Columbus - Today the Equality Ohio boards of directors unanimously appointed longtime veteran Kim Welter as the organization's Interim Executive Director. Her appointment comes after the resignation of former Executive Director Ed Mullen, who had been leading Equality Ohio since January 2011.

"Kim is uniquely qualified to hit the ground running and to lead the organization through this period of transition," says Paul Feeney, Chair of the Equality Ohio Education Fund board. "She is willing to step up and take the helm while our board focuses on conducting a thorough search for a permanent Executive Director. She will provide stable and effective leadership and continue to execute according to our strategic plan of bringing about full equality for all Ohioans."

It's Pride month and we are calling on you to help us end marriage discrimination in Ohio as early as November, 2013.

You can help by taking action right now. Help us by collecting signatures at Columbus Pride on Friday and/or Saturday at our Freedom to Marry Pride Booth. We need help in the booth and at key locations throughout the event.... and best of all, it's not just a great movement, it's going to be SUPER easy to get people to sign.

Can we count on you Volunteer with Freedom to Marry Ohio at the upcoming Pride Fest in Columbus? We only need a couple hours of your time (more if you have it to give).

What will you be doing? Well, you're going to help us collect signatures to put the amendment on the ballot.

We need about 386,000 valid signatures and there is no better place to circulate than the Pride this weekend.

Volunteering is easy, just decide which day(s) work best for you to volunteer, then choose the link below that work best for you.

The U.S. appeals court in Boston became the first such court to strike down as unconstitutional the federal Defense of Marriage Act, ruling Thursday that it unfairly denies equal benefits to legally married same-sex couples.

The ruling is a victory for gay-rights advocates and the Obama administration, which had refused to defend that part of the 1996 law.

The decision sets the stage for a ruling next year by the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the law that limits federal recognition of marriage to the union of a man and a woman.

The federal law, known as DOMA, defines marriage as between a man and a woman in reference to federal laws and regulations, limiting the access same-sex couples have to benefits such as Social Security survivor benefits and the ability to file joint taxes.

"This is a major turning point in the history of American civil rights.

No American president has ever supported a major expansion of civil rights that has not ultimately been adopted by the American people - and I have no doubt that this will be no exception.

The march of freedom that has sustained our country since the Revolution of 1776 continues, and no matter what setbacks may occur in a given state, freedom will triumph over fear and equality will prevail over exclusion.

Today's announcement is a testament to the President's convictions, and it builds on the courageous stands that so many Americans have taken over the years on behalf of equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans, stretching back to the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village."  ~ Mike Bloomberg

COLUMBUS - FreedomOhio CEO Mary Jo Kilroy applauded Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today for asking the Ohio Supreme Court to dismiss a legal challenge seeking to stop the Freedom To Marry movement from trying to end marriage discrimination in Ohio.

'The Ohio Attorney General and the Ohio Ballot Board unanimously approved our petition language to give two loving adults the freedom to marry in Ohio," Kilroy said. "While a few extremists are filing frivolous lawsuits, thousands of our volunteers are going directly to the people to collect signatures for marriage equality."

"Our supporters are going to our website, www.freedomOhio.com, where they can follow a few simple steps to signup to volunteer and download a petition to put a freedom to marry amendment before voters in November, 2013," Kilroy said.

Lawyers for Freedom To Marry Ohio will also file a dismiss and expedite motion with the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Columbus Dispatch reports:

Supporters of the proposal, which would change the Ohio Constitution to define marriage as "a union of two consenting adults, regardless of gender," declared DeWine's rejection a temporary setback.

Ian James, spokesman for Freedom to Marry Ohio, said yesterday that his group has already reworked the language and is circulating a new petition and gathering the required 1,000 signatures of registered voters to submit to DeWine's office next week.

"We know we will make it through the next filing," James said. "This is a speed bump, not a brick wall."

James said timing is important but not critical, because the same-sex marriage proposal is planned for the 2013 ballot, not this fall's.

Freedom to Marriage & Religious Freedom Amendment
Initiative Petition (PDF)

Rejected, March 9, 2012
AG Action (PDF)

Get involved with the campaign here

Uncover the truth about marriage for gay and lesbian Americans.

Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Martin Sheen and Jane Lynch join an all-star cast for a one-night-only benefit reading of "8," the new play by Academy-award winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk, J. Edgar) that chronicles the landmark federal trial of California's Prop. 8 using the actual court transcripts and first-hand interviews.

Watch the L.A. Premiere LIVE >
Saturday, March 3, 7:30 p.m./10:30 p.m. ET

Freedom to Marry Ohio is a coalition of past and present elected officials, candidates, community and business leaders who are advocating for Marriage Equality in Ohio.

Led by Statewide Co-Chairs Tim Hagan (former Cuyahoga County Commissioner) and Andrew Ginther (President of Columbus City Council), and John O'Grady (Franklin County Commissioner) the organization seeks to have a discussion with Ohioans regarding allowing two consenting adults the right to marry.

This campaign is a multi-faceted organization with two main goals:

1.  Putting a constitutional amendment on the Ballot in Ohio that would end the 2004 constitutional ban on gay marriage in Ohio.

UPDATE: We keep getting emails and FB messenger from folks asking if they can can still turn in their petitions. The answer is "YES." We are still data entering the petitions we got in this week and have very high validation rates, but we always like to turn in petitions with buffer.

We will file the petition EARLY next week, so if you are still circulating, thank you for your hard work. Please deliver your petitions no later than noon Monday, February 27th to Freedom Ohio 1349 East Broad Street, Columbus OH 43205

Columbus, OH -- Six Ohio Mayors are among a growing list of local officials who have joined Freedom to Marry's "Mayors for the Freedom to Marry" campaign, which supports marriage equality for same-sex couples.

The Ohio Mayors who have signed the pledge to date are:

• Frank Jackson of Cleveland

• Mark Mallory of Cincinnati

• Don Plusquellic of Akron

• Edward Kelly of Cleveland Heights

• David Berger of Lima

• Sara Drew of Stow

Filmmaker Ryan James Yezak's moving video on the gay rights movement has gone viral. 

Take a look and you'll know why.

Watch It:

Bill Includes Two Out of Three Provisions Promoted by Equality Ohio

Columbus, Ohio --  This morning, the Ohio Senate Education Committee passed HB116, also known as the "Jessica Logan Act", unanimously.  This bill includes provisions that protect Ohio students from the rising trend of cyber-bullying and require school districts to provide more comprehensive training on anti-bullying policies.  The bill, however, was amended in committee this morning to exclude a provision that would prohibit bullying based on any real or perceived characteristics of the student, such as race, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and the bill did not include enumeration of particular characteristics.

Since the current anti-bullying law was passed in 2006, Equality Ohio has worked closely with coalition partners, including the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation, the Ohio Psychological Association, and the University of Toledo Law School Safe Schools Project, to pass a comprehensive bill that strengthens the law to include cyber-bullying, training, and enumeration.  We are certainly pleased that the committee has passed provisions relating to cyber-bullying and training, and we look forward to these provisions becoming law in Ohio.  "Protecting students against cyber-bullying and improving training on anti-bullying policies will have a positive effect on our schools and make them more safe for students," says Ed Mullen, Executive Director of Equality Ohio.

Bill would require school officials to educate students on anti-bullying policies

Columbus - State Senator Joe Schiavoni (D-Canfield) today applauded the passage of House Bill 116 in the Senate Education Committee, now known as the Jessica Logan Act. The bill incorporates several concepts from Senator Schiavoni's SB 127, which also addresses current anti-harassment policies in Ohio's schools and the growing problem of cyber bullying.

The gay and lesbian community of Minnesota has issued a letter of apology to recently resigned Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch for ruining the institution of marriage and causing her to stray from her husband and engage in an "inappropriate relationship."

Obviously, the illicit affair wasn't her fault . . .

Two years ago, Koch co-authored a Defense of Marriage bill declaring, "A marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in Minnesota."

The bill did not pass, and consequently the institution of marriage was so degraded that Koch had no choice but to jump in bed with a hot hunk of burning political staffer man love, thereby cheating on her husband.

John Medeiros, who curates an LGBT reading series in Minneapolis, wrote the open letter to Koch, saying he is sorry gays and lesbians have destroyed the institution of marriage and contributing to her inevitable relationship with a subordinate staffer.

Read the full letter of apology below:

Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita is the Human Rights Campaign's latest American for Marriage Equality. Fujita joins other pro-equality NFL players and former players, including Nic Harris, Michael Irvin, Brendon Ayanbadejo, and Michael Strahan.

There are not currently any openly gay NFL players, but the league added sexual orientation to its contract non-discrimination policy this year.

Watch It:

HT: Think Progress

COLUMBUS - State Reps. Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus) have requested that the Ohio House Education Committee hold hearings on their legislation to prevent students from being bullied in school. House Bill 208 prohibits harassment, intimidation or bullying on any actual or perceived trait or characteristic of a student.

The Representatives sent a letter to committee Chairman Gerald Stebelton (R-Lancaster) and others on the panel asking for hearings on House Bill 208. The committee has not heard the bill since the sponsors testified on June 15, 2011.

"Since our sponsor testimony, there have been a number of reported and troubling incidents that point to the importance for HB 208 and updating Ohio's approach and mandate of a bullying policy for school districts," Reps. Antonio and Stinziano said in the letter. 

The cell phone video is grainy, but what it shows is simple enough: A 15-year-old boy being viciously beaten because he's gay.

The incident took place last week at Unioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio. In the video, there's a skinny 15-year-old boy in a classroom full of students. A much bigger boy says something to him. The smaller boy tries to walk away, but the bigger boy punches him. First once. Then again. Then over and over while the smaller boy curls on the ground, writhing in pain.

"I covered myself, I shielded my body, and he just kept hitting me," the victim said later. "Nobody did anything [to help me]."

Despite the brutal beating being caught on video, the bully received only three days' suspension, which means he could be back to school as soon as this week. The Union-Scioto school district has an anti-bullying policy that protects for gender, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and disability -- but not sexual orientation or gender identity.

Couple to Marry in New York

Protesting Ohio's constitutional amendment and state law prohibiting same-sex marriages, Columbus residents Tabitha Woodruff and Brian Davis will marry this weekend in New York State, a state that allows same-sex marriage. Davis is a straight male, and Woodruff is a bisexual female.

After hearing Ed Mullen, Executive Director of Equality Ohio, speak at an Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law forum, Woodruff was moved to marry in New York. Woodruff explains: "Because I am a bisexual woman, I never knew if I would be able to marry the person I love. There are so many benefits to being married, and I guess I lucked out by falling in love with Brian." The couple is set to travel to New York on October 8th to obtain their marriage license and will hold a wedding reception in Ohio in March 2012.

This legislation will expand civil rights to include the LGBT community

COLUMBUS - State Representatives Nickie J. Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Ross McGregor (R-Springfield) today introduced House Bill 335, legislation that will encourage economic development and job growth by preventing firings based on sexual orientation or gender identity.  This bi-partisan legislation extends Ohio Civil Rights Law to employment and housing protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity to the covered characteristics currently identified as unlawful discriminatory practices.

"This bill provides for the simple universal right of all citizens to equal treatment under the law, based on the premise that all are created equal including those Ohio citizens who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgendered," said Rep. Antonio.

Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality.  In accordance with the legislation that I signed into law last December, I have certified and notified Congress that the requirements for repeal have been met.  'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' will end, once and for all, in 60 days--on September 20, 2011. 

The case involving former partners Michele Hobbs and Kelly Mullen about access to their 4-year-old daughter Lucy was featured in a recent CityBeat cover story.

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court announced its decision in In re Mullen (Slip Opinion No. 2011-Ohio-3361) and made it more difficult for a non-biological parent in a same-sex relationship to prove permanent shared custody of a child.  Although Ohio law allows for shared permanent custody without explicitly requiring a written agreement, the Court's decision today effectively makes such an agreement a requirement in the event of a breakup, adding additional uncertainty and burden to families of same-sex couples in Ohio.

After being in a committed relationship for several years, Kelly Mullen and Michele Hobbs jointly agreed to have a child.  Kelly gave birth to Lucy Mullen after in vitro fertilization from a friend of Michele's, for which the couple shared financial responsibility.  Michele was present at Lucy's birth and cut the umbilical cord.  Although the donor's name appeared on Lucy's official birth certificate, the donor signed an agreement relinquishing custody and Kelly and Michele drafted a ceremonial birth certificate that listed themselves as Lucy's parents.  Kelly also listed Michele as the "co-parent" on three documents -- her will, a health care power of attorney and a durable power of attorney, writing that she considered Michele to be Lucy's co-parent "in every way." 

For two years, Kelly and Michele co-parented Lucy and held themselves out as a family.  Thereafter, the relationship deteriorated and Kelly moved with Lucy out of the house that she and Michele had shared.  Michele then filed for permanent shared custody of Lucy.  The magistrate judge decided that Kelly and Michele had agreed to co-parent Lucy and that it was in the best interests of the child to maintain ties with Michele.  Therefore, the magistrate judge recommended that Kelly and Michele share permanent custody of Lucy.

Today, the Ohio Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision that, despite all of the evidence of co-parenting, the trial court did not err in deciding that Kelly did not agree to permanently share custody with Michele. The Court based its decision primarily on two factors:  first, the documents in which Kelly named Michele as her co-parent were revocable; and second, the Court found that the term "co-parent" did not indicate a desire to share permanent custody. 

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, hands pens to legislators
after signing into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

The U.S. state of New York has approved same-sex marriage, handing American gay rights advocates a major victory in their quest for equality.

After extensive debate, the New York State Senate approved the legislation Friday night by a vote of 33 to 29, as two previously undecided Republican lawmakers cast the deciding votes in favor of it.

With the final approval, New York became the sixth U.S. state where gay couples can wed, and by far the largest state. Gay couples can begin marrying in the state in 30 days.

New York could become a magnet for such marriages because the state has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license.

Activists consider New York's approval particularly significant since it is the third largest U.S. state and because of New York City's international stature. The city also is considered to be the birthplace of the gay rights movement, with the Stonewall riots in the city's Greenwich Village community in 1969.

COLUMBUS - State Representative Michael Stinziano (D-Columbus) today introduced legislation that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to a list of protected groups under state hate crime laws.

The bill reclassifies the offense of ethnic intimidation as "identity intimidation," a more inclusive term that would extend protection to those targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. If enacted, Ohio law will offer protection to a wider range of vulnerable and frequently targeted populations and will fall in line with federal laws.  

"Hate crimes are acts that target certain individuals with the intent of causing fear to an entire community," Rep. Stinziano said.  "These crimes are intended to promote intimidation and fear within our LGBT community.  This legislation sends a clear message that Ohio does not tolerate hateful acts of any kind."

Right now, state law prohibits ethnic intimidation, which is defined as certain offenses based on race, color, religion or national origin.

Equality Ohio has been working with a broad coalition of organizations from around the state including ProgressOhio to advocate for the a Comprehensive Safe Schools Act. 

This Act is an anti-bullying law that would strengthen current state law and provide needed protections to all school children in Ohio, and in particular protect children from bullying or harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Ohio's current anti-bullying legislation is deficient in three key areas:

• It does not list or enumerate groups that are disproportionately affected by bullying.  Study after study has proven that enumerated policies are significantly more effective than non-enumerated policies at preventing bullying and harassment.  Without enumeration, bullying based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression remains prevalent in schools.

• It does not require school districts to include harassment by electronic means (cyber-bullying), and it fails to specify the school's jurisdiction over cyber-bullying, which often occurs off school grounds.

• It fails to require school districts to provide anti-bullying training to staff and volunteers.  In order for policies to be effective, school employees and volunteers must be trained on their legal responsibilities to prevent and respond to bullying.

Recently, bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to address these shortcomings.  Click here to see a summary.

Please join Equality Ohio for Lobby Day on Wednesday, May 18 -- registration closes May 13.

For the last five years, HUNDREDS of Ohioans have visited their elected officials to talk with them about equal rights for ALL Ohioans regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Mothers, fathers, families, clergy members, students - straight and gay, young and old - took a day off from school or work to come to the Statehouse in Columbus for Lobby Day.  This year the focus will be on a Comprehensive Safe Schools Act and the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA). 

The Ohio Safe Schools Act was deeply flawed when it passed in 2006, in part because it did not enumerate protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  Already this year, a variety of bills have been introduced in the Ohio House and Senate to improve Ohio's anti-bullying and harassment laws.  One of these, supported by Equality Ohio and a broad coalition of allies, would require school anti-bullying and harassment policies to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
 
The EHEA, which passed in the Ohio House during the last legislative session, will also be reintroduced in the House and Senate.  The EHEA would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's civil rights legislation covering discrimination in the workplace, housing and public accommodation.  
 
The Comprehensive Safe Schools Act and the EHEA would be the first pro-equality bills passed in Ohio.  But make no mistake, neither of these pro-equality laws will pass if we don't work for them.

Bring your story to the statehouse on May 18th to make a difference. Don't be late!  Register before May 13th to join us on this important day.

Attorney General Eric Holder today sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, after determining that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, "as applied to same-sex couples who are legally married under state law, violates the equal protection component of the Fifth Amendment."

The finding came after a review of the Act was conducted, prompted by recent lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of DOMA.

Read The Full Letter From The Attorney General Below:

Same-Sex Couples Go for Marriage Licenses on Valentine's Day

On Valentine's Day, same-sex couples will once again request marriage licenses at their local County Clerk's offices in cities all over the country.

Advocates of same-sex marriage say these actions will not only draw attention to the lack of marriage equality between heterosexual and LGBTI Americans, but will also raise awareness about the harms and the impact that the inability to marry causes LGBTI families. 

In Ohio, GetEQUAL Ohio will be linking up with members from Marriage Equality USA at the Franklin County marriage licensing office to request marriage licenses. Once they are denied a license to marry, members will then relocate to the corner of Broad and High streets to protest the injustice of marriage inequality.

"The federal law that prohibits same-sex marriage flies in the face of the American Constitution, which is designed to give rights and responsibilities -- not take them away. To openly discriminate against a group of citizens in this way is a mockery of what our country stands for and can no longer be tolerated. Our government must act to end this injustice now. We will be urging them to do so on Valentine's Day," said Sean Watkins of GetEQUAL Ohio.

