Cleveland Heights declared ‘safe haven’ for transgender Ohioans seeking gender-affirming health care

Standing at the back of Cleveland Heights City Council chambers, Harley Rubin’s eyes filled with tears. 

Council members had just unanimously approved Resolution 199-2024, declaring the city a “safe haven” for transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming Ohioans seeking gender-affirming health care under the state’s current health care ban for minors.

The city had officially joined a handful of others across the Midwest looking to protect transgender residents at the local level.

A member of the board of directors of TransOhio and a social worker in the Cleveland MetroHealth system – which provides gender-affirming health care in Cleveland Heights via its LGBTQ+ Pride Network – Rubin spent months working toward this moment, organizing public testimony and collaborating with Council members.

As a result, the city will not criminally prosecute individuals or organizations “for providing, seeking, receiving, or assisting another person” in seeking or receiving gender-affirming health care.

The city will also refuse to cooperate with outside agencies or departments to enforce the ban and “will not stop, arrest, detain, or transfer any person to out-of-state custody” based on a violation of the law.

Anti-transgender legislation

Since 2019, the number of anti-transgender bills active across the United States has increased by nearly 2,000%.

In total, 43 states have considered anti-transgender legislation, many passing legislation that bans transgender Americans from using public restrooms, competing in sports or receiving certain types of gender-affirming health care.

In Ohio, state lawmakers passed Ohio House Bill (HB) 68, banning transgender girls and women from competing in sports and banning transgender youth from receiving health care across the state – including medications prescribed to deter the onset of puberty and certain types of talk therapy and counseling.

After a Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge ruled in favor of the law, attorneys with the American Civili Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio challenged the court’s decision.

The case currently awaits a decision in Ohio’s Tenth Discrit Court of Appeals and is eventually expected to appear before the Ohio Supreme Court.

Local leaders speak out

Earlier this year, Cleveland Heights City Council members voted to condemn HB 68, but Rubin says proactive legislation like the safe-haven resolution also plays an important role in keeping transgender Ohioans safe.

The resolution received unanimous support from Cleveland Heights City Council members, and was co-sponsored by Council members Gail Larson, Anthony Mattox, Jr., Jim Petras and Jim Posch, along with Council President Tony Cuda and Council Vice President Davida Russell.

Council member Gail Larson – who worked with Rubin to bring the resolution to council – and out LGBTQ+ councilmember Jim Petras both offered public support for the resolution.

Petras noted an alarming trend in anti-transgender legislation across the state, specifically around the 2024 general election.

“With transgender people across the state under attack and, as was noted earlier, millions of dollars being spent on egregiously anti-trans ads, this is very meaningful to me and so many other people,” he said of the resolution.

Cleveland Heights Mayor Kahlil Seren – whose mothers are a lesbian couple – also offered public support for the resolution, calling HB 68 “disgusting.”

“It is so clear, especially in Ohio, that there is a powerful contingent of people that want to put us in boxes and define how we can be ourselves,” Seren said. “I want to thank you all for standing up in the face of that.”

Turning the tide

“Trans Ohioans have always been here and will always be here – regardless of whether we’re outlaws,” Rubin said. “It is so important to get out the word that there are so many people in Ohio fighting for trans youth and trans rights that you might not know about or see.”

While Rubin said he is thrilled to see lawmakers pass the Cleveland Heights sanctuary resolution, he also told The Buckeye Flame he hopes to set an example for lawmakers in other cities across the state – and across the Midwest.

“I really want this to spread,” Rubin said. “Everything we’re doing is in response to the [health care] bans. I want this to be something we’re doing that’s not just reactionary.”

“It really gets me emotional,” he added. “I felt alone as a kid, and trans youth should never feel alone. That’s really what it’s all about.”