Beyond Single-Issue Politics
A transgender Pride flag is covered with the words “Hands Off Trans Youth.” (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator/States Newsroom)
People are walking around in an unreal world—clueless. In the high-stakes arena of Ohio politics, we often see civil rights treated as a set of isolated, transactional commodities. Single-issue advocacy groups grade candidates based on narrow criteria, mainstream campaigns calibrate their rhetoric to avoid controversy, and party leaders instruct their base to silence uncomfortable truths.
The ongoing saga surrounding gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton—whose scorecard with Equality Ohio was dropped from an "A" to "Pending" after her anti-trans remarks before being adjusted to a "B"—exposes a fundamental flaw in how civil liberties are defended in the Buckeye State. When party leaders and campaign strategists treat transgender rights, immigrant protections, and general constitutional liberties as negotiable line items, we miss the larger, interconnected threat.
The reality is simple: we cannot protect the constitutional rights of any Ohioan without simultaneously defending the rights of trans individuals, immigrants, and every targeted group.
The Anatomy of Political Suppression: Silencing the Base
The refusal of political establishments to stand firm on human rights isn't just a failure of messaging—it is a top-down strategy of suppression. Following Dr. Acton's public endorsement of restrictions on transgender youth in sports, where she referred to trans girls as "boys" and framed the ban as "settled law," grassroots backlash was swift. Yet, instead of confronting these policies, the party infrastructure moved to quell internal debate.
When the Ohio Democratic Progressive Caucus issued a statement warning that adopting conservative, anti-trans rhetoric would alienate the party’s core voters, they faced immediate internal pressure and were forced to delete their public criticism. Even more telling was the campaign's handling of trans leaders themselves.
During a campaign "listening session" billed as an effort to repair harm with LGBTQ+ advocates, Arienne Childrey—a transgender woman running for the Ohio House (District 84) and Vice Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party Pride Caucus—was barred entry by Acton’s campaign manager, who claimed they were trying to keep the meeting "productive."
Addressing Acton's harmful framing and the party's insistence on backroom damage control, Childrey publicly called out the double standard: "First and foremost, I want to hear a correction to the actual terminology. There are no boys in girls' sports. Even before this law was passed, there were no boys in girls' sports because trans girls are girls... Most importantly to me is that all the things I just said have to be public—not behind the scenes. You made a public statement that publicly hurt my community. Your apology needs to likewise be public."
Childrey issued a stark warning regarding the political establishment's willingness to throw vulnerable communities under the bus for electoral expediency: "If there's no accountability, this will become the Democratic Party playbook... We are seeing in our social media Ohio Democrats who I loved, respected, and worked for now echoing the same transphobic points... that they would've never said prior. This gives that permission."
The Illusion of Compartmentalized Freedom
The party establishment's unspoken directive to its base—to suppress public criticism of candidates' stances on ICE, border policy, police accountability, and trans rights—relies on a dangerous illusion: that state power can expand to violate the rights of one group without eventually threatening everyone else. Constitutional rights do not exist in isolation. The legal mechanisms used to target trans communities and immigrant populations rely directly on the erosion of core constitutional guarantees—such as 14th Amendment due process and equal protection, 4th Amendment freedom from unreasonable search, and 1st Amendment expressions of identity—that shield all residents. When we anchor our defense in core constitutional protections, safeguarding trans rights ensures bodily autonomy and healthcare privacy for everyone, while defending immigrant rights guarantees fair due process and equal legal standing across the entire state.
Trans Rights as the Frontline of Bodily Autonomy
The attack on transgender healthcare and identity is legally an attack on bodily autonomy and medical privacy. When state lawmakers or prospective governors declare that the state has the right to legislate who participates in public life or receives medical care, they erode the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of personal liberty. If the government can overrule medical consensus and invade personal privacy regarding gender identity, that same authority can be turned against any citizen's medical or personal decisions.
Immigrant Rights and the Erosion of Due Process
Similarly, suppressing criticism around enforcement policies, ICE overreach, and border rhetoric undermines foundational due process. The 14th Amendment mandates that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law"—a guarantee extending to every human being within U.S. borders. When party bases are told to look the other way on immigration enforcement or police overreach, they tolerate warrantless detentions and expedited proceedings that systematically weaken the 4th and 5th Amendments for the entire public.
Taking Off the Blinders
Grassroots organizers—including those driving direct democracy efforts like Protecting Ohioans' Constitutional Rights—understand what party elites try to hide: incremental compromises on human dignity erode the entire constitutional framework. We cannot allow political platforms or party managers to dictate which civil rights are worth defending. The legal tools, surveillance tactics, and state powers used to strip rights from trans individuals and immigrants are the exact same mechanisms that endanger the freedom of every person in Ohio. It is time to take the blinders off, reject top-down gag orders, and demand uncompromised, universal protection for all.
Miss Cynthia Brown is the Founder and CEO of the Heartbeat Movement Inc., Chair of the The Ohio Coalition to End Qualified Immunity Founder and The Ohio Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency. https://oceqi.org/