For a complete list of Valentine's Day actions across the country, go to www.requestmarriage.com

"When the governor acknowledges them [gays] as a minority group, which they are not, you're also saying to them that their behavior is OK. And it's NOT OK to engage in this type of behavior when it's gonna cause you possibly to die from AIDS."

- Phil Burress, Citizens for Community Values

With those short sentences, Citizens for Community Values, a group that endorsed John Kasich for governor, proved that bigotry still exists in the public square. They oppose any protections for LGBT workers and made outrageous, inaccurate statements that played on radio stations across Ohio on Tuesday.

The irony is that Governor John Kasich has already found a way to deny state workers basic rights they had under Gov. Ted Strickland. Last week, Kasich signed a "non-discrimination" Executive Order and purposely removed 'Gender Identity' from the employment protections, despite promises that he would keep those protections during his campaign.

Sign the Petition and Stop Kasich's Civil Rights Rollback Today!

Governor Kasich has made his pro-discrimination stance clear to everyone but what about the professionals and public servants who deal with employment discrimination issues every day? Do they agree with John Kasich that all LGBT Ohioans don't deserve to be employed because of who they are?

Stand up for Equal Rights: Call on the Kasich Administration to stop rolling back protections for LGBT Ohioans.

Please take a moment to sign our petition to Felicia Godbolt,  Program Manager of the Equal Employment Office of Ohio the responsible party in employment discrimination issues, asking her to stand up for LGBT Ohioans and urge Governor Kasich to do the same.

We'll also send a copy of your comments to Governor Kasich and the head of the State Personnel Board of Review.

Don't let Governor Kasich rollback Civil Rights in Ohio:  Sign the Petition Today!

"When the governor acknowledges them [gays] as a minority group, which they are not, you're also saying to them that their behavior is OK. And it's NOT OK to engage in this type of behavior when it's gonna cause you possibly to die from AIDS."

 - Phil Burress, Citizens for Community Values

Citizens for Community Values, a group that endorsed John Kasich for Governor, proved that bigotry still exists in the public square. They oppose any protections for LGBT workers and made outrageous, inaccurate statements that played on radio stations across Ohio yesterday.

The irony is that John Kasich's already found a way to deny state workers basic rights they had under Gov. Ted Strickland. Kasich went out of his way to make sure that discrimination based on gender identity is no longer barred, even going back on a promise to do so.

Stand up for Equal Rights: Sign the Petition and call on Kasich to stop rolling back protections for LGBT Ohioans.

State Representative Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) stated  "I was disappointed to hear the comments of Mr. Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values.  Mr. Burress may want to perpetuate a climate that discriminates against certain citizens of the state, but I, for one, think our message should be one of inclusiveness.  These comments prove that discrimination and bigotry still exist for the LGBT community in Ohio and we need strong protections in all levels of government.  We call on Kasich to condemn these statements and keep his promise to the LGBT community to protect their rights."

If you agree, please take a moment to contact the person in charge of Ohio's Equal Employment Opportunity program and encourage her to fight against Kasich's civil rights rollbacks.  We'll also send a copy of your comments to John Kasich and the head of the State Personnel Board of Review.

Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) has finally issued an executive order barring discrimination in state-based employment, after allowing his predecessor's EO to briefly expire.

Like former Gov. Ted Strickland's EO, the measure prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin (ancestry), military status (past, present or future), disability, age or sexual orientation, but does not include protections for gender identity -- which Kasich specifically promised to extend during the gubernatorial campaign. (The measure does add a new category for genetic information.):

Kasich had said in response to a Dispatch questionnaire that he would continue Strickland's 2007 order, and the question specifically mentioned gender identity.

Asked why Kasich decided to omit it, spokesman Scott Milburn replied: "The governor is opposed to discrimination in state employment and has made that clear in this executive order in the way that he feels is most appropriate."

From the Columbus Dispatch's Kasich alters order on work rights; 'Gender identity' not included in anti-discrimination policy (emphasis added):

Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order yesterday setting an anti-discrimination policy for state-government employment and announced the retirement of a cabinet appointee after two weeks on the job.

Kasich said in his campaign that he would continue a 2007 order from former Gov. Ted Strickland that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but Kasich's order leaves out "gender identity."

The new governor's order protects state employees or candidates for state employment from discrimination based on "race, color, religion, gender, national origin (ancestry), military status (past, present or future), disability, age (40 years or older), genetic information, or sexual orientation."

...Kasich had said in response to a Dispatch questionnaire that he would continue Strickland's 2007 order, and the question specifically mentioned gender identity.

Asked why Kasich decided to omit it, spokesman Scott Milburn replied: "The governor is opposed to discrimination in state employment and has made that clear in this executive order in the way that he feels is most appropriate."

"There are few moments in our lives that call for greater compassion and companionship than when a loved one is admitted to the hospital.  In these hours of need and moments of pain and anxiety, all of us would hope to have a hand to hold, a shoulder on which to lean - a loved one to be there for us, as we would be there for them."

With those words on April 15, 2010 President Obama directed HHS Secretary Sebelius to initiate rulemaking to ensure that hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid respect the rights of patients to designate visitors.  The President further advised that the rule should ensure that participating hospitals may not deny visitation privileges based on factors including sexual orientation or gender identity. 

Yesterday, the new Hospital Visitation Regulations went into effect.

Hospitals must now inform patients, or an attending friend or family member, of their rights to visitors of their choosing. The policy also prohibits discrimination against visitors based on race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

Janice Langbehn, who was barred from her partner Lisa Pond's bedside at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for eight hours after she suffered an aneurysm in 2007, hailed the development as bittersweet justice.

As the country commemorates Martin Luther King Day and reflects on Tucson, The Daily Beast crunches the numbers to rank the tolerances of every state across America.

In the four-plus decades since Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, America has surely moved closer to a country where people are judged more by content of their character than the color of their skin--or their gender, religion or sexual orientation. In honor of today's national holiday, and mindful of the debate fostered by the massacre in Tucson nine days ago, The Daily Beast sought to examine which states are the most tolerant, devising a thorough point system that measures each state's residents based on their actions and opinions, as well the scope of state laws guaranteeing equal rights and protections, which reflects the broader political will.

Ohio ranked as the 46th least tolerant state, 3 below Arizona:

46, Ohio
Tolerance score: 40 out of 100
Hate crime score: 15 out of 40
Discrimination score: 16 out of 40
Gay rights score: 1 out of 10
Religious Tolerance score: 8 out of 10
Hate crime incidents per 100,000 residents:: 3.1 (33 out of 50 states)
Discrimination cases filed per 100,000 residents:: 24.2 (44 out of 50 states)
Population in support of same-sex marriage:: 45%
Population that believes many religions lead to eternal life:: 76%

Gov. Kasich seems to be in a rush to take us to 50th.

From The Gay Peoples Chronicle:

Columbus--LGBT state employees are no longer protected from discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity.

Governor John Kasich, who took office on January 10, allowed his predecessor's executive order barring such discrimination to expire.

Neither Ohio nor federal law provides any protection from anyone being fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

But an order signed four years ago by former governor Ted Strickland prohibited such discrimination against all 60,000 state employees in hiring, layoff, termination, transfer, promotion, demotion, rate of compensation and eligibility for training programs.

It also gave state agencies and universities the rationale to expand and update their internal non-discrimination policies, including the ones covering interaction with the public as well as employees.

Read More at The Gay Peoples Chronicle

In a major step forward in ending what has been called "the defining civil rights initiative of this decade," President Obama this morning signed the landmark repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy:

Casting the repeal in terms of past civil rights struggles, Obama said he was proud to sign a law that "will strengthen our national security and uphold the ideals that our fighting men and women risk their lives to defend."

He added: "No longer will tens of thousands of Americans in uniform be asked to live a lie."

The signing does not immediately implement the repeal but instead begins the process of ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The law will not actually change until the Pentagon certifies to Congress that the military has met several conditions, including education and training programs for the troops.

"In the coming days, we will begin the process laid out in the law" to implement the repeal, Obama said. Meanwhile, he cautioned, "the old policy remains in place." But he pledged that all the service chiefs are "committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently," and he vowed, "We are not going to be dragging our feet to get this done."

So many people wanted to witness the signing of the bill that the White House held the ceremony in the auditorium of Interior Department headquarters.

Once enacted, the law for the first time in U.S. history will guarantee the rights of gay service members to serve openly.

Watch It:

Today, the Senate has taken an historic step toward ending a policy that undermines our national security while violating the very ideals that our brave men and women in uniform risk their lives to defend.  By ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," no longer will our nation be denied the service of thousands of patriotic Americans forced to leave the military, despite years of exemplary performance, because they happen to be gay. And no longer will many thousands more be asked to live a lie in order to serve the country they love.

As Commander-in-Chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known.  And I join the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of service members asked by the Pentagon, in knowing that we can responsibly transition to a new policy while ensuring our military strength and readiness. 

I want to thank Majority Leader Reid, Senators Lieberman and Collins and the countless others who have worked so hard to get this done.  It is time to close this chapter in our history.  It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed.  It is time to allow gay and lesbian Americans to serve their country openly.  I urge the Senate to send this bill to my desk so that I can sign it into law.

The Senate today struck down the ban on gay men and lesbians serving openly in the military, bringing to a close a 17-year struggle over a policy that forced thousands of Americans from the ranks and caused others to keep secret their sexual orientation.

By a vote of 65 to 31, with eight Republicans joining Democrats, the Senate approved and sent to President Obama a repeal of the Clinton-era law, known as "don't ask, don't tell," a policy critics said amounted to government-sanctioned discrimination that treated gay and lesbian troops as second-class citizens.

President Obama hailed the action, which fulfills his pledge to reverse the ban. "As commander in chief, I am also absolutely convinced that making this change will only underscore the professionalism of our troops as the best led and best trained fighting force the world has ever known," Mr. Obama said in a statement after the Senate, on a 63-33 vote, beat back Republican efforts to block a final vote on the repeal bill.

The vote marked a historic moment that some equated with the end of racial segregation in the military. It followed a review by the Pentagon that found little concern in the military about lifting the ban and was backed by Pentagon officials as a better alternative to a court-ordered end.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates "said Monday he was pessimistic that Congress would act this month to lift a ban on openly gay troops in the US military," the AFP reports.

"I'd have to say I'm not particularly optimistic that they're going to get this done, I would hope that they would," Gates said during a visit to an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea.

He said that Congress had only about two weeks to act in an end-of-year "lame duck" session.

Speaking to sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, Gates repeated his concern that if the Senate did not vote to repeal the ban, the issue may be decided in the courts with less predictable results.

Lieberman, a key Senate proponent of repealing the military's ban on openly gay or lesbian members, doesn't want the chamber to adjourn until it's acted on a defense authorization bill that contains a provision to do away with the policy.

"Sen. Lieberman believes that there are at least 60 votes to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' this year, provided that leadership allows time for sufficient debate and amendments," Lieberman spokeswoman Erika Masonhall said. "Wanting to go home is not an acceptable excuse for failing to pass a bill that provides essential support for our troops and veterans and failing to take action that the president, the secretary of Defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have called for."

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has issued the 2009 Hate Crimes Statistics Report.

According to The Associated Press:

"The number of hate crime incidents and victims declined in 2009 compared with the previous year, the FBI reported Monday.

"...Nearly half of the crime incidents in 2009 were motivated by racial bias, nearly 20 percent by religious bias and over 18 percent by sexual orientation bias.

"More than half the reported hate crimes against individual people were assaults, said the FBI. One out of a hundred hate crimes involved murder or rape.

"There were 6,604 hate crime incidents reported last year, down from 7,783 in 2008. There were 8,336 reported victims, down from 9,691 in 2008. The victim totals include not only individuals but also businesses, religious buildings and other institutions.

"The year-to-year figures in the FBI reports for 2009 and 2008 are not exactly comparable because the number of law enforcement agencies providing data to the bureau on hate crime went up last year to more than 14,000, compared to 13,690 in 2008. Nearly 4,000 police jurisdictions do not participate in the program, said the group Human Rights First.

"The Anti-Defamation League welcomed a substantial drop in the number of hate crimes in the latest report but expressed disappointment that more than 60 cities with over 100,000 populations each did not participate in the study.

"...In a separate study, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that homosexuals are far more likely to be victims of violent hate crime than any other minority group.

"Timing the release of its study to coincide with the latest FBI report on hate crimes, the nonprofit center said it based its conclusion on 14 years of FBI hate crime data covering 1995-2008. The center said that homosexuals, or those perceived to be gay, are more than twice as likely to be attacked in a violent hate crime as Jews or blacks; more than four times as likely as Muslims; and 14 times as likely as Latinos."

Get Informed. Get Involved. Give a Damn!

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Last evening, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) delivered the first "It Gets Better" address from the Senate floor.

The "It Gets Better Project" was started this fall in response to the loss of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teenagers driven to suicide because of bullying.

"No parent should have to bury a child.  No child should ever feel so hopeless and alone that suicide seems like his or her only escape," Brown said on the Senate floor.

"But the rash of highly publicized suicides of LGBT students not only highlights a national epidemic of bullying that these students face.  It also reminds us that we all - as adults, as clergy, as educators, or as peers of these students - have a role to play in preventing discrimination."

Public surveys indicate that 80 percent of LGBT students report regular harassment by fellow students - a rate three times that of their heterosexual peers.

The full text of Sen. Brown's floor speech, as prepared for delivery, is available here.

A Pentagon study group has concluded that the military can lift the ban on gays serving openly in uniform with only minimal and isolated incidents of risk to the current war efforts, according to two people familiar with a draft of the report, which is due to President Obama on Dec. 1.

The study argues that gay troops could serve openly without hurting the military's ability to fight is expected to re-ignite debate this month on Capitol Hill over repealing the 17-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Officials familiar with the 10-month study's results have said a clear majority of respondents don't care if gays serve openly, with 70 percent predicting that lifting the ban would have positive, mixed or no results.

As the Pentagon prepares to release its highly anticipated survey of military personnel about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, most Americans (58%) say they favor allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the armed forces. Fewer than half that number (27%) oppose allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.

These opinions have changed little in recent years. Since 2005 -- including three surveys this year -- roughly 60% have consistently favored permitting homosexuals to serve openly in the military.

There is greater support for permitting gays to serve openly today than there was in 1994, after President Clinton put in place the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. In July of that year, 52% said they favored allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military while 45% said they opposed allowing this.

The Pew survey's release comes one day before the Pentagon is expected to release a report on how military personnel feel about the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which bans openly gay troops for serving in the armed forces.

As of election night, without the provisional ballots being counted, BG Ordinance 7905 was passing 4,104 to 4,080, and Ordinance 7906 was losing 4,003 to 4,119. But after the counting of the provisional ballots, likely many of them from BGSU students, Ordinance 7905 passed 4,767 to 4,284 and Ordinance 7906 passed 4,635 to 4,338. The margins are wide enough that no automatic recount is required.

Bowling Green can now truly be called a fair and welcoming community as the votes have been tallied and certified by the Wood County Board of Elections.

The life that lies ahead is so much greater than the difficulties that lie behind you. It will get better," said Vice President Biden in a video message, joining thousands of Americans that have come together to share their messages of hope and encouragement for LGBT youth who are struggling as part of the It Gets Better Project.

Vice President Biden wanted to share his message of support following the the tragic suicides of so many young people due to bullying and taunting. Like President Obama, he wanted to speak directly to youth out there that are experiencing incredible pain and feelings of isolation because they may be or are perceived to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

Watch It:

Senate Democratic aides said Mr. Reid would try to take up the bill sometime in December, meaning after the Pentagon is due to release a report on how it would carry out a repeal. The report includes a survey of active-duty forces and their families, which shows that a majority do not care if gay men and women serve openly.

That report is due on Dec. 1.

The latest Quinnipiac national poll finds voters overwhelmingly support the repeal of the military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy by a wide margin, 58% to 34%.

Also interesting: Among voters with a member of the military in their family, repeal is favored by 55% to 38% This is the first time military families have supported repeal of the policy.

Said pollster Peter Brown: "In a country sharply divided on so many things it is ironic gays in the military -- once the prototypical wedge issue -- has attracted a national consensus among the voting public to a much larger degree than other, seemingly less controversial issues."

Earlier this year, President Obama called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create new rules for Medicare and Medicaid hospitals that would allow patients the right to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay. The Presidential Memorandum instructed HHS to develop rules that would prohibit hospitals from denying visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued that rule - a rule that will let patients decide whom they want by their bedside when they are sick - and that includes a visitor who is a same-sex domestic partner. The rule presents an important step forward in giving all Americans more control over their health care.

BOWLING GREEN -- An attempt to repeal two city ordinances that expanded anti-discrimination protections had mixed results in Bowling Green Tuesday.

The two measures, approved by city leaders in August 2009, were challenged by a citizen's group and put on the November 2 ballot.

An ordinance that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity (transgender protections) and HIV status - among other factors - in the area of housing won narrow approval by voters (50.15% to 49.85% with all precincts reporting).

But a second ordinance that covers public accommodations, education and employment was rejected by voters (50.71% to 49.29% with all precincts reporting.)

The group ONE Bowling Green, with the support of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, campaigned to keep the laws in place.

Blog of Rights

This election season, the fight for LGBT equality isn't in a big city or coastal state, but rather in a small town in northwestern Ohio. In 2009, Bowling Green, Ohio, became one of 22 cities or counties in the state that bans discrimination in housing or employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. But now, Bowling Green is facing a repeal of its nondiscrimination ordinances this November.

After the passage of the two nondiscrimination ordinances that would protect residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, military status, pregnancy, and a host of other characteristics, opponents of equality gathered enough signatures to place a repeal of the ordinances on the November ballot.

The opposition is employing the same lies and scare tactics they have used in other places throughout the country to take away nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Recently, mailers were sent to Bowling Green residents suggesting that the nondiscrimination protections create "special rights," and warns voters that the ordinances somehow makes it legal for would-be predators to enter women's bathrooms and prey on women and children. Clearly, criminal laws prohibit predatory behavior. It is simply absurd to suggest that making it illegal to fire someone from their job or kick them out of their house because of who they are somehow opens the floodgate to illegal behavior or creates "special rights."  But, LGBT advocates know this rhetoric based in fear and misinformation has been successful in the past.

Local activists are continuing to fight back with ONE Bowling Green, an extension of the group that was initially formed to help pass the ordinances last year. Weekly canvassing, phone banking, and get-out-the-vote efforts are underway to save the ordinance, and while the opposition brings in out-of-town speakers to stir up anti-LBGT sentiment, the Bowling Green residents who make up the group are out canvassing their neighbors and reminding them to support fairness.

