillard parents don't speak for me

Letters to the Editor
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Anti-LGBTQ parents don't speak for me

Gwendolyn DeRosa of Victorian Village and LGBTQ+ allies protest outside the Ohio Department of Education building as the board hears public testimony on a resolution that opposes proposed changes to Title IX.
Gwendolyn DeRosa of Victorian Village and LGBTQ+ allies protest outside the Ohio Department of Education building as the board hears public testimony on a resolution that opposes proposed changes to Title IX.

I am a parent of a Hilliard elementary school student and I’m disheartened by the lawsuit that some Hilliard parents have brought against the district.

More:Hilliard City Schools says parents' lawsuit over LGBTQ issues based on 'rumor,' 'innuendo'

I strongly believe that this is not the view of the majority of parents. In my professional life, I have fought for LGBTQ+ rights for many years and I have witnessed, firsthand, how important it is for young LGBTQ+ people to feel safe, supported and seen.

So, I must ask, why are parents from Hilliard City Schools attempting to make “thread-bare” legal maneuvers that could harm children who need that safe space? I don’t think I need to start reciting suicide and self-harm statistics of LGBTQ+ youth – the writing is on the wall.

By creating a safe space for individuals to embrace their identity, faculty are providing an environment where students can be themselves and learn without fear. There is no hidden agenda or indoctrination.

Educators aren’t urging children to question their orientation or identity. Those assumptions are ridiculous and ultimately harm LGBTQ+ youth.

Hilliard educators are working to educate and provide a supportive environment where children can be themselves.

I thank the teachers for putting the students’ well-being first and I’m grateful that Hilliard City Schools has filed a motion requesting that this nonsensical case be dismissed. LGBTQ+ AND non-LGBTQ+ children deserve safe, open-minded and affirming learning spaces. I support Hilliard City Schools and educators.

Cindy Tomm, Hilliard

Balderson comments shocked no one

Sep 9, 2022; New Albany, Ohio, USA; Congressman Troy Balderson speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for Intel's $20 billion microchip manufacturing project. Intel has promised two factories in Licking County that will employ 3,000 workers. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch
Sep 9, 2022; New Albany, Ohio, USA; Congressman Troy Balderson speaks at a groundbreaking ceremony for Intel's $20 billion microchip manufacturing project. Intel has promised two factories in Licking County that will employ 3,000 workers. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch

It should be if no surprise that Troy Balderson (Jan. 11 column "Natural gas green, clean and abundant right under our feet") supports exploiting public land for sources of natural gas given the oil and gas industry is listed high in contributions to his coffers.

Susan D’Ooge Miller, Columbus

Columbus' lead praise, but don't understand Martin Luther King Jr.

Aaron Alsop’s Jan. 25 column "Vance speaking at MLK event was an insult" says organizers of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Breakfast in Columbus have lost basic understanding of King and don’t carry on his message.

They aren’t the only ones showing those failures in Columbus.

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund has for years criticized Columbus' system of electing all city council members at large (i.e., citywide).

In correspondence to city leaders, the organization said the system may violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by causing minority vote dilution and discriminatory results. The group offered to work with city officials to come up with a system preventing those harms.

King surely would have supported theNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund's efforts in that regard. But Columbus' leaders and too many of its citizens have shown no interest in addressing the problems identified by the organization.

Moreover, King strongly advocated freedom of speech because he knew how important that right is for allowing minorities’ voices to be heard, educating the public and producing progress.

In Columbus, however, city officials ended public access TV years ago. This silenced the ability of persons without money to be heard on local TV, including Blacks lacking money because of generations of racial oppression against their forebears.

Instead, local TV is monopolized by the views of big-money interests – overwhelmingly white – which often act against the needs of minorities and the poor. King undoubtedly would have been a strong supporter of public access TV.

It's easy for leaders in Columbus to praise King. It's harder to study his words and walk his talk. But this is greatly needed and is the best way to honor him.

Joseph Sommer, Columbus

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Anti-LGBTQ Hillard parents don't speak for me