In a week marked by pivotal developments for LGBTQ+ rights on both sides of the Atlantic, Ohio activists received the go-ahead to begin collecting signatures for two major ballot initiatives, while the UK’s Virgin Active gym chain announced a controversial policy change banning trans women from female changing rooms. Both stories underscore the ongoing—and often contentious—debate over the scope of equality and the role of law in defining and defending rights for LGBTQ+ individuals.
In Ohio, the state’s Attorney General Dave Yost certified two separate ballot initiatives on August 15, 2025, clearing the way for campaigners to start gathering nearly a million signatures across at least half of the state’s counties. These initiatives aim to overturn Ohio’s dormant prohibition of same-sex marriage and to enshrine protections against LGBTQ+ discrimination in the state’s constitution. The measures are targeted for the 2026 general election ballot, according to LGBTQ Nation.
The road to this point has hardly been smooth. Initially, activists proposed a single, comprehensive measure that would both eliminate the so-called “ghost” ban on same-sex marriage and add explicit anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ Ohioans. However, in July, the Republican-controlled Ohio Ballot Board split the proposal in two—a move critics saw as a calculated effort to double the signature burden and potentially derail both efforts. As Ohio state Rep. Terrence Upchurch told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “It’s one issue. It’s cut and dry.” He described the split as a political ploy designed to thwart transgender protections in particular.
Despite these hurdles, leaders of the advocacy group Ohio Equal Rights expressed gratitude for the swift certification by AG Yost. Lis Regala, a transgender organizer for the group, told LGBTQ Nation, “Ohio Equal Rights is grateful for AG Yost’s prompt attention to such an important matter to all Ohioans. This efficient and appreciated response lets us continue to work with the community to build a state where fairness is a lived reality.”
The two initiatives now have distinct titles: the Ohio Equal Rights Amendment and the Ohio Right to Marry Amendment. The latter seeks to proactively erase the state’s dormant ban on same-sex marriage, a relic that remains on the books despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges—a case that originated in Ohio. This move is not merely symbolic; it comes amid renewed calls from Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to revisit the question of marriage equality at the federal level.
The Ohio Equal Rights Amendment, meanwhile, would update the language of the federal Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)—which the Ohio legislature ratified in 1974—to explicitly include LGBTQ+ and other protected classes. While three-quarters of U.S. states have approved the ERA, it has not been added to the U.S. Constitution due to missed deadlines and ongoing disputes, as reported by LGBTQ Nation.
Yet, not all supporters of LGBTQ+ rights are in lockstep regarding the ballot strategy. State Sen. Nickie Antonio, the Democrats’ Minority Leader and the only openly gay lawmaker in the Ohio Senate, voiced reservations about putting fundamental equality rights to a popular vote. “I struggle with asking the majority of people, the majority of the population, to grant equality by a vote to a marginalized group,” Antonio said, emphasizing her ongoing support for legislative solutions like the Ohio Fairness Act.
Attorney General Yost’s involvement in LGBTQ+ legal battles doesn’t end with ballot initiatives. He is also the defendant in a case challenging Ohio’s House Bill 68, which bans gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. In March 2025, the Tenth District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, declaring the law unconstitutional—a decision that continues to reverberate through Ohio’s legal and political landscape.
Across the Atlantic, a different legal battle has played out in the UK, where Virgin Active, one of the country’s largest gym chains, announced a sweeping policy change in response to legal threats and a recent Supreme Court ruling. On August 15, 2025, Virgin Active sent an email to its members stating that, to comply with UK law, all changing rooms and bathroom facilities would now be designated according to biological sex. This update effectively bans trans women from using female changing rooms, a move that has sparked both support and outrage.
The policy shift followed a high-profile incident involving Michelle Dewberry, a GB News presenter and former winner of The Apprentice, who canceled her Virgin Active membership earlier this year after encountering what she described as "a man in the female changing rooms." Dewberry’s lawyers threatened legal action against the gym in February, citing concerns over women’s rights and privacy. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Dewberry urged, "Women: Never stop standing up for yourselves. If not for you, then for your daughters and granddaughters. Organisations: Disregard us women at your peril… The law is the law and no ideology is above it."
Virgin Active’s email to members stated, “To comply with the law, we have had to update our Club Rules so that our changing rooms and bathroom facilities are designated according to biological sex. While this decision was outside of our control, it is legally binding on our business—as well as other gyms, leisure centres and similar facilities across the UK.” The company clarified that children up to age eight are exempt from the rule, and that most clubs already offer single-occupancy, non-gendered facilities, with plans to expand these options further.
This policy change aligns with the UK Supreme Court’s April 2025 ruling, which confirmed that the Equality Act 2010 defines sex in biological terms. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) had previously stated in 2022 that gyms can legally limit communal spaces to a single sex if gender-neutral options are available. Virgin Active said it is awaiting updated guidance from the EHRC in light of the Supreme Court’s decision, but emphasized its ongoing commitment to “safety, inclusivity, and supporting our members’ health and wellbeing.”
The debate over single-sex spaces and transgender rights remains heated in the UK. Dewberry’s public campaign has drawn praise from those who feel women’s spaces should be protected, while LGBTQ+ advocates and many allies see the policy as a setback for trans inclusion and dignity. Virgin Active’s previous policy, according to a March 2025 communication, allowed transgender women and non-binary members to use the changing rooms matching their gender identity, further highlighting the dramatic shift prompted by the legal landscape.
As both Ohio and the UK grapple with the boundaries of equality and the mechanisms for securing rights, the stories unfolding this week illustrate the complexity and high stakes of these debates. Whether through the ballot box, the courtroom, or the rules of a gym, the fight for LGBTQ+ rights continues to be shaped by evolving laws, passionate advocacy, and the lived experiences of individuals on all sides of the conversation.
With signature drives underway in Ohio and new rules in force at Virgin Active, the coming months promise further developments—and likely, further controversy—as communities, lawmakers, and courts wrestle with what true equality means in practice.