Today, an Ohio-based group called Citizens for Community Values issued an "Action Alert," urging its supporters in Bowling Green, Ohio to take to the polls on November 2nd to protect their children. Unlike many of the other conservative calls to action we've seen this election cycle, CCV isn't concerned about the impact of rising debt on their children or any of the other causes célèbre Republicans are tying to future generations of Americans nowadays. No, CCV is concerned about men in dresses.

That's right -- men in dresses scaring little girls in public restrooms.

Citizens for Community Values' President Phil Burress lays out this nightmare scenario in the group's "Action Alert":

President Obama tonight released a video in the "It Gets Better" series, aimed at reaching gay youth driven to the brink of suicide by bullying.

Recently, several young people have taken their own lives after being bullied for being gay - or perceived as being gay - by their peers. Their deaths are shocking and heartbreaking tragedies. No one should have to endure relentless harassment or tormenting. No one should ever feel so alone or desperate that they feel have nowhere to turn. We each share a responsibility to protect our young people. And we also have an obligation to set an example of respect and kindness, regardless of our differences.

In the wake of these terrible tragedies, thousands of Americans have come together to share their stories of hope and encouragement for LGBT youth who are struggling as part of the It Gets Better Project.  Their messages are simple: no matter how difficult or hopeless life may seem when you're a young person who's been tormented by your peers or feels like you don't fit in: life will get better.

We all have a responsibility to protect all of our children.  But we also have an obligation to set an example of respect and kindness regardless of our differences.

Watch It:

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released a similiar video, "Tomorrow Will Be Better" on Tuesday.

You can visit the It Gets Better Project to see other videos--from famous faces and everyday Americans--speaking against hate and reaching out a hand in compassion. For those who may be suffering from bullying, we urge you to reach out to The Trevor Project anytime, day or night, at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386). The Trevor Project works to end LGBT youth suicide and is always there to help, 24 hours a day.

Remember, it does get better and America will be a better place because you are in it.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued a temporary stay of U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips's Oct. 12 order in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States halting all enforcement of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

In a brief order, Judges O'Scannlain, Trott and W. Fletcher wrote:

This court has received appellant's emergency motion to stay the district court's October 12, 2010 order pending appeal.  The order is stayed temporarily in order to provide this court with an opportunity to consider fully the issues presented.

Appellee may file an opposition to the motion for a stay pending appeal by October 25, 2010.  To expedite consideration of the motion, no reply shall be filed.

This means that a temporary stay of the trial court injunction of DADT has been granted until the Ninth Circuit can decide whether to issue a stay pending the appeal of the case to the Ninth Circuit.

A federal judge on Tuesday evening denied the federal government's request to postpone enforcement of an injunction she issued last week to stop enforcement of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

In a six-page order, U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Phillips on October 19 denied a request for a stay from the U.S. Department of Justice, seeking to stop enforcement of Phillips' October 12 injunction.

In her order Tuesday, Phillips noted that, before she issued the injunction, DOJ "provided no evidence regarding the alleged disruption" to military readiness or regarding the "need to revise dozens of policies and regulations" that DOJ claimed would be associated with compliance with the injunction.

And at a hearing on the injunction October 18, she said, DOJ's evidence was "unpersuasive" and "belied by the uncontroverted evidence presented at trial regarding the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Act's effect on military readiness and unit cohesion."

Phillips ruled on September 9 that DADT violates the First Amendment rights to free speech and the Fifth Amendment right to due process in the federal constitution. She formally entered her opinion on October 12, along with the injunction, ordering the federal government to stop enforcement of DADT.

The DOJ has already indicated it would seek a stay from the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, if necessary, and the 9th Circuit will likely act on that motion quickly

Phillips said the government has not proven that her order would harm troops or in any way impede efforts to implement new regulations for the military to deal with openly gay service members.

If she rejects the request, Justice Department officials say the Obama administration would appeal. Experts say they will likely find friendlier venues in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco and, ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court.

"The farther the decision gets from the presentation of evidence in the trial court, the more likely it is that courts will assume the military must have some critically important interest at stake," said Diane Mazur, a law professor who opposes the policy.

The military has promised to abide by the injunction against the "don't ask, don't tell" policy as long as her order remained in place.

Under the 1993 law, the military cannot inquire into service members' sexual orientation and punish them for it as long as they keep it to themselves. President Barack Obama has said he wants the law repealed in Congress.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a Republican, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, the military's top uniformed officer, both say they support lifting the ban. But Gates and Mullen also have warned that they would prefer to move slowly.

Gates has ordered a sweeping study due Dec. 1 that includes a survey of troops and their families.

The president agreed to the Pentagon study but also worked with Democrats to write a bill that would have lifted the ban, pending completion of the Defense Department review and certification from the military that troop morale wouldn't suffer.

That legislation passed the House but was blocked in the Senate by Republicans.

Gay rights activists worry that expected Republican gains in the midterm elections next month could make it even more difficult to overturn the policy in Congress.

The Obama administration is asking a California federal appeals court to stay the recent ruling that found the military policy that punishes those who are gay in the military.

Lawyer Dan Woods said his client, Log Cabin Republicans, which won the ruling on Tuesday, has been notified that the Justice Department "will appeal and seek a stay later today."

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs would only say that guidance will be coming soon. He did not say what the policies would be.

From the Advocate's Kerry Eleveld:

Sources said Justice Department attorneys are expected to file the request to U.S. district judge Virginia A. Phillips in Riverside, Calif. this afternoon.

Should Phillips deny the request for a stay, government attorneys are expected to file an emergency request to the U.S. court of appeals for the ninth circuit.

October 12, 2010

Dear Mr. Attorney General,

We are writing to bring to your attention the recently issued decision of Judge Virginia A. Phillips of the United States District Court of the Central District of California in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States, which declared that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) underlying law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of due process and free speech, thereby rendering DADT unconstitutional. In light of important national security concerns, we respectfully request that you, in your capacity at the Department of Justice, refrain from appealing this decision or the permanent injunction granted against this law.

The following quote from the judge's decision captures the overwhelming reason why the decision should stand: "Among those discharged were many with critically needed skills ... Far from furthering the military's readiness, the discharge of these service men and women had a direct and deleterious effect on this governmental interest." As one of many criteria that the Justice Department will examine in deciding whether to appeal the permanent injunction to this policy, we ask that you examine whether or not an appeal furthers a legitimate governmental interest. We would say any appeal does not.

Additionally, DADT harms military readiness, as well as the morale and the cohesiveness of our armed forces, at a time when our military's resources are strained and unity is critically important. For every person discharged after ten years of service, six new servicemembers would need to be recruited to recover the level of experience lost by that discharge. This not only weakens our military, but neither is it an effective use of our government resources or taxpayer monies.

President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, have all publicly advocated for the repeal of this harmful law. There is no legal or military justification and not one shred of credible evidence that supports continuing the discriminatory DADT law, and considering the guidance of the commander-in-chief and the nation's top two defense officials, we urge you to refrain from seeking an appeal. The federal court decision was a step in the right direction, and we are confident that the Senate will take the ultimate step by voting this fall on the fiscal year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act to permanently lift the ban on gays in the military. Although we understand that only action by Congress can bring real finality to this issue, we believe an appeal of the recent federal court decision could set back those congressional efforts. Therefore, we request your assistance in ensuring that we can eradicate this discriminatory law permanently and urge the Justice Department to choose not to appeal any court decision that would keep this law in place.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Senators:
Udall (CO)
Gillibrand
Kerry
Schumer
Burris
Whitehouse
Landrieu
Sanders
Merkley
Shaheen
Johnson
Franken
Boxer
Feingold
Lautenberg
Durbin
Menendez
Bennet
Mikulski
Sherrod Brown
Cardin

A federal judge has issued a worldwide injunction stopping enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops.

Judge Virginia Phillip -- the California federal judge who ruled that Don't Ask, Don't Tell violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and freedom of speech under the First Amendment -- granted the Log Cabin Republican's request for a broad injunction against further discharges:

(2) PERMANENTLY ENJOINS Defendants United States of America and the Secretary of Defense, their agents, servants, officers, employees, and attorneys, and all persons acting in participation or concert with them or under their direction or command, from enforcing or applying the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Act and implementing regulations, against any person under their jurisdiction or command;

(3) ORDERS Defendants United States of America and the Secretary of Defense immediately to suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation, or other proceeding, that may have been commenced under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Act, or pursuant to U.S.C. § 654 or its implementing regulations, on or prior to the date of this Judgment.

In an opinion that accompanied the injunction, Phillips explains that the plaintiff (the Log Cabin Republicans) "has established standing to bring and maintain this suit on behalf of its members. Additionally, Log Cabin Republicans has demonstrated the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Act, on its face, violates the constitutional rights of its members. Plaintiff is entitled to the relief sought in its First Amended Complaint: a judicial declaration to that effect and a permanent injunction barring further enforcement of the Act."

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the department is under no legal obligation to do so and could let Phillips' ruling stand.

~ Wonk Room

From our affiliate, The Courage Campaign's Prop 8 Trial Tracker:

It is obvious to all of us that the so-called National Organization for Marriage doesn't receive permission for use of the music they play at their public rallies. If they had asked permission, they would know that the artists whose works they're co-opting want nothing to do with NOM and their bigoted anti-equality campaigns.

I'm sure you remember the cease and desist letter sent to NOM President Brian Brown in response to the organization's use of the Peter, Paul & Mary recording of Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" at their rally in Albany, NY.

Well, John Mellencamp isn't happy about NOM's use of his music, either.

Read The Full Story Here

The Defense Authorization bill should enjoy broad, bipartisan support. We are, after all, talking about a spending measure that funds the military during two wars. Senate Republicans are, however, going to filibuster the motion to proceed, preventing the chamber from even debating the bill, in large part because of a provision that would empower the administration end discrimination against gay servicemen and women.

Democrats need 60 votes to overcome Republican obstructionism, led primarily by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). If 60 votes are there, passing the bill with the DADT provision appears very likely. If the 60 votes aren't there, Republicans will have blocked funding for the U.S. military during two wars, and will have very likely killed DADT repeal for the foreseeable future.

As of this morning, those 60 votes don't appear to be there. There's still some time, but the outlook isn't encouraging.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) "acknowledged Monday that Democrats are still searching for a handful of GOP votes to move to the defense authorization measure this week," Roll Call reports.

"I don't know whether we have the votes or not," he told reporters, adding that failing to pass the bill before the midterm elections "would be a major setback."

Republicans led by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) are widely opposed to language in the bill to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy barring openly gay service members. They have further blasted Democratic attempts to add an immigration provision known as the DREAM Act and another provision to curb the Senate's use of secret holds to the annual measure, which typically enjoys broad bipartisan support.

Levin railed against those claims and noted that McCain promoted a campaign finance amendment to the defense authorization bill in 2000. "The argument is this has no place on the defense bill, and they're wrong," Levin said. "People use the rules here, and they have the right to use the rules here."

Two key Senators "thought to be open to repealing the ban on openly gay soldiers serving in the military -- Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe -- complained Monday that Republicans were being shut out of the debate," POLITICO reports.

Collins "believes that our armed forces should welcome the service of any qualified individual who is willing and capable to serve our country," said spokesman Kevin Kelley. "She would like the Senate to proceed to a full and open debate on the defense authorization bill, with members able to offer amendments on all relevant issues."

Snowe also called for a more open process, though unlike Collins, she expressed doubts about the bill's "don't ask, don't tell" repeal plan. It is "imperative that Senate deliberations on the defense bill be conducted without limitations and in a manner that allows for the consideration of all related amendments that senators may wish to offer," she said in a statement.

One possibility "raised by senators from both parties Monday was to debate the bill this week, hold votes on some amendments, including the marquee 'don't ask, don't tell' and DREAM Act issues, and put off a final Senate vote on the legislation until after the elections."

A federal judge in California ruled on Thursday to lift the temporary stay in the case that overturned the state's ban on same-sex marriage. The decision is scheduled to go into effect on August 18, from which date same-sex couples would be allowed to marry in California.

Read the ruling in its entirety here [pdf]

From Gawker we see what homophobe GOP Congressman Aaron Schock wore to the White House picnic.

That's the Congressman on the right.

Rep. Schock voted against the DADT compromise.

As he did last year, Obama yesterday declared June "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month."

The LGBT Pride Month proclamation declares that Americans “renew our commitment to the struggle for equal rights for LGBT Americans and to ending prejudice and injustice wherever it exists.”

Obama also listed the policies he’s pursued to benefit the LGBT community, including the Hate Crimes Prevention Act and anti-discrimination laws.  

“As we honor the LGBT Americans who have given so much to our Nation, let us remember that if one of us is unable to realize full equality, we all fall short of our founding principles," Obama wrote. 

"Our Nation draws its strength from our diversity, with each of us contributing to the greater whole. By affirming these rights and values, each American benefits from the further advancement of liberty and justice for all. … I call upon all Americans to observe this month by fighting prejudice and discrimination in their own lives and everywhere it exists."

Read The Presidential Proclamation Below:

First the good news. Late last night, the Senate Armed Services Committee and the House of Representatives made history, passing an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- an historic moment bringing America one significant step closer to ending this discriminatory military policy.   

But here's the bad news -- and it's really bad: Sen. John McCain and the Republicans are planning to filibuster -- yes, filibuster -- the entire defense budget bill to stop the repeal of DADT. The extreme right-wing is cranking up their propaganda machine like they did on health care, behind the homophobic attacks of the Family Research Council.

As Keith Olbermann said on MSNBC last night:

"John McCain is marshaling his own resistance to the Senate amendment, inexplicably siding with right-wing fringe groups, who are attempting to out-homophobe each other to prevent historic progress for gay Americans."

Watch It:

It's a little early to get too excited, but The Advocate's Kerry Eleved is reporting that a deal may be coming together to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by the end of this week. Such a reversal would take effect after the Pentagon completes a study on how to integrate openly gay service members, according to multiple officials.

White House and Pentagon staffers met separately with representatives of gay rights organizations and congressional staffers to discuss what it would take to include a repeal of the policy in this year's defense spending bill, officials said.

It would take a legislative home run to pull off repeal this week. As the Washington Post reports, there are too many undecided legislators for either side to claim victory on the House or Senate floors. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-PA), who authored the attachment to the NDAA repealing DADT, doesn't yet have the votes to even get his amendment out of the House Armed Services Committee. Likewise, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) lacks the votes on the Senate side.

View the original letter here.

Dear President Harris:

It has been more than seven months since the Ohio House of Representatives passed House Bill 176 to protect Ohio's gay, lesbian, bisexual and trangender citizens from discrimination in housing, employment and public accomodations. We are disappointed the Ohio Senate has yet to hold a hearing on HB 176 despite the bipartisan support the legislation received in the House.

Ohio's major cities and 21 other states have already passed similar legislation to extend basic protections to the LGBT community that so many other Ohioans take for granted.

The Senate Democratic Caucus strongly urges you to schedule hearings for HB 176. the citizens of Ohio- both supporters and opponents- deserve the opportunity to fully debate the merits of this landmark equal rights legislation in the Ohio Senate.

Respectfully yours, 

Capri Cafaro, Teresa Fedor, Tom Sawyer, Shirley Smith, Eric Kearney, Joe Schiavoni, Jason Wilson, Dale Miller, Fred Strahorn, Ray Miller, Sue Morano and Nina Turner

All over Ohio, residents continue to live in fear for their jobs, housing and access to public accommodation.  There needs to be a state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity so that all may feel safe where they work, live and play!

HB 176 is the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA) which would ban discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Click here to tell Senate President Harris that it is time to MOVE THE BILL!

On September 15, 2009, HB 176 passed the House of Representatives.  It is time for HB 176 to be heard in the Ohio Senate!

HB 176 needs to be heard in an Ohio Senate Committee with full sponsor, proponent, opponent and interested party testimony and then voted on.  If passed out of committee, it would go to the Senate floor for a vote.

So far, Senate President Harris has not given HB 176 any hearings in the Rules Committee where it now sits.

As a community, we need to tell President Harris to MOVE THE BILL, NOW!

Every letter, phone call and email counts!

Please take action TODAY to help move Ohio toward being a state where ALL of us can feel at home.

The Advocate is reporting that Army Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Arabic translator who famously challenged ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ last year, has been recalled to active duty. The Advocates's story is based upon this report from The Bilerica Progject.,

If these reports of Lt. Choi being called back to service are in fact correct, that’s a strong sign that even ahead of a full repeal of the so-called gay ban, proceeding at a deliberate, year-long pace advocated by the Pentagon’s top leadership, relaxed enforcement of the policy is already in place.

Three years ago, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was pretty clear about his stand on the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

McCain said he would support ending the ban once the military's top brass told him that they agreed with the change.

"The day that the leadership of the military comes to me and says, 'Senator, we ought to change the policy,' then I think we ought to consider seriously changing it," McCain said in October 2006 to an audience of Iowa State University students.

That day arrived Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen testifying to senators after President Obama's announcement that he would seek a congressional repeal of the 15-year-old policy.

McCain went into his first flip-flop. (View Video)

"At this moment of immense hardship for our armed services, we should not be seeking to overturn the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy," he said bluntly, before describing it as "imperfect but effective."

Now he's going to have to perform his second.

In the same interview in 2006, McCain said, "I listen to leaders like Colin Powell on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell".

Watch It:

Gen. Colin L. Powell, who as the nation’s top military officer in the 1990s opposed allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military, switched gears today and threw his support behind efforts to end the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law he helped shepherd in.

“In the almost 17 years since the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ legislation was passed, attitudes and circumstances have changed,” General Powell said in a statement issued by his office. He added: “I fully support the new approach presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee this week by Secretary of Defense Gates and Admiral Mullen.”

Ooops!  McCain it's your move!

The federal trial over the unconstitutionality of Proposition 8 began today with an opening statement by attorney Theodore Olson, who with David Boies is leading the legal team assembled by the American Foundation for Equal Rights to litigate the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger.

OPENING STATEMENT

This case is about marriage and equality.  Plaintiffs are being denied both the right to marry, and the right to equality under the law.

The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly described the right to marriage as “one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men;” a “basic civil right;” a component of the constitutional rights to liberty, privacy, association, and intimate choice; an expression of emotional support and public commitment; the exercise of spiritual unity; and a fulfillment of one’s self.

