LGBTQ+ campaigners in Ohio have raised thousands of dollars to fund pro-LGBTQ+ messages after a series of billboards criticising same-sex parents appeared across the state.
The billboards, erected in Lima by the Seattle-based organisation Them Before Us, carried the slogans: “No child has two moms” and “No child has two dads”, displayed in rainbow-coloured lettering.
Katy Faust, founder and president of Them Before Us, defended the campaign, arguing that children benefit from being raised by both a mother and a father.
However, the billboards prompted a swift response from LGBTQ+ advocates. Dayton-based organisation Have a Gay Day launched an online fundraiser with the aim of purchasing advertising space for a counter-campaign.
According to local broadcaster WTVG, the appeal raised more than $18,000 (£13,500) within 24 hours, dramatically exceeding its initial target of $500.
The group used the funds to purchase electronic billboard adverts carrying the messages: “Many children have two dads”, “Many children have two moms”, and “You are loved”.
Michael Knote, founder and executive director of Have a Gay Day, said the strong public response demonstrated support for LGBTQ+ families and young people.
The controversy has reignited debate over similar campaigns elsewhere in Ohio. Jeff Givan, a member of the Lima Pride Alliance and a candidate for Ohio House District 78, told the Columbus Dispatch that comparable billboards sponsored by Them Before Us have previously appeared in Cleveland, Columbus and near Toledo.
LGBTQ+ advocates have expressed concern about the impact such messages may have on children from same-sex parent families.
“It’s not making any impact on the people who agree with that,” Zachary Joseph, director of Ohio Pride, told the Dispatch. “The impact that I’m seeing, and what makes me so upset, is the impact on the kid who drives past that billboard and has two moms or who has two dads. That’s telling them they’re different. And that’s not OK.”
The issue also sparked a public demonstration, with LGBTQ+ groups and supporters gathering outside Lima Municipal Building on Monday to protest the billboards.
Among those attending was Lima resident Melissa Ladden, who argued that the quality of care and support children receive is more important than the gender of their parents.
“As long as children have loving people in their life, it doesn’t matter the combination of women or men – they just need people to show up for them,” she said. “There’s so many traditional families that their children are so unhappy, so I don’t think it has anything to do with who’s loving you.”
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