Lakewood committee advances ‘gender freedom’ resolution, refers policy to full council

The Lakewood City Council Committee of the Whole voted Sept. 22 to substitute and refer Resolution 2025-45 — labeled the city’s “gender freedom” resolution — and an administrative policy to the full council for adoption at the Oct. 6 meeting.

The resolution and administrative policy state that the city will not prioritize use of its resources to investigate, detain, surveil, interview or otherwise act against people seeking, receiving, facilitating or providing gender-affirming care. The committee approved an amendment to make that prohibition explicitly inclusive by adding the phrase “including, but not limited to, gender-affirming surgery or gender hormone therapy and legal guardians seeking gender-affirming care on behalf of dependents.”

Why it matters: Sponsors described the measure as a municipal response to recent state and national actions restricting transgender rights. Supporters said the policy is intended to protect Lakewood residents, drag performers and city employees who seek gender-affirming care or related services.

What the committee did and why: Council President Keppel opened the discussion and asked co-sponsor Council Member Striebig to speak. Council Member Striebig read a statement attributed to a Human Rights Campaign spokesperson condemning national rhetoric and said, “trans people are part of the fabric of society and just trying to live our lives.”

Outside advocates and experts who advised council members during drafting spoke at the meeting. Sean McCann, policy strategist with the ACLU of Ohio, told the committee the state’s ban on gender-affirming care (House Bill 68) remains in effect while the Ohio Supreme Court considers an appeal, adding, “the ban remains in effect, though, until the Ohio Supreme Court rules.” Dara Atkinson, executive director of TransOhio, said she was “extremely excited to see Lakewood moving forward” and urged municipalities to prepare for additional state-level restrictions. Elizabeth Katovich, lead advocacy coordinator for the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland, described the organization’s role providing local support and resources and said recent legislation has made that work “incredibly difficult.”

Policy details and edits made by the committee: Committee members and Law Director Vargo discussed several substantive edits added during the meeting: - Explicit inclusivity: Council members inserted “including, but not limited to” to ensure the policy covers a range of medical and mental-health services tied to gender-affirming care and to avoid narrowing the policy to only the listed items. - Resource prioritization: The policy directs that investigations, use of employee time, city property and other scarce resources not be prioritized for actions related to gender-affirming care; the committee discussed mirroring language used in a prior 2022 reproductive-rights resolution that made such matters the city’s lowest priority. - Obscenity-law language: To avoid naming a specific state statute and to reduce the chance of the policy being read as inconsistent with city enforcement responsibilities, the committee changed a clause that had referenced Ohio’s obscenity statute so it instead states such conduct “would not otherwise fall under the city’s enforcement of obscenity law.” Law Director Vargo said the change reflects legal caution and the city’s need to balance enforcement duties and employee communications. - Employee benefits and out-of-state care: The policy reiterates the city’s authority to design employee benefits and states the city will continue to provide medical coverage for employees and covered family members who obtain gender-affirming care, including care that must be provided outside Ohio.

Public comment and community input: One person, Michael Miller, spoke during public comment and thanked the council for taking up the item, saying Lakewood parents of transgender children “feel like you’re all standing up with us.” Committee members noted that language in the resolution and policy had been reviewed by TransOhio, the LGBT Center of Greater Cleveland and the ACLU of Ohio and that several local community members and organizations had contributed redlines and feedback.

Committee actions and next steps: The committee took several formal actions. It substituted the revised policy/resolution language before the committee, approved the amendment to add “including, but not limited to,” approved the obscenity-law wording change, and then voted to refer the substituted resolution and administrative policy favorably to full council for adoption at the next regular council meeting on Oct. 6. President Keppel made the referral motion, which passed.

Other procedural business: After the resolution discussion the committee entered an executive session under the Ohio Revised Code to consider appointments to boards and commissions; the roll call recorded members present voting to enter the executive session. The committee later exited executive session and adjourned.

Sources and limitations: Committee discussion referenced ongoing litigation over House Bill 68 and anticipated additional state legislation; as several speakers noted, the state law environment is changing and the city indicated it may revisit the policy after future state developments. The committee did not adopt the resolution at this meeting — it only referred the substituted version to full council — and any final city-level enforceable changes will require formal adoption at a subsequent council meeting.