In short, in the words of the highest court in the land, marriage is “the most important relation in life,” and “of fundamental importance for all individuals.”

As the witnesses in this case will elaborate, marriage is central to life in America.  It promotes mental, physical and emotional health and the economic strength and stability of those who enter into a marital union.  It is the building block of family, neighborhood and community.  The California Supreme Court has declared that the right to marry is of “central importance to an individual’s opportunity to live a happy, meaningful, and satisfying life as a full member of society.”

Proposition 8 ended the dream of marriage, the most important relation in life, for the plaintiffs and hundreds of thousands of Californians.

President Obama has named Amanda Simpson to be a senior technical advisor to the Commerce Department.

That wouldn't be especially noteworthy were it not for the fact that Simpson is one of the first-ever transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, and is a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors.

Focus on the Family issued a report on this to its membership on Monday. As you may have guessed, he religious right is apoplectic.

"Is there going to be a transgender quota now in the Obama administration?" asked Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth. "How far does this politics of gay and transgender activism go? Clearly this is an administration that is pandering to the gay lobby." [...]

"We should consider what transgender activism is about," he said," which is essentially recognizing civil rights based on gender confusion."

Matt Barber, associate dean at Liberty University, said the appointment "boggles the mind."

"This isn't like appointing an African-American in order to try to provide diversity and right some kind of discriminatory wrong," he said. "This is about political correctness."

As usual, the Christionists miss the point entirely in their making their case for violating Ms. Simpson's constitutional rights. 

The only question that actually matters here is, "is she the best person for the job?".

"If you look at the job she's taking and at her résumé, this is not a quota appointee," Mara Keisling, of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told the New York Post. "She's unquestionably qualified for the job. The story is . . . not that [Obama] appointed one of us but that finally we have an administration for which that's not a deal breaker."

Congratulations to Equality Ohio contest winners Hallie Bourne & Jeannette Birkoff!

Their video "Bits and Pieces" is the fifth installment of Equality Ohio Education Fund’s Our Stories project; a real story from real Ohioans about what it could be like if Ohio were to become a state where everyone can feel at home.

As EO has every year since the anti-gay Constitutional Amendment was passed in 2004, we are delivering this years Our Stories project to state legislators on the anniversary of the passage of the marriage ban in Ohio, December 2, as a reminder of the people and families that are harmed by that vote; a vote that placed into the Ohio Constitution discrimination against citizens based on their core identity.

Watch It:

In Toledo yesterday . . .

Police arrested a man on suspicion of swiping a Salvation Army kettle full of donated money and pushing one of the Christian charity’s bell ringers to the ground when she tried to take it back.

But the "real Spirit of the Season, War on Christmas" question is . . . was the Salvation Army planning on using that money to not hire gays?

Rep. Tyrone K. Yates, of Cincinnati, introduced a resolution Tuesday that would eliminate Section 11, Article 15 of the Constitution, an amendment known by supporters as the Defense of Marriage Act.

Yates on Tuesday, Nov. 10, introduced House Joint Resolution 7 which calls on the House and Senate to put the repeal on the May 2010 ballot. To get a constitutional amendment on the ballot would require 60 votes in the 99-member House and 20 in the 33-member Senate.

"I've gotten some of the most touching correspondence I've ever received,'' Yates said Wednesday after word spread about House Joint Resolution 7. "I've never received letters that were so moving.''

One writer told Yates he moved out of Ohio because of intolerance here. "This resolution had given him hope,'' Yates said. Other supporters wrote from Indiana, Massachusetts and Texas.

But Yates knows it may take time to gain momentum in Ohio.

"The profile on this issue is rising once again in Ohio,'' he said. "The nation does seem to be at a different place on domestic partner benefits and civil unions. It's causing us economic and social harm in our ability to attract and keep people here.''

The resolution would repeal the part of the state constitution - amended by Ohio voters in 2004 - that declared that only marriages between men and women can be recognized in Ohio.

Five states have legalized gay marriage starting with Massachusetts in 2004, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Iowa but all did so through legislation or court rulings, not by popular vote.

President Reaffirms Support For Repeal Of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" Activists Want Promises Turned Into Action

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama reaffirmed his campaign pledge to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but offered no timetable or specifics for acting on that promise.

He acknowledged to a cheering crowd that some policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.

"I will end 'don't ask-don't tell,'" Obama said to a standing ovation from the crowd of about 3,000 at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay civil rights advocacy group.

The law was passed by Congress in 1993 and signed by President Bill Clinton, who also promised to repeal the ban on homosexuals in the military but was blunted by opposition in the military and Congress. Obama said he's working with Pentagon and congressional leaders on ending the policy.

"We should not be punishing patriotic Americans who have stepped forward to serve the country," Obama said. "We should be celebrating their willingness to step forward and show such courage ... especially when we are fighting two wars."

Obama said it was no secret "our progress may be taking longer than we like." He followed this by asking supporters to trust his administration's course.

"I appreciate that many of you don't believe progress has come fast enough," Obama said. "Do not doubt the direction we are heading and the destination we will reach."

Some advocates said they already have heard Obama's promises – they just want to hear a timeline. Cleve Jones, a pioneer activist and creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, said Obama delivered a brilliant speech, but added "it lacked the answer to our most pressing question, which is when."

"He repeated his promises that he's made to us before, but he did not indicate when he would accomplish these goals and we've been waiting for a while now," said Jones, national co-chair of a major gay-rights rally expected to draw thousands of gay and lesbian activists to the National Mall on Sunday.

Watch It:

From Governor Ted Strickland's Campaign Website:

Today, Cleveland beat Boston in the competition to hold the 2014 Gay Games, an event that could bring more than $60 million in economic benefits to Northeastern Ohio. Governor Strickland released this statement about the news:

"I would like to thank the Cleveland Synergy Foundation, the Federation of Gay Games, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and all of those from throughout the state who worked to bring the 2014 Gay Games to Northeast Ohio. The 2014 Gay Games will be among the largest events ever hosted in Ohio.  It will further our reputation as a welcoming, inclusive state, which in turn will help attract jobs and foster long-term economic growth. We look forward to the honor and privilege of welcoming people from across the world to compete on Cleveland’s global stage."

You can read the Governor's full release here, and the Akron Beacon Journal's full article about the news here.

See Also: Gay Games coming to Akron/Cleveland... what will GOP State Treasurer candidate Josh Mandel say?

Apparently, Carrie is now an official speaker/martyr for the Christian right, obviously, and while her entire speech is hilarious (work those crazy eyes, girl!), the last 30 seconds are nothing less than pure comedy gold.

"I'm not really into politics, at least I wasn't at the time. But now I have a new outlook on this.
And I am disgusted at the way some people can be so intolerant. It disgusts me."

Watch It:

Yesterday, the Ohio House of Representatives passed H.B. 176, a bill that would prohibit housing and employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Activists from Equality Ohio, Progress Ohio, and many other organizations generated thousands of letters, emails, phone calls, and lobbied their legislators to achieve yesterday's victory. We will soon be turning our focus to the tough battle in the Republican-controlled Ohio Senate - stay tuned for ways you can help in that effort.

But today, will you help us say "thank you" to the Representatives in the House who voted yes?

Click here to send your thank you message.

We will compile your messages and send them to the fifty-six Representatives who stood up for the GLBT community yesterday and passed this important bill.

And today as always, thank YOU for everything you do to make Ohio a place where everyone can feel at home.

ProgressOhio applauds the passage in the Ohio House of H.B. 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act, a bill to prohibit discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Watch It:

OHIO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tue., Sep. 15, 2009, 11:00 AM

Regular Session.  

BILLS FOR THIRD CONSIDERATION

HB71 TRANSPORTING RAILROAD EMPLOYEES (HAGAN R) Establish requirements for contract carriers that transport railroad employees.

HB176   SEXUAL DISCRIMINATION (STEWART D) To prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

As we told our readers a week ago,

Tomorrow September 15,  the Ohio House is scheduled to vote on legislation banning discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

House Bill 176 has bipartisan support and is expected to win approval in the House, controlled by Democrats. Rep. Ross McGregor, R-Springfield, is a joint sponsor and Rep. Terry Blair, R-Washington Twp., is a co-sponsor of the bill to which Dan Stewart is the primary sponsor.

Friends,

Our friends at Equality Ohio need our help.

As early as next Tuesday, September 15, there may be a vote in the Ohio House of Representatives on House Bill 176. This important bill would prohibit housing and employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Click here to take action - contact your legislator

Right now, our friends, neighbors, sons, daughters, and coworkers can be fired or denied housing simply because they're gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender - or even just because their boss or landlord THINKS they are.

The Ohio legislature has the power to change this with House Bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA).

Equality Ohio and other partners have been working tirelessly to get the legislature to take a vote on House Bill 176, and their efforts have paid off - there may be a vote as early as Tuesday.

Your representative needs to hear from you TODAY so that he or she knows that the community supports this. As Equality Ohio says, "Passage of EHEA is a very important step towards creating an Ohio where everyone can feel at home."

Click here to urge YOUR representative to vote YES on House Bill 176.

Thanks for everything you do,

Brian Rothenberg
Executive Director
ProgressOhio.org

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Please forward to your friends and colleagues!

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Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was the keynote speaker at a candlelight vigil for equal rights for the GLBT community held tonight on the Village Green in Worthington, Ohio.

Brunner was presented with the RISE  (Recognition in Strengthening Equality) Award.

Watch It:

The vigil was held  in support of House Bill 176, which prohibits discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Other speakers included Bishop Isaac Kramer and State Representative Dan Stewart, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, State Reps Marian Harris and Ted Celeste, and individuals giving personal testimony.

See Video of Rep. Dan Stewart's talk at Lights For Equality

View Images Of The Event Here

See Our Interview With Ohio Secretary Of State and Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner Here

Write a Letter to the Editor In Support of H.B. 176

State Representative Dan Stewart (D-Columbus) of the 25th District is proud to serve his hometown of Columbus in the Ohio House. Stewart represents the area including central, west and south Columbus, in addition to Franklin, Hamilton and Jackson Townships.

Once again Representative Stewart is the lead sponsor of House Bill 176 also known as the Equal Housing and Employment Act. When passed and enacted, the legislation will add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of reasons for which a person may not be discriminated against in Ohio in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Minority Floor Leader Jennifer Garrison has pledged the bill will be brought to floor soon after the start of the new legislative session. 

Governor Ted Strickland has pledged his support of the bill and has promised to sign it into law when it reaches his desk.

When enacted, this will be the first statewide law protecting or recognizing Ohioans based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Watch It:

Support Equal Rights For All Ohioans!

Write a Letter to the Editor in support of HB 176 to your local newspapers NOW!

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner was the keynote speaker at a candlelight vigil for equal rights for the GLBT community held tonight on the Village Green in Worthington, Ohio.

The vigil was held  in support of House Bill 176, which prohibits discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Brunner was presented with the RISE  (Recognition in Strengthening Equality) Award.

Other speakers included Bishop Isaac Kramer and State Representative Dan Stewart, who is the lead sponsor of the bill, State Reps Marian Harris and Ted Celeste, and individuals giving personal testimony.

See Our Interview With Ohio Secretary Of State and Senate Candidate Jennifer Brunner Here

Slideshow:

View Full Size Images Here

Write a Letter to the Editor In Support of H.B. 176

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner will be the keynote speaker at a candlelight vigil for equal rights for the GLBT community.

The vigil will be held  in support of House Bill 176, which prohibits discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

WHAT: Lights for Equality
WHEN: Friday, September 4, 8:30-10:30 PM
WHERE: The Village Green, corner of N. High St. and Dublin Granville Rd, Worthington, OH 43085

Brunner will be presented with the RISE award (Recognition in Strengthening Equality).

Other speakers include Bishop Isaac Kramer and State Representative Dan Stewart, who was the lead sponsor of the bill, and individuals giving personal testimony.

Over three hundred are expected to attend.

This event is to show support for equal rights for the LGBT community, in regards to HB 176. HB 176 is about equality in housing and employment for all.

There will be a light vigil, speakers, and an award presented. Bring any source of light that you can find! (ex: candles, lighters, cell phones, flash lights, etc.) This is a child friendly event.

Please come and show your support for HB 176.

Friday, September 4 from 8:30 PM - 10:30 PM
The Village Green (Worthington, OH) 777 N. High St. Worthington, OH 43085
Sponsored by The Interfaith Diocese of Ohio, Equality-Rising.org and Equality Ohio

Schedule:
8:30 Welcome speech by MC
8:31 Explanation of HB 176
8:40 Bishop Isaac Kramer - Thirty Years Ago
9:00 Presentation of R.I.S.E. (Recognition in Strengthening Equality) Award
9:03 Official Lighting for the Vigil started by Jennifer Brunner
9:04 Moment of silence
9:05 Jennifer Brunner - Keynote speaker
9:30 Personal stories
9:40 Rep. Dan Stewart - TBA
10:00 Speaker TBA
10:20 Personal stories
10:28 Thank you and closing of vigil
10:31 Clean up

Special Thank you to the following:
Jennifer Brunner
The City of Worthington
Ohio Statehouse Rep. Dan Stewart
Ohio Statehouse Rep. Mariam Harris
Worthington Seventh Day Adventist Church
& Everyone who supports the event and made it possible!

As an introvert in an extroverted world who would admittedly rather be reading a book, watching a ballgame or playing with my dog than hanging out just about anywhere, it’s never easy when your personal life winds up on Front Street.

It’s not that I’m not comfortable and proud of who I am and the realities of what I do, it’s just part of human DNA to want to be liked—accepted and embraced by all  -- something that with maturity you realize cannot and will not happen no matter how hard you try.

When I came to terms with being Gay, I also came to terms that because of my involvement in politics and advocacy, both of which I love, I needed to be upfront and open about my sexual orientation – not just with family and friends, but in general. If anyone asked, I would confirm it. If it were appropriate in context, I would mention it usually with humor. It’s not jaded to say that we live in an indecent political world where even if you are out, people might think they have something on you.

The fact is decency is one of those things where you, individually, have to create the self-control to understand what crosses the line of civil discourse and what is inappropriate – especially in light of the modern empowerment of both online anonymity and the sanctity of a keyboard in some barren office or basement.

As a young communications director in the Ohio Senate, I was once given some “opp research” – a highway patrol report – on a candidate for the State Senate that involved a tragically fatal accident. After some soul-searching, I realized that the candidate’s accident was just that – a tragic accident – and the candidate had paid a heavy price and redeemed himself through great faith.

I was told the Highway Patrol report I was given by a House political operative was the only copy. If so, it is no more. I burned it in my backyard barbecue and the candidate went on to win a pretty gerrymandered district, which he would have won regardless. I fought that candidate and later Senator, now retired, tooth and nail on issues for years – but never regretted my decision to burn the “opp trash.”

A few bloggers last week decided not to contact me, but instead have a public online discussion about me and my sexual orientation that, in my opinion, crossed a level of decency by discussing my sexual orientation publicly in relation to an issue debate, with a clear intent on their part to inflame or embarrass, or maybe just be mean. I did not respond. Those that know or ask, know I am quite comfortable with who I am and my life.

I can tell you that I am both not ashamed, nor upset about people knowing. The more people know someone who is gay, the more people know that we are just the same as straight people. We love like you love, bleed as you bleed, blush as you blush, smile as you smile and pray like you pray. We even commit in relationships as you do, despite silly laws and political games to the contrary. The fact is to be gay is a part of you, it isn’t all of you.

This all started because Rep. Jennifer Garrison who strongly supported the Defense of Marriage Act, which I abhor, wanted to be clear that she supports H.B. 176 the LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill – a bill ProgressOhio has been working on for well over two years with Equality Ohio and others.

I’ve known Rep. Garrison for quite some time, and have no recollection of whether I’ve ever told her I’m Gay or not – but we have discussed my personal disagreement on issues like abortion and DOMA and her beliefs on such issues.

I embraced her support on H.B. 176 because Rep. Garrison is moving in the right direction – and because if we are to make progress on LGBT issues, we must reach out, and not distance ourselves from the majority from which we need to build legislative power and change.

I can also tell you that the way in which these bloggers behaved lacked common courtesy and decency. Their points could have been made without reference to my sexual orientation – my leadership on progressive causes and gay rights issues is a matter of record and their point could have been made based on that record -- but they chose to discuss my personal life publicly because of malicious intent. In fact, one blogger thought he was outing me, the other blogger admitted not really knowing me in their discourse. Sexual orientation never came up before as an issue by friend or foe many of whom knew this in our state’s rather small political world.

This issue came up because these bloggers wanted to cross this line intentionally, linking, commenting and stirring on purpose despite what they may have said at the time or will I am sure say about it based on Mr. Hallett’s column. There seems to be some psychosis in America where online technology emboldens some of the worst in some people’s character.

When Joe Hallett approached me, he asked (the decent thing to do) and I said he could mention the way my personal life was used because I believe civility and decency needs a check on the left and the right before it leaves the basement and erupts into more than Town Hall mob bickering. At what point does someone’s basement keyboard traverse from online psychosis and become violent?

For me I’ll go back to my books, my Browns and my labradoodle. I’m gay, so now you know – big deal. It’s a part of me like being Jewish, growing up in Portage County, being a proud progressive and being a Marietta College grad is a part of me. This issue of “Brian’s Inside Edition” is over.

If you knew, you are likely having a chuckle. If you didn’t – do you really care. And if you know me and felt I should have told you, it just didn’t come up in context and I wish I had told you – but know that if you would have asked or circumstances were right, I’d have answered.

And finally if you are a reader of those blogs about me and felt it inappropriate or awkward to view -- just stop reading those bloggers. Readers are the oxygen of a writer, without it, they are simply having a tantrum in an empty circus tent and eventually even the loudest loneliest carnival barker loses his voice.

Here is Mr. Hallett’s column, you can read his take as well:

Anonymity of Internet encourages people to spread venom, vulgarity

 Equality bill will be first when Ohio House returns

Columbus--The Equal Housing and Employment Non-Discrimination Act will be the first bill considered when the Ohio House returns from recess on September 15, its proponents say.

The measure, also known as EHEA or H.R. 176, prohibits discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity in public and private employment, housing and public accommodations. Twenty-one other states have similar measures.

Equality Ohio, which has been advocating for the bill, sent an e‑mail to supporters August 19 announcing that House Speaker Armond Budish of Beachwood had said that the bill would be the first voted on that day.

