There are a lot of problems facing this country right now: the cost of groceries and healthcare, attacks on voting rights, and ICE killing people in the streets. So naturally, the Seattle-based organization Them Before Us put up a series of billboards criticizing… *checks notes* … children with two moms?
The digital billboards in rural Ohio proclaim "No child has two dads” and “No child has two moms" in rainbow lettering. It’s an obvious attack on the LGBTQ+ community, but Them Before Us didn’t seem to consider just how many families they’re degrading with this message, like foster kids and kids with step-parents.
“It’s not making any impact on the people who agree with that,” said Zachary Joseph, the director of Ohio Pride. “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.”
But Ohioans didn’t stand for it. The community held a peaceful protest in front of the Lima City Building last week, and when the Dayton-based nonprofit Have A Gay Day heard about the billboards, they jumped into action. They raised $18,000 through a GoFundMe to put up their own billboards countering the hateful message with ones of love and inclusion.
These inclusive digital messages are now appearing on dozens of billboards across Ohio.
Them Before Us tried to divide communities and make kids feel like their family is somehow not real, but everyday Ohioans stepped up. It’s proof that we don’t have to accept division and hate — when we band together, we can spread our own message of love.
