Official Statement from Arienne Childrey, Democratic Candidate for Ohio House of Representatives, District 84 Regarding Ohio House Bill 306 – February 27, 2026

Today, I strongly condemn Ohio House Bill 306 in its current form. This so-called “Hate Crime Act” is insufficient, incomplete, and fails to protect some of the most marginalized communities in our state from hate-fueled violence and terror. By deliberately carving out transgender Ohioans and offering only ambiguous, untested coverage for sexual orientation, the bill sends a dangerous message: some lives are worth protecting, while others are acceptable political bargaining chips.

Republican sponsor Rep. Josh Williams made the exclusion of transgender people crystal clear in sponsor testimony Wednesday. When directly questioned about the lack of gender identity protections, he stated: “I don’t believe someone that can change something about themselves on a whim, on a daily basis, is constitutionally protected.” 

He went further, claiming he “has not seen violence, threats of violence or murders very often [of transgender people], other than national news,” and asserted there is “a large prevalence” and a “record number” of trans people “perpetrating violence against people because of their perceived political beliefs”—without offering a shred of evidence or data to support that claim.

These statements are not only factually wrong—they are complete and utter nonsense.

Transgender people do not “change something about themselves on a whim.” They are not disproportionately violent. In reality, transgender Ohioans and Americans face disproportionate levels of violence, harassment, and discrimination. According to the FBI’s 2024 Hate Crime Statistics, gender-identity bias motivated 463 reported incidents (4% of all hate crimes), while sexual-orientation bias accounted for 1,950 incidents (17.2%). The Human Rights Campaign documented at least 32 transgender and gender-expansive people murdered in 2024 alone, with Black transgender women comprising the majority of victims in recent years. Since 2013, HRC has tracked nearly 400 such deaths nationwide.

Data from the Williams Institute at UCLA and the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Crime Victimization Survey confirm the disparity: 

• Transgender people experience violent victimization at rates over four times higher than cisgender people (86.2 per 1,000 vs. 21.7 per 1,000). 

• LGBT people overall face violent victimization at five times the rate of non-LGBT people (106.4 vs. 21.1 per 1,000) and are nine times more likely to experience violent hate crimes.

No credible research supports claims that transgender individuals commit violent crimes—or politically motivated violence—at disproportionate rates. Transgender people are overwhelmingly the victims, not the perpetrators, of hate and violence in America.

Black transgender women face this violence at particularly devastating rates, bearing the brunt of intersecting racism, misogyny, and transphobia. According to the Human Rights Campaign's tracking, Black trans women have comprised 50–63% of known fatal violence victims in recent annual reports, often involving firearms, with underreporting and misgendering meaning the true toll is likely higher. Advocates for Trans Equality's recent remembrance efforts highlight similar patterns, underscoring that Black trans women are among the most vulnerable to anti-trans hate crimes nationwide and in states like Ohio.

By deliberately excluding gender identity protections, HB 306 leaves this glaring and deadly gap unaddressed, failing the Ohioans who are most at risk of anti-trans motivated hate crimes. Trans lives—especially Black trans women's lives—are not expendable.

This is personal for me. I knew my identity as a young child, yet I spent 34 years fighting crippling gender dysphoria because of the culturally indoctrinated transphobia that surrounded me. My decision to transition was not made “on a whim” or “on a daily basis.” It was a lifesaving choice that finally allowed me to live authentically, free from the daily torment that defined my first three decades. Countless transgender Ohioans have similar stories—stories of survival, resilience, and profound relief after years of hiding who they are. Rep. Williams’ dismissive rhetoric demeans every one of those journeys and ignores the very real, documented violence we face.

I am deeply disappointed in the Democratic sponsors and cosponsors of HB 306. By accepting this watered-down bill that treats transgender Ohioans as expendable, they have chosen political expediency over principle. As Democrats, we have a moral and political responsibility to protect the civil rights of all marginalized communities—not to use the most vulnerable among us as bargaining chips to make legislation “easier to pass.” If a hate crimes bill is worth passing, it must protect everyone who is so often targeted for hate, including the very communities the Ohio GOP has spent years demonizing.

The irony is stark and shameful. Under this bill, if someone attacks a person wearing a MAGA hat because of their political affiliation, the perpetrator faces enhanced penalties for a hate crime. But if that same MAGA-wearing individual targets and assaults someone because they are transgender, it would not qualify as a hate crime. I condemn both acts of violence unequivocally. Yet the decision by Democratic sponsors to accept this carve-out is cowardly and a dereliction of their duty to protect all Ohioans.

As reporter Morgan Trau accurately described in her coverage, this bill “increas[es] penalties for assaulting or terrorizing someone based on their race, sex and even political affiliation.” It is no surprise that the Ohio GOP supermajority resists including transgender protections—their caucus, including sponsors and cosponsors like Rep. Josh Williams and Rep. Angie King, has a long record of sponsoring or cosponsoring anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, from drag bans to restrictions on trans youth and families. If terrorizing transgender people actually resulted in arrest and prosecution, the Ohio GOP might have to host their next caucus meeting in county lockup.

At a moment when Republican leaders are actively targeting transgender Ohioans with discriminatory bills and inflammatory rhetoric, now is not the time for Democrats to capitulate to hate and bigotry. I call on every Democratic sponsor and cosponsor of HB 306 to immediately pull their support, vote against the bill in its current form, and demand real, comprehensive hate crimes legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity without exception.

Transgender Ohioans are not bargaining chips. We are your neighbors, your constituents, your family members, and—we deserve full protection under the law. I will continue fighting in District 84 and across Ohio for legislation that truly confronts hate in all its forms.

Arienne Childrey

Democratic Candidate for Ohio House of Representatives, District 84

arichildrey.com | 

@Ari4Ohio

Paid for by Friends of Arienne Childrey