If that holds, Budish will have kept his promise to the LGBT community despite pressure from more conservative elements of the Democratic Party, including Majority Leader Jennifer Garrison of Marietta, who has announced a bid for secretary of state.

Conservative Democrats have agreed to vote for the bill, some more reluctantly than others. But, fearing that the vote could threaten the House’s Democratic majority, they would prefer to delay the vote until after the November 2010 election.

Read the full piece by Eric Resnick at The Gay People's Chronicle

In an interview earlier this week here at ProgressOhio, Majority Floor Leader Garrison stated that she unequivocally supported the Equal Housing and Employment Act.

She then went into details about HB 176’s progress in the Statehouse and the role she will play in bringing it to a vote.

Watch It:

State Rep. and House Majority Floor Leader Jennifer Garrison stopped by ProgressOhio today to discuss the passage of the Equal Housing and Employment Act (HB 176).

Garrison stated that she unequivocally supported the Equal Housing and Employment Act. She then went into details about HB 176’s progress in the Statehouse and the role she is playing in bringing it to a vote.

Garrison then talked about her position on other equality issues, like the Defense of Marriage Act.

Watch It:

Read the letter regarding HB 176 sent by Floor Leader Garrison to Speaker Budish.

California’s Courage Campaign, one of Progress Ohio’s national partners through the Progress Now network, has an important online action going on right now. We hope the Progress Ohio community will do its part and stand with thousands across the country and say “Don’t Fire Dan!” See below.

 

On Friday, we sent you the following message from Dan Choi, a native of California and an Army Lieutenant facing trial on Tuesday for "moral and professional dereliction" under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

With just hours left until Lt. Choi's trial, an amazing 91,147 people -- including you -- have signed the letter of support asking the Army not to fire Lt. Choi.

It's important that Lt. Choi walks into the courtroom on Tuesday holding as many letters of support as possible. Can you help us gather more than 100,000 signatures for Lt. Choi by forwarding this email to your friends today?

Rick Jacobs
Chair, Courage Campaign

 
Dear Lorraine --

On Tuesday at 8 a.m., I will stand trial for speaking three truthful words: "I am gay."

On Tuesday, I will face a panel of colonels who will decide whether or not to fire me -- to discharge me for "moral and professional dereliction" under the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

On Tuesday, I will try to prove that it's not immoral to tell the truth.

As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates.

My case requires that I provide personal testimony from people who can attest to my character. That's why several members of my military unit have written letters of support and offered to testify on my behalf.

Now I need your help. ANYONE who believes the Army should not fire me can take a stand right now. I am bringing a statement of support to Tuesday's trial and I need you to add your signature to it. Will you support me by signing this statement before Tuesday?

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SupportDan

I want to thank the 141,262 people who have signed the "Don't Fire Dan" letter launched a few weeks ago by the Courage Campaign and CREDO Mobile to President Obama, asking him to take leadership to bring this tragic policy to an end.

The momentum is building. This week, 77 members of Congress signed a letter to the President citing my service as an example of why DADT should be repealed. And a Gallup poll was recently released showing that 69 percent of Americans -- including 58 percent of Republicans - favor allowing openly gay men and lesbian women to serve their country .

As I learned at West Point, deception and lies poison a unit and cripple a fighting force. That's why more than 70 of my fellow West Point graduates have also come out of the closet to join Knights Out, the organization I co-founded to build support for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

The only way we will eventually overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is by speaking up together. You can help me fight back right now by adding your name to my statement of support. On Tuesday morning, I will bring your signature -- and thousands of others -- to my trial as a demonstration of your collective support:

http://www.couragecampaign.org/SupportDan

National security means many things, but the thing that makes us secure in our nation and homes is love. What makes me a better soldier, leader, Christian and human being is love. And I'm not going to hide my love.

Love is worth it.

Thank you for your support.

Daniel W. Choi
1LT, IN
New York Army National Guard

A church in Connecticut put a 20 minute video up on YouTube documenting the "exorcism" of a teenager's "homosexual demons."

The target of exorcism says he is 16. Gay advocates have turned the case over to child services.

A Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's report [pdf] documented the harassment LGBT kids experience in Ohio's schools. 

Among the findings:

• 87% of LGBT students were verbally harassed, 48% were physically harassed and 24% were physically assaulted in the past year because of their sexual orientation. 
• 65% of LGBT students who were harassed or assaulted in school never reported it to school staff. Only 30% of students who did said that reporting resulted in effective intervention by school staff.
• 31% of LGBT students had missed at least one entire day of school for this reason.

Yesterday was the first time in Ohio's history that a vote took place in the Statehouse to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The Equal Housing and Employment Act will prevent people from being fired or denied housing because of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

It now has a chance of becoming law, thanks to 8 of the 13 Statehouse committee members who voted yes. Equality Ohio and ProgressOhio would like to thank those 8 members for supporting equal housing and employment rights for all of us.

Let them know you'll help them in the fight for equal rights.

Take a minute to sign this letter of thanks which we'll deliver to them.

Brian Rothenberg
Executive Director
ProgressOhio.org

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Please forward to your friends and colleagues!

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History is made in Ohio

Today, with a vote of 8 to 5, House Bill 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act, passed out of State Government Committee in the Ohio House of Representatives.

The committee vote marks the first time in Ohio's history that a vote has occurred on legislation protecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Ohio in either chamber of the General Assembly. The only previous issue to come to a vote in the Assembly related to LGBT issues was the 2003 legislative so called Defense of Marriage Act.

Voting YES were Gerberry, Lundy, Sykes, Williams B., Stewart, Mallory, Sayre, and Hite with Adams, Daniels, Grossman, Hall, and Stebelton casting NO votes. The bill now moves to consideration by the entire House of Representatives.

And the firsts just keep right on rolling. It is expected that next week the entire House of Representatives will vote on HB 176!

It is time to call or email your State House Representative to ask them to support HB 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act. This bill would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the existing enumeration of protected classes in our state non-discrimination law.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW!

Marriage is a matter of choice. 

There is no room for discrimination against LGBT families in a society that was founded upon freedom and respect for individual rights.

 - - Secretary Of State, Candidate for U.S. Senate Jennifer Brunner

What's there to "Get" about Marriage Equality?

By Jennifer Brunner

In 1988, I applied for an appointment to the City Council of Columbus, Ohio. I was not chosen, but I chuckle when I think of the calls I received to vet me for the post. One of them was from the leader of a very conservative sect of our local Democratic party. He wanted to know if I supported legislation being considered by city council to allow domestic partnership benefits. I told him that if same-sex couples were permitted to be married, we wouldn't need such special legislation, and that I would prefer to see that. I don't think that was the answer he was looking for or expected.

Here we are 21 years later, and finally, some states are moving progressively to recognize the simple fact that human rights belong to everyone. I believe that we, as a society, can and must quickly recover from the hateful actions taken against our nation's LGBT citizens and innocent children in so many states, including Ohio, in measures such as DOMA, gay marriage constitutional bans, and bans on LGBT adoptions. We must move toward the simple, human dignity of fairness, equality and respect for all persons in our laws, our policies and our actions.

I continue to simmer when I think of the recent legislative and constitutional amendments specifically denying equal rights to LGBT citizens that were initiated by political operatives to stoke the fires of hatred and division among ordinary citizens who would otherwise be living without this heightened and unnecessary rancor and dissension. I continue to simmer as I recognize that these actions were initiated primarily for the purpose of retaining power by a small group of people who have hurt many innocents, LGBT and straight alike, for their selfish and greedy purposes. We have not benefited from this, and it is time for marriage equality to be available to all, straight or LGBT. We are a community, and in these times, we must support and depend on each other as people do in a real community.

After a dreadful past eight years birthed by a process fueled by hatred (yes, Ohio decided the 2004 election, using the gay marriage ban as the ultimate wedge to drive a record number of evangelical Christian and conservative voters to the polls), we now have the chance to shape the foundation of this century to be one less violent, more compassionate, more responsible and accountable, and one full of opportunity and hope. A good start is to recognize family in all the ways it emerges, for a stronger social fabric that will support us as we pursue the founding ideals of our country for years to come.

Marriage equality's time is now.

Read The Full Editorial at Huffington Post

Columbus -U.S. Senate candidate Jennifer Brunner, who this week became the first recipient of the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the American Constitutional Society for Law and Policy's newly created Stephanie Tubbs Jones Public Service Award, for her efforts in achieving a fair and efficient Ohio presidential election in 2008, supports passage of legislation that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"Our state and our nation have long banned discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender and religion,'' Brunner said. "These matters are not matters of choice, but of the diversity of the human condition. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity are incompatible with our laws guaranteeing freedom from discriminatory treatment. We must become a more tolerant society, respecting one another and guaranteeing equal rights to the freedoms and prosperity of our society to all."

At the state level, House Bill 176, known as the Equal Housing and Employment Act, is jointly sponsored by Representatives Dan Stewart, a Columbus Democrat, and Ross McGregor, a Springfield Republican. It seeks to ban discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

At the federal level, the Employee Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is expected to be introduced in Congress sometime this year.

Brunner noted that the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies, many cities, non-profits and labor unions already ban such types of discrimination. She adopted such a policy in her current state office as soon as she took office. She called for passage of state and federal anti-discrimination laws, saying that passage would guarantee uniformity so that the extent of a person's civil rights would not be dictated by where they live and work.

"It's time to for the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act to be part of our civil rights framework for all U.S. citizens,'' Brunner said. "Congress has the power to break down one of the last vestiges of discrimination left in America. When I am in the U.S. Senate, I will continue to push for the best public policies that promote fairness, equality and respect."

Brunner received the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Award from the Northeast Ohio Chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy in Cleveland at the City Club and was joined by its national executive director, David Lyle. The organization gives the award to those who best reflect the late Cleveland Congresswoman's commitment to justice and passion for equal rights for all people.

Here's an Ad released in response to the Court's ruling by our California affiliate, The Courage Campaign:

One of the most power-filled days for Ohioans who want equal rights for LGBT people and families.

Last year HUNDREDS of Ohioans visited their elected officials to talk with them about equal rights for ALL Ohioans regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Mothers, fathers, families, clergy members, students -- they took a day off from school or work to come to Columbus for Lobby Day.

Lobby Day is always impactful, but this year pro-equality legislators control the House of Representatives. It's an even bigger deal to make sure our voices are heard.

Lobby from Home Today!

Your elected leader should hear from you. It could make the difference.

The Maine Legislature has approved a bill that would make the state the fifth to allow gay marriage.

The bill faces one more vote each in the House and Senate before it goes to Gov. John Baldacci (bahl-DAH'-chee). He is a Democrat and remains undecided.

The House gave approval Tuesday after rejecting a proposal to let voters decide the issue in November.

Four other states allow gay marriage, three of them also in New England. They are Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Iowa.

Maine would become only the second state to allow gay marriage through an act of a legislature.

NOM: Nation For "Opposite" Marriage

Watch It:

Be Afraid Be Very Afraid: A Storm Is Gathering . . .

Video: Response To The Lies Told In "NOM - Gathering Storm" Ad

Last week, Iowa and Vermont joined Connecticut and Massachusetts to legalize same-sex marriage. Progressive religious voices and civil rights groups worked hard to help achieve these victories, moving us closer to our nation’s promise of equality and justice for all. Even so, conservative religious opponents are criticizing the victories, claiming that same-sex marriage violates the biblical definition of marriage. They are wrong, and here’s why.

1. There are few biblical verses that address homosexuality at all, and most of those are not directed at homosexuality per se. Opponents of same-sex marriage routinely cite seven verses in the Christian Bible as condemning homosexuality and calling it a sin. But when taken in context, these lessons speak not against homosexuality itself, but rather against rape, child molestation, bestiality, and other practices that hurt others and compromise a person’s relationship with God.

2. Jesus never said one word against homosexuality. In all of his teachings, Jesus uplifted actions and attitudes of justice, love, humility, mercy, and compassion. He condemned violence, oppression, cold-heartedness, and social injustice. Never once did Jesus refer to what we call homosexuality as a sin.

3. The Bible never mentions or condemns the concept we call same-sex marriage. Although opponents of same-sex marriage claim that lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender unions violate biblical principles, no verses in the Bible explicitly address gay marriage or committed same-sex relationships.

4. Those who claim a “biblical definition of marriage” as a model for today ignore various marital arrangements in the Bible that would be illegal or condemned today. The Bible is filled with stories of polygamy and husbands taking concubines. In accordance with the culture and laws of the past, women were often treated like property that could be traded or sold into marriage. Today we understand that these examples of marriage reflect the cultural practices of the time rather than a spiritual model for today.

Original Content from The Center For American Progress

The National Organization for Marriage recently released a new fear mongering (if not over-blown and dramatic) ad against same sex marriage full of lies and propaganda.

Here's a response.

Watch It:

With the Vermont legislature legalizing same-sex marriage (close on the heels of the Iowa Supreme Court doing the same thing), anti-gay organizations are gearing up for a big push-back.

Here's the new Ad from the National Organization For Marriage:

Lobby Day for Equality 2009!
One of the most power-filled days for Ohioans who want equal rights for LGBT people and families.

Last year HUNDREDS of Ohioans visited their elected officials to talk with them about equal rights for ALL Ohioans regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Mothers, fathers, families, clergy members, students -- they took a day off from school or work to come to Columbus for Lobby Day.

Lobby Day is always impactful, but this year pro-equality legislators control the House of Representatives. It's an even bigger deal to make sure our voices are heard.

You won't be alone and we'll help you prepare. In the weeks before we'll send you important information and facts to make sure you're comfortable and ready. You'll get tips and training, and if you are not already part of a Local Action Team, you'll be assigned to a team on Lobby Day to support one another and share the lobbying experience together.

Your elected leader should hear from you.

It could make the difference.

One of the most power-filled days for Ohioans who want equal rights for LGBT people and families.

Last year HUNDREDS of Ohioans visited their elected officials to talk with them about equal rights for ALL Ohioans regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Mothers, fathers, families, clergy members, students -- they took a day off from school or work to come to Columbus for Lobby Day.

Lobby Day is always impactful, but this year pro-equality legislators control the House of Representatives. It's an even bigger deal to make sure our voices are heard.

You won't be alone and we'll help you prepare. In the weeks before we'll send you important information and facts to make sure you're comfortable and ready. You'll get tips and training, and if you are not already part of a Local Action Team, you'll be assigned to a team on Lobby Day to support one another and share the lobbying experience together.

Your elected leader should hear from you. It could make the difference.

Questions? Call or email: contactus@equalityohio.org or 614-224-0400

Register Here: Lobby Day for Equality 2009!

ProgressOhio affiliate The Courage Campaign released the video "Fidelity" as part of their "Don't Divorce Us" Campaign to overturn Prop 8:

The California Supreme Court, which legalized gay marriage in 2008, will consider whether it was unconstitutional for Californians to outlaw same-sex weddings in a ballot measure that sparked protests and calls for boycotts against its supporters.

Gay and civil rights groups and cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles are seeking to overturn the measure, known as Proposition 8, which on Nov. 4 won 52 percent approval of voters to amend the state constitution to ban homosexual nuptials in the nation’s most populous state.

They say Proposition 8 is illegal because it revises the constitution to rob a protected minority of equal rights and court protection. Revisions of the constitution must be handled by state lawmakers, according to lawsuits filed on Nov. 5. Proposition 8 backers said the court can’t reverse what voters have approved. Arguments in the case are scheduled for today in San Francisco.

“The court is always reluctant to overturn a ballot initiative,” said attorney Vikram Amar, who teaches constitutional law at University of California-Davis. “Prop 8 challengers will try to distinguish this initiative from others, that equality is somehow more important than other basic rights.”

The court will also decide whether to invalidate approximately 18,000 marriages performed before Proposition 8 passed. Four out of seven Supreme Court justices voted to legalize gay marriage in May. One of the four voted against hearing lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. That has led to speculation that there may be four votes against striking down Proposition 8, said Amar. A ruling is due within 90 days.

Newt Gingrich's latest gimmick is that Republicans should coalesce around "80/20 issues" - ideas which polls show getting 80%+ voter approval.

One 80/20 issue that didn't make Newt's list, took a major step forward this week. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) introduced The Military Readiness Enhancement Act which would repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and ensure that all qualified Americans can serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation.

Don't Ask has resulted in 12,500 service members being discharged and an estimated 3,000 gays and lesbians annually choosing not to enlist.

Passage of the bill will also have a big plus for the '20 side' - the GAO found that taxpayers have spent at least a quarter of a billion dollars enforcing Don't Ask.

The Colorado Indepedent is reporting that Focus on the Family wrote a $100,000 check to the Prop 8 campaign days before laying off 20% of its workforce. 

In all, Focus on the Family contributed over $725k to backers of the anti-gay California ballot measure, far outpacing even the Mormon church. It is pretty clear whose families they were focused on (hint: not their employees).

The largest donor to the campaign was another non-Mormon, religious-affiliated organization, the Knights of Columbus.  

Quoted in the article is Rick Jacobs, the founder of the Courage Campaign, our California-based sister organization.  Check out some of their great work on Prop 8.

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Due to weather the rally schedule for today (Sat Jan 10th) has been rescheduled to Sat Jan 31st.

We want to keep everyone safe.

Brian Rothenberg
Executive Director
ProgressOhio.org

Join ProgressOhio on Facebook!

Please forward to your friends and colleagues!

ProgressOhio - "We're Powered By You"

Our California counterpart, the Courage Campaign, has a really moving slideshow of families that will be 'divorced' because of Prop 8.

In a 6-0 vote last night, Columbus City Council passed revisions to the Columbus City Code that will add gender identity and expression (as well as age and disability) to the list of protected classes under the city civil rights code -- including all non-discrimination sections and the ethnic intimidation (hate crimes) section. More about the measure here.

Councilwoman Priscilla Tyson, who introduced the proposal December 8, was not in attendance because her mother passed away on Saturday.

Activists from Stonewall Democrats, Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), and Equality Ohio were present for the vote, after having emailed and called members of City Council urging support of the measure.

To send a thank you message, click here for email addresses of City Council members.

RELATED POST:

MONDAY: Columbus City Council Votes on Non-Discrimination and Hate Crimes Policy

The ordinance updates sections of city code covering employment non-discrimination, fair housing, public accommodations and ethnic intimidation.

The sections are similar, but not uniform in listing who is covered, though commonly, race, religion and sexual orientation are included. Sexual orientation was added to the housing and accommodation code in 1984, and to the others in 1992.

The updates add gender identity or expression and, if the sections don’t already have them, sex, ancestry, age, disability and familial status.

No Ohio or federal law prohibits discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity, although a bill to add them is currently in the state legislature. Four other Ohio cities include both in their non-discrimination ordinances: Cincinnati, Toledo, Dayton and Oxford.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Email Priscilla Tyson's aide and express your support for the revisions: cgwilliams@columbus.gov

Attend the City Council meeting on Monday, December 15 at 5 PM: Columbus City Hall Council Chamber, 2nd Floor 90 West Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215

Activists will gather in Columbus this Wednesday, December 10 to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At 4:00PM at the State House (exact location TBD), the declaration will be read in its entirety, and speakers will make commentary.

Sponsors and participants include: United Nations Association - Columbus Chapter, Central Ohioans for Peace, Faith Communities Uniting for Peace, Interfaith Association of Central Ohio, SweatFree Ohio, Ohio AFL-CIO, Ohio Conference on Fair Trade, and Columbus Area Jobs with Justice

Click here to RSVP and comment.

Click on the image to read the full declaration.

From the Introduction:

All human beings are born with equal and inalienable rights and fundamental freedoms.

The United Nations is committed to upholding, promoting and protecting the human rights of every individual. This commitment stems from the United Nations Charter, which reaffirms the faith of the peoples of the world in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has stated in clear and simple terms the rights which belong equally to every person.

These rights belong to you.

They are your rights. Familiarize yourself with them. Help to promote and defend them for yourself as well as for your fellow human beings.

An important point so often missing from the debate: Gay marriage would save the economy.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Marc Shaiman Adam Shankman Margaret Cho Andy Richter Maya Rudolph

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

The National Journal's WakeUp Call (sub. link) reports today that Ken Blackwell has thrown his hat into the ring for RNC Chair.

Before this farce goes any further, I'd like a statement from Mr. Blackwell on this lovely, pre-packaged burning cross, that his friends at the American Family Association (AFA) are peddling:

What does Blackwell have to do with the AFA?

• Blackwell gladly accepted an endorsement from the AFA during his 06 race for governor.
• Blackwell was selected to join the Arlington Group "a powerhouse, by-invitation-only organization whose roughly 60 members have direct access to the White House", which was started by AFA founder Don Wildmon.
• Blackwell is a member of an ultra-secretive, extremist group with Wildmon ties - the Council for National Policy. In fact, Blackwell actually paid his membership dues out of his 2006 campaign funds.
• Blackwell has also done campaign events (video) with people with hate-group hanger-on Larry Pratt.

• The burning cross has gained such notoriety, that as of today a Google search for 'American Family Association' produces 18.7 million hits. Number five is the burning cross. The AFA are certainly aware of this issue and have not removed the item from their site, even though the item's noteriety is based on the disbelief that a "family" group would sell something that so clearly is a symbol of hate.
• They are based in Tupelo, Mississippi. This former Confederate town of 35,000 has played host to a KKK rally (video) as recently as last October and have a history that goes back much farther.
• Wildmon made his name taking offense and taking names over things that offend him.
• They have been an outspoken opponent of other minority groups. His most recent faux-outrage was a 5 month boycott of McDonald's organized because a Canadian executive of theirs was on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

James Dobson's Focus on the Family laid off 200 employees this week. Focus on the Family once employed over 1,500; today its employees number around 950.

While it couldn't pay its employees, it did find a half million dollars to sink into California's anti-gay Prop 8. FotF's website contains pages and pages of advice on dealing with "Marriage Challenges". I searched for a bit, and couldn't find one entitled "My marriage is invalidated by same sex couples receiving legal recognition."

Be part of the next Civil Rights Movement - Be part of history

Join the National Protest / March for Equality on November 15th!

Cleveland

Columbus

Cincinnati

Dayton

Short one today:

Ken Blackwell called Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin "this year's gay marriage amendment."

TURN OUT THE VOTE EXTRAVAGANZA!

at the AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, in the parking lot

With a Special Guest Appearance by “Sex and the City” Star:

Cynthia Nixon

plus

Early Voting at the Board of Election     Music by Zoo Station

All Food (gyros and more) for $1   Free Tee-shirts

Community Mural        Human “Vote” Photo

Free Parking at Midway Parking, near East 30th and Euclid

Contact:        Jessica Gupta, AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland

                       216-621-0766, Ext. 282

What:            TURN OUT THE VOTE EXTRAVAGANZA

When:            Tuesday, October 21, 2008

5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Where:           AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland, parking lot

            3210 Euclid Avenue (near E. 30th and Euclid Ave.)

Cleveland, OH  44115

*Free parking available at Midway Parking lot, near E. 30th & Euclid Ave.

There is more than Halloween fright in the Ohio air these days. Race and gay-baiting is front and center and not where you expect it.

The battle for control of the Ohio House is every bit as intense as the Presidential election. And if the past week is any indication, the hard work on dividing Ohioans is being done in the down-ticket races with an obvious nod to its impact at the top of the ticket.

Yard signs are plentiful. Candidates and committees argue over alleged fouls. And our political better natures are increasingly lost in the wilderness of voting records and taxes (anyone notice no matter who is in charge taxes never go down.)

It is Ohio after all, and the standard Ohio Appalachian mail piece, featuring gun-toting, Elmer Fudd-dressed surrogates, are once more fresh in our minds (even a fake one of Gov. Palin in a bikini).

But if you want a gut check on human nature and all that troubles our society, come to Ohio every four years in the final three weeks of a campaign when political desperation takes all the warts and ugliness deep within humanities hearts– and shows the world the worst of our human failings.

This year is no different:

• When all else fails, pick on gays: The former Chief of Staff of the House who along with his Speaker proudly proclaimed in the Other Paper that they had stood up to intolerance over “banning gay adoption” now running the campaigns which are attacking candidates for standing up to intolerance over “banning gay adoption” with a curiously silent Speaker. Was it just a PR ploy?
• The return of Willie Horton ad -- Ohio Style: Ahh, in the new political lexicon of Main Street this hallow’s eve season, what lurks beneath the “oil can dome” of the quest for power. The question is – Is it power for power’s sake? Or is it power that can finally help Ohioans on Oak Street where all the family’s and our wallets live.
• Bull Connor Attitude Revival: There was a time when poor voters were scrutinized in the name of fraud – where access to the polls was a struggle – and where community organizers were identified as the problem. In the interest of political expedience one-man, one-vote gets twisted into prove you are “one-man” – a negative presumption meant to freeze rights in the name of supposed fraud. Back then it was race. Today – well just politics – hmm, come to think about it wasn’t politics the factor back then either.
• English Only As Cover for Racism: Yep, down in Cincinnati both political parties seem to think an attack using the cover of “English only” is veiled racism. Of course, it doesn’t stop the attack. Power is at stake.

Gay Ohioans Optimistic Despite Marriage Ban

As gay pride month came to a close huge crowds gathered in San Francisco and New York to celebrate gay marriage victories. Crowds attending Columbus' gay pride parade and festival celebrated along with them.

San Francisco's gay pride parade felt more like a wedding march as Californians celebrated their newfound right to marry. In New York a parade route down 5th Avenue filled with an estimated 1 million people. The star of the parade was Governor David Paterson who had signed an executive order directing state agencies to recognize valid gay marriages performed elsewhere.

Counter that with Ohio where a 2006 constitutional ban on gay marriage appears to have stunted the gay rights movement and you would expect people attending Columbus' parade to be cynical.

Yet, hope has a strange way of traveling.

Floats, marching bands, and Dykes on Bikes made their way down High Street on Saturday for the enjoyment of an estimated 115,000 paradegoers. Afterwards, a festival at Bicentennial park provided entertainment, food and GLBT information.

Full Story

Join us in Cincinnati the weekend of July 12-13 for an exciting training that will put you in position to help make 2008 the Year to Win for GLBT individuals across the country.  Register now at www.hrc.org/campequality!

This year, elections will occur for a new president, all U.S. House members, one-third of the U.S. Senate, and thousands of state legislators.

The Human Rights Campaign will be on the campaign trail every step of the way - and we want you to be there, too.

That's why we're holding Camp EqualityTM - a two-day training session to develop and hone campaigning skills - in Cincinnati on July 12-13.

Whether you are just getting involved in the electoral process or are a campaign professional, Camp EqualityTM can help you learn how to become more effective at advocating your causes and your candidates.  We will offer two training tracks:

• Fundamentals Track: Designed to give you the step by step fundamentals necessary to be successful at the grassroots level.  Topics will include: planning, recruitment, volunteer coordinating, event fundraising, earned media, and creating a local activist plan.  You will learn the basic skills that are essential to putting your issue campaign or local committee in the best position to win.
• Advanced Track: For our more seasoned activist or campaign professionals. This track offers the fundamentals of political campaign management.  During your sessions you will learn advanced techniques of fundraising, field organizing, media relations, volunteer coordination, targeting, candidate relations, and the latest campaign technology.

If you have ever thought about volunteering for a campaign or already have experience in campaigns, we hope that you will take advantage of this excellent opportunity to gain valuable knowledge that you can apply to all aspects of campaign operations.  Registration for Camp EqualityTM is $35 and includes a one-year HRC membership.

Cincinnati Camp Equality Partners:

Calif. court won't delay gay weddings until vote

SAN FRANCISCO - California's highest court on Tuesday refused to stay until after the November election its decision legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.

Conservative religious and legal groups had asked the California Supreme Court to stop its order from becoming effective until voters have the chance to weigh in on the issue.

An initiative that would amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage has qualified for the ballot. Its passage would overrule the court's decision.

The Supreme Court says its ruling will be final at 5 p.m. on June 16.

Wednesday's denial clears the way for gays and lesbians in the nation's most populous state to get married starting June 17, when state officials have said counties must start issuing new gender-neutral marriage licenses.

On Monday, the initiative that would again outlaw gay marriage in California qualified for the state's November ballot.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen said a random check of signatures submitted by the measure's sponsors showed that they had gathered enough names for it to be put to voters.

The measure would amend the state constitution to "provide that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

If approved by a majority of voters on Nov. 4, the amendment would overturn the recent California Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the state. It is similar to gay marriage bans that have been adopted in 26 other states.

Meanwhile here in Ohio:

"this is a dangerous and misguided bill.

“The bill is not really about people being denied rights to basic needs, but it is about promoting acceptance of an immoral lifestyle. As much as some people would have us to believe otherwise this country was founded on Christian principles. One of those long honored principles is the tradition of holy matrimony. One man and one woman joined together in a union that goes as far back as Adam and Eve,” Wagner continued.

“As our society has gotten further from that standard (not just homosexuality, but easy divorce, cheating on a spouse, etc) we see a continued collapse of the basic building block of society the family unit. As that traditional family erodes we see more sexually transmitted diseases, kids without parents, heartbroken people and I believe a host of mental and physical illnesses.

A state lawmaker from New Albany backed a bill this year that would give employment and housing protection to Ohio's gays and transsexuals.

That took some courage because the Senate leaders of his party, the Republicans, have no patience for the legislation. And similar bills never have received much attention in Ohio, let alone on-the-record hearings.

But Sen. David Goodman said his active endorsement of Senate Bill 305 was a no-brainer after a conversation in March with his father, a prominent Harvard-trained lawyer. That day, he reminded his son why Jewish law firms first opened in Columbus: No one else would hire Jewish lawyers at the time.

That sort of discrimination is illegal now in Ohio -- unless you're gay.

Read The Full Column Here

ELLEN: To me what it feels like just, you know, I will speak for myself...it feels when someone says you can have a contract and you'll still have insurance and you'll get all that. It sounds to me like saying well you can sit there (points in one direction), you just can't sit there (points in another direction). That's what it sounds like to me. It doesn't feel inclusive. It feels isolated. It feels like we aren't owed the same things and the same wording.

MCCAIN: Well, I've heard you articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion. We just have a disagreement and I, along with many, many others wish you every happiness.

ELLEN: Thank you. So you'll walk me down the aisle? Is that what you said?

MCCAIN: Touché

Watch it:

In the past, McCain has been even more radically conservative, opposing civil unions:

– In 2005, he supported an Arizona amendment that would change the state’s constitution “to ban gay marriages and deny government benefits to unmarried couples.” [LINK]

– On Nov. 19, 2006, ABC’s George Stephanopoulous asked McCain, “So you’re for civil unions?” McCain replied, “No.” He instead said they should be able to only “enter into contracts” and “exchange powers of attorney.” [LINK]

– In 2007, McCain said he was opposed to New Hampshire’s bill legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. “If I were a citizen of New Hampshire, I would oppose it,” he said. “Anything that impinges or impacts the sanctity of the marriage between men and women, I’m opposed to it.” [LINK]

In 2006, he also told the late Rev. Jerry Falwell that would support a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, even though he opposed such a measure in 2004.

• A survey of Central Ohio gays and lesbians found that 60 percent had been called names, threatened or had their personal property defaced because of their sexual orientation.

• The inspector general for the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation to determine whether a career attorney with stellar performance reviews had been dismissed because of rumors that she is a lesbian.

...until you consider the origins of Mother's Day.

Julia Ward Howe, who penned The Battle Hymn of the Republic, also authored a mothers' Declaration calling on women to oppose war, and worked to get recognition of a Mother’s Day for Peace. Says Code Pink: "Were she alive today, Julia probably would have told her kids to dispense with the roses and chocolates, and instead join her in an anti-war rally. Yes, Julia Ward Howe was a peacenik."

[Howe] saw some of the worst effects of the [civil] war -- not only the death and disease which killed and maimed the soldiers. She worked with the widows and orphans of soldiers on both sides of the war, and realized that the effects of the war go beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. She also saw the economic devastation of the Civil War, the economic crises that followed the war, the restructuring of the economies of both North and South.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause….She called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a Declaration, hoping to gather together women in a congress of action.

Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace, but her effort was carried on by Anna Jarvis, who had organized women during the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and then toward reconciliation of Union and Confederate neighbors.

Jarvis’ daughter, of the same name, then took up the campaign for Mother’s Day. After the custom spread to 45 states, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day in 1914.

Julia Ward Howe's Mothers' Declaration:

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Maybe Pryce, Schmidt, Tiberi, Chabot, Boehner, Regula, LaTourette, Hobson, and Turner have a thing against moms. But YOU can make this Mother's Day a Mother's Day For Peace.

Help CodePink help Iraqi refugee moms here.

Send a MomsRising Mother's Day card and tell the presidential candidates to fight for family-friendly policies. here.

Oh and don't forget to call the Congressional Switchboard at 1-800-839-5276 to give the above members of Congress a piece of your mind about H.R. 1113.

Do you have another suggestion for honoring Julia Ward Howe's Mothers' Declaration? Are you a mom working for peace? Leave a comment below.

Today's Columbus Dispatch reports findings of a Central Ohio survey that documents discrimination aimed at the LGBT community.

The survey is the just latest evidence of Ohio's need to pass pending legislation that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

On Tuesday, May 15th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on Senate Bill 305, which seeks to ban such discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodation.

Survey's respondents report threats, intolerance

They are mostly healthy, in committed relationships and happy with central Ohio's social scene.

But people responding to a first-ever survey of area gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents also report high levels of depression, face threats because of their sexual orientation and often suffer discrimination in the workplace.

The findings show that Columbus, although known as a gay-friendly city, still has some work to do, survey organizers said.

"We have to create a community in which everyone feels welcome and everyone feels at home, now," said Bill LaFayette, vice president of economic analysis for the Columbus Chamber.

"I think it's important for the business community to take a look at this, and take a look at themselves."

LaFayette was a volunteer member of the steering committee for the "GLBT Census of Central Ohio," a project led by the Columbus AIDS Task Force, Stonewall Columbus and the United Way of Central Ohio.

Organizers said they opted for the anonymous, online survey to attract the most participants. It isn't possible to extract demographic snapshots of the entire gay and lesbian community from U.S. Census data because it does not ask about sexual orientation.

An estimated 35,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual residents live in Columbus, with about 68,000 in the metro area.

Read The Full Story Here

ProgressOhio has created a website "Do What's Right Ohio" in association with our friends and allies at Equality Ohio.

The website will officially launch next week.

Someone should have told Monica Goodling that, despite the Administration’s best efforts, you still can’t fire a Federal employee for being gay.

Yesterday, NPR's All Things Considered provided more evidence that Goodling and her associates might have decided that being gay was a disqualifier. Leslie Hagen was the liaison between the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys' committee on Native American issues until her contract was suddenly discontinued in October of 2006.

No one seems to dispute that Hagen was extremely capable. The Department's job evaluation reflected that her performance had been "outstanding." And yet she was fired. Sound familiar?

The difference now is that Gonzales, Goodling, and the others aren't still at DoJ to explain what the "performance related" reasons for Hagen's firing were.

From NPR:

Justice Department e-mails obtained by NPR show that Gonzales's senior counsel Monica Goodling had a particular interest in Hagen's duties....

The Justice Department's inspector general is looking into whether Hagen was dismissed after a rumor reached Goodling that Hagen is lesbian.

As one Republican source put it, "To some people, that's even worse than being a Democrat."

Several people interviewed by the inspector general's staff said investigators asked whether people drew a connection between the rumors and Hagen's dismissal....

Someone who worked in Hagen's office says that in a 2006 meeting, senior officials were told that Hagen's contract would not be renewed because someone on the attorney general's staff had a problem with Hagen. The problem, it was suggested during the conversation, was sexual orientation — or what was rumored to be Hagen's sexual orientation.

One person at the meeting asked, "Is that really an issue?" But the decision had been made.

The Ohio Christian Alliance recently issued a statement in opposition to legislation that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

It called the legislation "a solution to a problem that doesn't exist.''

Attention Ohio Christian Alliance The Problem Is Real!

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Insisting that the county should "compete for the best employees'' possible, Franklin County Commissioners adopted a resolution Tuesday to protect their employees from discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodations because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The resolution notes that state and federal laws already prohibit a range of discriminatory practices yet there are no such laws that ban discriminating in employment-related decisions on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The resolution covers only Franklin County employees.

Commissioners approved a companion resolution endorsing Senate Bill 305 and House Bill 502, which seek to extend the protections to all Ohio residents. Both resolutions received unanimous support from the panel that includes President Marilyn Brown and Commissioners Mary Jo Kilroy and Paula Brooks.

 "The Franklin County Commissioners recognize that fairness, tolerance and respect are good for people – and for business,'' said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio. "But don't take my word for it. Take a look at some other facts: Right now 433 of America's Fortune 500 companies ban the type of discrimination that the county just outlawed.''

 Franklin County joins a growing chorus of states, political subdivisions and businesses that have adopted similar policies. Twenty states and the District of Columbia; 11 of Ohio's 13, four-year public colleges; Cuyahoga and Summit counties and 15 Ohio cities and villages have ordinances that protect their gay and lesbian residents.

 Adoption of the county resolutions coincided with the opening day of testimony on Senate Bill 305, sponsored by Sen. Dale Miller, a Cleveland Democrat.

"Eliminating discrimination in all of its ugly forms is the right thing to do in Ohio in the 21st century,'' Miller told members of the Senate Judiciary and Civil Justice Committee. Miller had introduced similar legislation in the past, but his latest effort has a record number of co-sponsors, including Sen. David Goodman, a central Ohio Republican who chairs the Judiciary panel.

An identical bill is pending in the Ohio House of Representatives. Its main sponsors are Reps. Jon Peterson, a Delaware Republican, and Dan Stewart, a Columbus Democrat.

Gov. Ted Strickland has said he would sign the legislation into law.

New York Times Sunday Magazine:

NYT: As a prominent evangelical pastor based in San Antonio, you were recently catapulted into national controversy when you endorsed Senator John McCain for president. Is it true that McCain actively sought your endorsement?

Hagee: It’s true that McCain’s campaign sought my endorsement.

Countdown: Hate Talk Express

NYT: How did you feel when critics called you a Catholic-basher and said McCain should reject your endorsement?

Hagee: My statements regarding the Catholic Church have been grossly mischaracterized. I never called the Catholic Church “the anti-Christ” or a “false cult system.” I was referring to those Christians who ignore the Gospels.

John Hagee Preaches Anticatholicism

NYT: What about your observation in a recent book that “most readers will be shocked by the clear record of history linking Adolf Hitler and the Roman Catholic Church in a conspiracy to exterminate the Jews”?

Hagee: What I was trying to express was the fact that Christian anti-Semitism — both Catholic and Protestant — contributed to an environment in which Nazi racial anti-Semitism could flourish.

NYT; Let’s talk about your much-quoted comment that Hurricane Katrina was God’s punishment for a gay rights parade in New Orleans .

Hagee: We’re not going down there. That’s so far off-base it would take us 33 pages to go through that, and it’s not worth going through.

Meet Team McCain: Pastor John Hagee

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Insisting that Ohio's laws must be updated to reflect Ohioans' values, a trio of state legislators introduced bills to make it illegal to discriminate against a person in employment, housing or public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Ohio is among the most unwelcoming states in the nation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,'' said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio. "Today, Ohio took a major step toward fairness and equality.''

Bowman cited a recent survey showing that two-thirds of Ohioans favor passage of the legislation.

Twenty-one states, 11 of Ohio's 13, four-year public colleges and 16 Ohio cities and villages have ordinances that protect their gay and lesbian residents.  Rather than continue to allow a patchwork of protections – or none at all -- the legislators called for passage of statewide standards that would uniformly help all Ohio residents.

"Where you live should not determine the extent of your rights, '' Sen. Dale Miller, a Cleveland Democrat, told a Statehouse news conference Tuesday.

Miller, the main sponsor of the Senate bill, had introduced similar legislation in the past but noted that today's measures have a record number of co-sponsors, the endorsement of Gov. Ted Strickland and the promise of committee hearings.

In the House, sponsor Rep. Jon Peterson, a Delaware Republican, called the legislation "a matter of human dignity,'' and said, "America was founded on the principle of equality for all, but Ohio's laws only demand equality for some.''

Peterson and Democratic  Rep. Dan Stewart of Columbus, served as primary sponsors of the House bill.

Stewart pointed out that more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have implemented similar policies and major Ohio employers, such as Nationwide Insurance, views tolerance as a means of attracting and retaining top-tier employees.

"Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to serve their community is an important part of moving Ohio forward,'' Stewart said.

Joining the legislators was central Ohio school teacher Jimmie Beall, who told how she lost her job with the London City Schools after the district learned that she is a lesbian.

"I was devastated,'' Beall said. "When I consulted with legal experts, they all gave the same answer: My family did not have the legal protections afforded to most other families. We were left with no health insurance, no benefits and no sense of security.''

 Beall said she decided to tell her story, hoping it would convince legislators of the need to update Ohio's law.

"It's time to do what's right,'' Beall said.

The Advocate reported yesterday that the Obama campaign was doing targeted ad buys in Ohio and Texas in advance of the primaries there on March 4th. According to the Advocate, "Full page ads will appear starting this Friday in Outlook Weekly of Columbus, the Gay People's Chronicle of Cleveland, the Dallas Voice, and OutSmart, which is Houston based."

They report: "[Obama LGBT steering committee member Eric] Stern called the coordinated buy 'the icing on the cake' in terms of the Obama camp's outreach to the gay community in Ohio and Texas. 'It's a direct appeal to LGBT voters asking for their support,' he said, adding that the ad includes information about how people can get involved with the campaign. The Obama campaign has actively been trying to cut into the longstanding ties between gays and lesbians and Hillary Clinton."

The following letter was released by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to GLBT Americans.

I suppose this is going to upset the righty blogs. 

They really don't like Al Gore. 

I think it has to do with the achievements of the man who was elected President in 2000  when juxtaposed against  the Bush Administration's ongoing failures and many demonstrations of complete incompetence.

Via The Politico

"Gay men and women ought to have the same rights as heterosexual men and women -- to make contracts, to have hospital visiting rights, to join together in marriage, and I don't understand why it is considered by some people to be a threat to heterosexual marriage," he says on the video, which appears on his Current TV network. "Shouldn't we be promoting the kind of faithfulness and loyalty to ones partner regardless of sexual orientation?"

Gore's words come after the leading presidential candidates have tiptoed up to, but not crossed, the line of support for same-sex marriage. All three support equal substantive rights for gay and lesbians couples, and they've sought to woo gay voters in other ways: Elizabeth Edwards has voiced her support for same-sex marriage, for instance, and Barack Obama recently scolded the black church for homophobia, in a speech to an African-American congregation.

Strickland avoids domestic benefits fight for now

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Governor Strickland won praise from Ohio's gay community a year ago when he appointed Mary Jo Hudson to be the state's first openly gay agency director.

Strickland also signed an executive order in May that banned workplace discrimination in the executive branch based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

But Strickland has so far balked at including benefits for the domestic partners of gay state employees.

Ohio State University law professor and gay rights advocate Marc Spindelman says the move is less about principles and more about avoiding a controversial political issue ahead of the 2008 presidential election.

Karla Rothan, the executive director of the gay rights-promoting Stonewall Union, says the group is willing to give the governor more time to address the issue.

 Learn More:

Stonewall Columbus 

In one of Mitt Romney’s early TV spots, an announcer described how, “In one of the most liberal states in the country, one Republican stood up” for various conservative issues, such as “traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life.”

Not so fast, say the Log Cabin Republicans, the major gay Republican group. It has put out a new ad today featuring a very liberal sounding Mitt Romney.

The spot comes off as pro-Romney, boasting of his “Massachusetts values,’’ which is a fairly brutal thing to say considering that the Log Cabin Republicans plan to run the spot not only locally in Iowa for two weeks, but also on Fox News.

Ht: The Caucus

Posted For Equality Ohio:

Yesterday we got some good news and some bad news from our national partners. We're thrilled that the U.S . Senate finally passed the hate crime bill, allowing support for local law enforcement in investigating hate violence motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity.

But we are deeply troubled by reports that leaders in the U.S. House are planning to remove gender identity protections from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

Please, take action right now and ask your Representative to support ENDA in its current form, with both sexual orientation and gender identity:
http://eqfed.org/campaign/enda_noComp

Including gender identity not only ensures protection for the transgender community, but actually strengthens protections for many lesbian, gay, bisexual and, for that matter, heterosexual Americans.

At Equality Ohio, we're committed to fighting for non-discrimination protections on both sexual orientation and gender identity for ALL people. I hope you'll join us in working to ensure that ENDA doesn't leave part of our community behind.

Click this link to take action now:
http://eqfed.org/campaign/enda_noComp

The Senate passed The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act with a 60-vote filibuster-proof majority.

Senator Reid:

The Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act would strengthen the ability of federal, state, and local governments to investigate and prosecute hate crimes. This amendment would remove the current limitation on federal jurisdiction that allows federal involvement only in cases in which the assailant intended to prevent a victim from engaged in a 'federally protected activity,' such as voting. This amendment would expand the groups protected under current law to include all hate crimes – including those based on disability, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. And this amendment would provide the Department of Justice the authority to assist state and local jurisdictions in prosecuting violent hate crimes, or to take the lead in such prosecutions where local authorities are unwilling or unable to act.

"Diaper Dave" Vitter and "I am not Gay!" Larry Craig voted against the measure.

Think Progress: 

Opponents of the measure immediately predicted it “ultimately would fail either in negotiations with the House or by presidential veto. ‘The president is not going to agree to this social legislation on the defense authorization bill’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. ‘This bill will get vetoed.’” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “Our troops are on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere fighting against evil and hate. We owe it to them to uphold those same principles here at home.”

You can almost hear Pastor Rod's head exploding.

A reader sent in this email that they received from Patriot Pastor Rod Parsley's political arm, "The Center For Moral Clarity".

It's nothing more than a request to give money based wholly in lies. 

From the email: 

"Your help is urgently needed today. Join with me and members of the Center for Moral Clarity to fight the hate-crimes law and preserve our rights as Christians!

Become a Premium Member of the Center for Moral Clarity with an immediate online gift of $100 or more and help to defend your First Amendment rights!

Let me tell you in no uncertain terms: We as Christians DO NOT WANT this hate-crimes legislation to pass.

The bill is, itself, a "hate crime" against Christianity and its worldview. It would levy a gag order on pastors and dilute the message of the Gospel ... particularly as it relates to speaking the truth about the homosexual agenda.

Please don't be deceived by this legislation! It is nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing.

While attempting to curb crimes against specific people groups, hate-crimes legislation would in fact commit a crime against the freedoms of speech and religion of believers and choke the voice of pastors throughout the United States.

As believers, we MUST stand up and protect our liberties. We MUST make it our aim to keep this legislation from being passed.

I need you to support the Center for Moral Clarity in defeating relentless efforts to pass hate-crimes legislation. Please help me lead the fight by joining as a Premium Member of the Center for Moral Clarity right now."

Go ahead, click the link . . . it's not real clear what your money goes for is it?  Could be a church donation . . . could be a political donation.  I'm not sure the average  person would know the difference particularly when it states this:

"And your $100 gift or more will support the ministry of the Center for Moral Clarity and Breakthrough to return America to its Judeo-Christian roots and spread the good news of salvation and transformation through Jesus Christ!"

Come on Pastor Rod.  I seem to remember that "The Truth Will Set You Free" . . . . what is exactly the truth here about who and for what one is contributing to?   

More on the religous right's outrageous and lying attempts to stop the Hate Crimes Bill . . .

From On Faith:

From a religious perspective, normally it is considered a moral imperative to protect people from violence motivated by hate and I and many religious leaders have celebrated this important vote. In addition, the vast majority of the American people (77%, Gallup poll, 2000) favor including gay people in hate crimes legislation.

Yet, the loudest opposition has come from from a coalition of evangelical and fundamentalist Christian leaders.

It takes some theological gymnastics for Christian leaders to argue that the “values” position is to withhold federal resources from local law enforcement when they investigate a crime where they suspect that the victim was attacked because of his or her sexual orientation. Jesus never said “hate those who are different from you and be sure to persecute them.” In fact, of course, Jesus said exactly the opposite, that we should love even our enemies and bless those who persecute us. How can you possibly argue, from a faith perspective, that it is appropriate to deny federal funds to investigate crimes against people who are manifestly persecuted?

And so we find that those conservative Christians who oppose extending hate crimes legislation to cover gay people don’t argue their position from the Bible or theology. The common thread in opposition to extending hate crimes legislation to gay people is that it would intrude on freedom of speech, i.e. “If an individual’s sexual orientation is a federally protected civil right, the logical conclusion is the moral, religious,or personal beliefs about certain behaviors would be criminalized.” The scare tactic is that those who wish to preach hatred about gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gendered people could be criminalized. One in seven hate crimes in the U.S. target gay men, lesbians, bisexual or trans-gendered people.

The idea that this new hate crimes bill amounts to efforts at “thought control” is a gross distortion of this legislation as it is directly only at support for law enforcement after a crime has been committed. The First Amendment of the Constitution protects those who wish to preach hatred. As Senator Chuck Robb (D-VA) has commented: "This legislation does not allow individuals to be prosecuted for their hateful thoughts, rather it allows them to be punished for their hateful acts. Willfully inflicting harm on another human being based on hate is not protected free speech."

See Also: For Only $50 Rod Parsley Will Protect You From the Gays

WASHINGTON (AP) — Gay rights advocates expect Congress will soon move closer to approving a federal ban on job discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender workers.

Rep. Barney Frank, a leading proponent, predicts the ban will win House approval in coming weeks.

But he and other gay rights supporters are less optimistic about the fight ahead in the narrowly divided Senate, where they would need 60 votes — rather than a simple majority — to overcome anticipated GOP stall tactics, such as a filibuster.

"You don't know if anything can pass the Senate," said Frank, D-Mass., one of two openly gay members of Congress. "No predictions are possible about the Senate."

Conservative activists, too, are bracing for a Senate showdown.

"We know it's going to be very close," said Matt Barber, policy director for cultural issues for Concerned Women for America.

It is legal for employers in 31 states to fire someone for being gay, the ban's supporters said.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would make it illegal for employers to make decisions about hiring, firing, promoting or paying an employee based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Churches and the military would be exempt.

Federal law bans job discrimination based on factors such as race, gender and religion. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have laws against sexual orientation discrimination.

Ban opponents say it could undermine the rights of people who oppose homosexuality for religious reasons.

"It would force Christian, Jewish, Muslim business owners to leave their faith at the workplace door," Barber said.

Critics say gay rights advocates are exaggerating the extent of anti-gay discrimination in hopes of boosting their political agenda.

"It is affording extra protection to a group that has not been disadvantaged," said Tom McClusky, vice president of government affairs for the Family Research Council, a socially conservative group.

GOP Senate leaders are expected to oppose the measure, McClusky said. President Bush has not said where he stands.

Two thoughts:

1) Wow! and

2) Particularly considering it just so happens to be Iowa, it will be extra interesting to see how this ongoing story will play out alongside the presidential primary election.

From the Chicago Tribune:

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage and ordered the county recorder to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Less than two hours after word of the ruling was publicized, two Des Moines men applied at the Polk County recorder's office for a marriage license, and for the first time the application was accepted. The process of granting a license to marry in Iowa takes three days.

Johnson called the Defense of Marriage law "mean spirited" and said it was designed only to prohibit gays from marrying. He said it violates the state constitution's equal protection and due-process clauses.

Two thoughts:

1) Wow! and

2) Particularly considering it just so happens to be Iowa, it will be extra interesting to see how this ongoing story will play out alongside the presidential primary election.

From the Chicago Tribune:

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage and ordered the county recorder to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Less than two hours after word of the ruling was publicized, two Des Moines men applied at the Polk County recorder's office for a marriage license, and for the first time the application was accepted. The process of granting a license to marry in Iowa takes three days.

Johnson called the Defense of Marriage law "mean spirited" and said it was designed only to prohibit gays from marrying. He said it violates the state constitution's equal protection and due-process clauses.

 Miami U. same-sex benefits are upheld

Miami University's practice of offering benefits to same-sex "domestic partners" of its employees survived another court challenge Tuesday.

The Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals ruled that State Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican, did not have legal standing to sue the university over its benefits policy.

Brinkman had argued the same-sex partnership policy violates an Ohio constitutional ban on civil unions that went into effect in 2004.

As a taxpayer and the parent of two Miami students, Brinkman said, he had a legal right to sue.

The appeals court, however, upheld a lower-court decision last year that dismissed Brinkman's lawsuit. Both courts concluded Brinkman did not have standing as a taxpayer because the school uses private donations to reimburse the state for tax dollars spent on its domestic-partner benefits.

"Brinkman cannot demonstrate any injury ... based upon his status as a taxpayer," wrote Judge James A. Brogan, joined in the 3-0 decision by judges James E. Walsh and H.J. Bressler.

The court also found that Brinkman did not have standing to sue as the tuition-paying parent of Miami students because it's his choice to send his children to the school.

Brinkman, who declined to comment Tuesday, could appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court.

It hasn't been a fun August for Ultra Conservative State Rep. Brinkman:

SHADOWS ON HIGH: GOP Judge’s Finding Falls on Ethics Panels Cold, Deaf Ears

To Matt at WMD: Why the Brink Should be in the Drink

Ohio's Tom Brinkman: The "Real Criminal,'' Part II

ARLINGTON, Texas - A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.

Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

“It’s a slap in the face. It’s like, ’Oh, we’re sorry he died, but he’s gay so we can’t help you,”’ she said Friday.

In their rush to place their "moral values" upon everyone else the religious right always seems to forget "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you'. Found in Matthew, chapter 7 verse 12, it is in essence a summation of the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes from Christ's teaching, but that one always gets left behind in their finger pointing.

They're like the Pharisees who made almost an art form of classifying all the various laws and giving them relative degrees of importance.

When the Pharisees asked Christ about the greatest commandment in the Law (Matthew 22:36-40), his answer stunned them: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

To follow Christ . . . You can't perform number 1 unless you are carrying out number 2.

Will these church members and all of the religious right with their bigotry, finally repent their "sins" when upon arriving at the "pearly gates" Christ turns from them telling them, "You never knew me" as the Bible promises?

 From Tech President:

On his MySpace page, Ryan Davis, the maker of the video, says "I'm a gay New York City resident who lived here while Rudy was Mayor. I appreciated his support of my community when he was mayor and am shocked and offended by his flip-flopping on gay issues. I made this ad to remind Rudy who he was when he was mayor and to let Republican primary voters have some idea on the man they're voting for."

I like that when you search for "gays for Giuliani" on Google it asks you if you mean "guys for Giuliani."

Ugh oh, wonder what  Right Angle Blog will have to say about this???

Join HRC, OSU GLBT Alumni Society, and Equality Ohio for a special viewing of this first ever historic Presidential Forum!

8:30pm, Thursday, August 9th 
Arena Grand Theater
175 W. Nationwide Blvd
Columbus, OH 43215
Free Admission
Click here to RSVP

YOU can ask a candidate a question, just click here.

Can't make it to the Arena Grand Theater?

Watch on the LOGO Channel! 

In a crowded primary field, every vote counts. So it’s probably not surprising that six of the eight Democratic presidential contenders for 2008 plan to participate in the first debate devoted entirely to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues on Aug. 9 in Los Angeles. (Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd declined to attend, citing scheduling conflicts)

Still, the event’s sponsors, the Human Rights Campaign and Viacom’s Logo cable TV network, are touting the event as an historic opportunity for the gay community to raise its issues on a national stage. The forum, moderated by Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News, will run from 9-11 p.m. ET on Logo and Logo.com.

The sponsors say they invited GOP candidates to participate in their own gay debate, but that none signed on.

Ann Coulter will speak at Xavier University in a few weeks – and we’ll be thanking her for it.

The extremist ideologue is famous for her attacks on Muslims, the environment, women’s rights, and LGBT Americans. Recently she used the word “faggot” in a backhanded insult of presidential candidate John Edwards.

And she’s coming to Xavier University in Cincinnati on September 6.

She has every right to speak her mind (and she's paid well to do it, her $20,000+ speaking fee equals about $5 for every Xavier student). But we speak our minds, too; for values like compassion, equality, and diversity. The same values Xavier students work to uphold with groups like Xavier's Gay-Straight Alliance, Amnesty International, Habitat for Humanity, and Earthcare.

Here’s where you come in: While Coulter pollutes the air with her divisive message on one side of Xavier’s campus on September 6, on the other side we’ll be presenting a check to Xavier student organizations working to make their campus – and Ohio – a place where everyone feels at home.

Can you spare just $5 – an Abe Lincoln – to support the same communities Coulter regularly bashes for pay? (We’ll also send her a ‘thank you’ card signed with your name, and let her know how much money we raised.)

If just 200 people send $5, that's $1000 raised for Xavier's fair-minded community groups.

Thank you in advance for your support, and please forward this message to all your contacts.

 Co-Sponsors to Date:

Equality Cincinnati
People for the American Way
Democracy for Cincinnati

Because of an understandable need to uphold the domestic violence statute as it is currently written and to avoid the unintended consequences that result from the passage of Section 11, Article XV of the Ohio Constitution [the anti- gay marriage initiative], the majority misinterprets the amendment, thus saving the statute from being declared unconstitutional. I respectfully dissent.

-- Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith Lanzinger Ohio v. Carswell

In one sentence, Justice Lanzinger managed to explain the tortured logic justices used to protect a special class of victims from an all-too-familiar class of zealots. Quite simply, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer had to craft an un-natural new legal standard that protects the rights of Ohioans for how they actually live – not how Citizens for Community Values wants them to live.

In simple, bumper- sticker language, CCV used hate-filled diatribes in 2004 against the darker nature of Ohio souls to convince the state to put a same-sex marriage ban in the Ohio Constitution. And yet, as Justice Lanzinger pointed out, the “unintended consequences” of its passage prompted a normally conservative court to become activist – and artfully protect victims of domestic violence from non-married, non-traditional households.

At issue is broadly written constitutional language that says the state, “"shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage."

The case involved a felony domestic violence charge against Michael Carswell, a Warren County man who abused his live-in girlfriend. And in order to allow Mr. Carswell’s conviction to stand – the Moyer decision had to carve out a politically motivated doctrine that hems in the unworkable CCV Constitutional Amendment.

Ironically, David Miller, CCV spokesperson for the right-wing group that pushed for the amendment, told The Columbus Dispatch rather ingenuously, “Domestic violence victims deserve and will continue to receive the full protection of the law” – as if he and his cohorts argued that case all along.

CCV argued just the opposite.

The Cincinnati-based homophobes told the high court that the real answer to the question before it was a legislative change to protect the Constitutional language. In an amicus brief, CCV said, “The problem with the domestic violence statute is that it creates a category of relationship for unmarried people living as spouses. Had “household members” been more broadly defined no Constitutional issue would be here presented.” But because the term “spouses’’ is used – and clearly defined as ‘’partners in marriage’’ CCV found a conflict between the new Constitutional Amendment and the old domestic violence law.

So let’s get this straight: CCV lawyers argued to not allow the current domestic violence language to survive, the ramifications of which would let Mr. Carswell go free. And Mr. Miller proudly claimed victory.

Does anyone smell a scoundrel?

A few months back, Mr. Miller was forced to “clarify” his group’s testimony before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee after testifying that CCV’s “strip club” proposal mirrored existing laws in other states. The clarification followed news reports that it mirrored existing laws in no other states – but did vaguely resemble a municipal law in one other state.

Committee members were visibly angry when they learned of the deception, and First Amendment scholar and attorney Raymond Vasvari told committee members that CCV’s testimony was “disingenuous at best.” He told legislators, “You are being misled.”

CCV’s deception didn’t end there.

In late May, Dispatch political columnist Joe Hallett asked CCV head Phil Burress whether his next crusade will be an effort to prohibit gay Ohioans from adopting children or becoming foster parents. “We have not talked about that,” Burress replied. Then Hallett debuted a CCV flier detailing its “Ohio Family Lobby” day in April. Among the group’s top priorities: “banning homosexual adoption and foster parenting.”

And now we find that Mr. Miller – Mr. Burress’ pet mouthpiece -- is bragging about a Supreme Court case as good for all – when their very own lawyers argued for its outcome to be different.

The truth is, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, who wrote the opinion, went through quite a bit of hijinks to try to protect domestic violence victims from the callous bumper- sticker Constitutional writings of CCV.

In his decision, Moyer wrote: “"While the intent of the domestic-violence statute is to protect persons from violence by close family members or residents of the same household, the intent of the marriage amendment was to prevent the creation or recognition of a legal status that approximates marriage through judicial, legislative or executive action. The statute and the constitution are not in conflict."

If this decision holds, it allows Courts and the legislature to carve out exceptions to the same-sex marriage amendment in order to preserve the rights of domestic partners and families [that would be unmarried people shackin’ up folks.]

The Moyer Court found a way to create a new standard that defines the realities of many modern day couples.

Confused. Well it gets worse. Lynne Bowman of Equality Ohio issued a press release after Wednesday’s decision that included this nugget: “The second sentence of the amendment prohibits the state and its political subdivisions from … recognizing a legal status similar to marriage (for example, a civil union).”

So let’s get this score card straight:

• The Ohio Constitution narrowly defines relationships as marriage between a man and women.
• The Ohio Supreme Court says civil unions do not exist.
• But the Ohio Supreme Court says at some level, people who cohabitate are subject to domestic violence laws as “persons living as a spouse” – but only in relation to laws like domestic violence that are defined by the legislature. (So if you’re a couple and one of you knocks around the other, Ohio says you’re “spouses.’’ But if you’re a happy, non-violent gay couple, Ohio refuses to acknowledge your love, long-term commitment or property rights – unless the legislature creates such an exception – again scratch your head here.)

The new test created by the Supreme Court decision defines this new cohabitation classification as “a person’s determination to share some measure of life’s “responsibilities” with another that creates cohabitation” – what Shadows will dub the “Responsible” Relationship test. The test language points out that Ohio does not have a role in creating cohabitation and that cohabitation extends beyond just a spouse-like relationship to family members – but only if defined by legislators in statute.

It was borne from an ugly act of domestic violence and a callous attack on Ohio’s LGBT community, but ironically the Court created the “Responsible” Relationship doctrine – to acknowledge a state in which people who care about each other at some level exist in a relationship – even if it becomes irresponsibly violent as in the case of Mr. Carswell.

Obviously, you cannot be married unless it is state sanctioned, between a man and a women [and presumably at this point in Ohio unless Phil Burress and his CCV donors approve.] And clearly, by Mr. Miller’s less-than-honest statement applauding this decision, CCV acknowledges that just as domestic violence in Constitutional marriage is wrong – so is the love turned sour in relationships built from “Responsible” Relationships.

But, hey it is heartening to know that if you choose to share life’s “responsibilities” with someone else, and if you live under the same roof, our legislators may now carve out laws that allow domestic violence protection rights, benefit rights, property rights, criminal rights and financial rights – because of the court-recognized reality of “Responsible” Relationships.

It’s important to note though, that Moyer recognizes that these society legal protections don’t exist in law and must be defined by the Legislature – and the statutes Constitutionality appears to only exist in the reality of life and his new court precedent. Our Supreme Court doesn’t affirm it – it just acknowledges the natural state of responsible human social relationships and the resulting need for societal laws. Yep. Some people shack up and sometimes it’s not just a man and a woman – its right there in the shadows of their decision.

The question is how long will it take until Mr. Miller wakes up and reads the language in the decision he applauded this week – and then realizes that in essence the Court was affirming that loving relationships do exist outside of CCV’s confined view of reality. Will he find a new bumper sticker solution to ban the “Responsible” Relationship legal doctrine and further impose Phil Burress’ view of how we should live our everyday lives.

What Mr. Miller and CCV seem to miss is that the Court silently acknowledged this week that CCV’s marriage amendment is freakishly unnatural in today’s world – even if it took one of the ugliest acts of human relationships to force that conclusion – domestic violence.

Our Ohio Constitution and laws must reflect the social norms of our day to function properly for us. And CCV’s amendment leaves prosecutors and jurists at a loss as to how to deal with real domestic issues in Ohio. Couples who find themselves in the cohabitation of “Responsible” Relationships are affected by health crises, emotional crises and everyday family stresses – just like couples recognized by Phil Burress’ Constitution.

So I’m not sure why David Miller is misleadingly cheering a decision CCV fought in legal briefs, which in reality became an indictment that his groups Constitutional Amendment is legally unworkable and eventually forced Conservative Tom Moyer and his Court to create a remarkably political decision in order to allow Ohio’s civil, criminal and family law to function in the face of the reality of Ohioans lives.

It’s sometimes hard to suppress that childish urge to say there ought to be a law preventing this kind of nonsense. But then, of course, I remember – it’s supposed to be the Ohio Constitution.

For now, about all we have is the uncomfortably contrived penmanship of Tom Moyer – and a legal decision borne not of law, but rather the politics of human realities.

And for CCV – reality bites.

Our friends at Equality Ohio shared the following:

Last night in Granville, a team of vocal street preachers with large signs and Bibles surrounded the entrance to the "Love Makes a Family" photo exhibit at First Baptist Church.

"Love Makes a Family: Portraits of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People and Their Families" depicts a variety of LGBT people and their families of all races in familiar family settings. The photos are accompanied by text from in-depth interviews with each family member.

Protestors wore t-shirts that said “homosexuality is sin" and talked to anyone passing them on the sidewalk. They are an intimidating sight for anyone who wants to enter the church where the exhibit is on display. Church members stood bravely outside, welcoming folks through the front door.

All this over portraits of beautiful, loving LGBT families?

We can't let our courageous friends in Granville stand alone!

Please help our friends at First Baptist protect "Love Makes a Family" in Granville - here's how:

1) GO SEE IT: Skip the bar scene - and bring your friends to see this important exhibit. Help create a huge pro-equality and pro-family crowd. Please do not engage or talk to the protesters. Click here to find out more details.

2) DONATE TO CREATE A PERMANENT EXHIBIT: Help us establish an Ohio-based exhibit, similar to "Love Makes a Family", that can travel across the state - to small towns like Wooster and Chillicothe. Donate now to the Ohio LGBT Family Portrait Fund and help towns all over Ohio take a brave step forward, like Granville.

How disingenuous is this?

Bill Brownson, the first openly gay Republican candidate for Columbus City Council, was challenged over his party loyalty because during Brownson's time as national chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans the GOP gay-advocacy group withheld its endorsement for President Bush for re-election.

It's not because he's gay . . . oh no, it's because he didn't put "party before country" in the last Presidential Election. 

From The Columbus Dispatch: 

Allegations of disloyalty came during Brownson's time as national chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans when the GOP gay-advocacy group withheld its endorsement for President Bush for re-election.

Central committee member Jack Etheridge questioned Brownson in a June 16 e-mail to other members.

He disputed the Log Cabin group's decision not to endorse Bush; its filing of a federal suit against then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's "don't ask, don't tell" policy; and its issuing of statements against both a law and a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

"I do not question his prerogatives," Etheridge wrote. "But we as committee members must also evaluate matters of principle and judgment."

In a June 20 e-mail to The Dispatch, committee member Jeni Horn expressed concern that most of the GOP worked hard to support Bush in 2004.

Log Cabin's decision to withdraw support for the president showed that Brownson put his personal concerns before the party's, Horn wrote.

From SFGATE.com:

As the first seriously wounded Marine in the Iraq war, Eric Alva had already gained a measure of notoriety.

But still, he harbored a secret.

For 3 1/2 years, Alva recuperated from the grievous wounds of a land mine explosion, learning to walk on an artificial leg, learning to eat with a badly damaged right arm. The Purple Heart he received was a considerable consolation. But as Alva healed, the weight of his secret grew almost as taxing as his physical burdens.

About seven months ago, just after midnight, he fired off an e-mail to a national gay rights organization that catapulted him onto the national political agenda.

"I'm gay," he wrote. "Can I help?"

Since then, the Human Rights Campaign has built a "Legacy of Service'' tour around Alva. Its goal: to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell'' policy, which effectively bars gays, lesbians and bisexuals from serving in the armed forces.

Alva, who once planned a lifetime career in the U.S. Marine Corps, has become a potent speaking force around the nation, demanding an end to what he considers a cruelly discriminating policy.

And today, to his immense delight, he will be riding near the front of the San Francisco Pride Parade as a grand marshal. He will also be a featured speaker.

"Being here in San Francisco to ride in the parade is like winning the lottery,'' says Alva, 36. "To see the hundreds of thousands of people who will be watching -- never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this. It's such an honor.''

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    A constitutional ban on gay marriage in Ohio has led to a new defense for unmarried people who are charged with domestic violence for abusing their live-in partners.

    At least 80 defendants have challenged the state's domestic violence law, claiming it is unconstitutional because it is based on a status that no longer exists: domestic partnership.

    A state constitutional amendment in 2004 prohibited legally recognizing any union other than a marriage between a man and a woman. Defense lawyers say the domestic violence law violates the amendment by creating a domestic status for unmarried partners.

    "The amendment says the state is not allowed to treat unmarried people as if they are married," says lawyer Thomas Eagle. He represents Michael Carswell, a Lebanon, Ohio, man accused of beating his girlfriend whose case is before the state Supreme Court.

    Advocates of the traditional marriage definition agree with Eagle's interpretation and say the Legislature should rewrite the law.

The results of CCV's past efforts at writing the Constitution of Ohio leaves Ohioans with legal justification for getting out of the harsher penalties levied for the crime of "domestic violence". 

Seeing the mess they made last time with their "legalized bigotry" Constitutional Admendment, should we now just trust CCV with the recent Stripper Legislation which they basically wrote and pushed on the legislature who didn't want to deal with it . . .  and then on to the Governor who didn't want to either? 

Learn more about why "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" should be repealed, and take the time to sign the petition
to end this discriminatory law once and for all.

Show your support and sign the petition to lift the ban now!

ProgressOhio and the Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio invite you to an exclusive screening of Freeheld, a Sundance award-winning documentary about a decorated lesbian police officer's struggle to transfer her pension to her partner. The screening will be held at Studio 35 in Clintonville on Friday, June 15 and Saturday, June 16.

Click here to sign up for this event!

Freeheld follows the desperate battle of the late Lieutenant Laurel Hester, a dying lesbian and New Jersey police officer, who fights to transfer her pension benefits to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. As her local elected officials, The Freeholders, stand firmly against her, Laurel races against time to provide for the love of her life- before it’s too late. 

Columbus has been selected as a city on the OSCAR qualifying campaign.

Please join us at the screening! 

Click here to sign up for this event!

Freeheld Screening
Studio 35
3055 Indianola Avenue, Clintonville
Friday, June 15 at 10pm
Saturday, June 16 at 10:15pm
$6 admission

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Loving v. Virginia on June 12, 1967 which struck down the remaining interracial marriage bans in 16 states in the United States, ending race discrimination in marriage.

When the question of race discrimination in marriage came before the U.S. Supreme Court (the Court had actually gotten it wrong in previous decades and ducked the question repeatedly in the years following Perez), it was in a 1967 case brought by a black woman, Mildred Jeter, and a white man, Richard Loving. The couple had had to leave their home state, Virginia, in order to get married where their love was allowed. The law in Virginia, like that of many other states, provided: "All marriages between a white person and a colored person shall be absolutely void without any decree of divorce or other legal process." An interracial marriage was considered a non-starter, contrary to the very "definition" of marriage.

Back from their honeymoon, the Lovings were arrested one night in their own bedroom—with their wedding certificate hanging over their bed—and prosecuted for the "crime" of "evading" their state's discriminatory law and violating Virginia’s same-race restriction on marriage. Mildred and Richard were convicted of marrying the "wrong" kind of person, their marriage was pronounced an un-marriage, and they were given a choice of a year in prison or twenty-five years exile from their home state. They chose exile, got a lawyer, and sued to defend their family. The Lovings lost in state courts all the way up; the trial judge went so far as to declare: "Almighty God created the races white, black, yellow, Malay, and red, and he placed them on separate continents[.] The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix." The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the discriminatory "definition" of marriage, and the case came before the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed, declaring, "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men."

Pentagon Confirms It Sought To Build A 'Gay Bomb'

(CBS 5) BERKELEY A Berkeley watchdog organization that tracks military spending said it uncovered a strange U.S. military proposal to create a hormone bomb that could purportedly turn enemy soldiers into homosexuals and make them more interested in sex than fighting.

Pentagon officials on Friday confirmed to CBS 5 that military leaders had considered, and then subsquently rejected, building the so-called "Gay Bomb."

Edward Hammond, of Berkeley's Sunshine Project, had used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.

As part of a military effort to develop non-lethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."

The documents show the Air Force lab asked for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon.

"The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soliders to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistably attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviwing the documents.

"The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soliders would become gay," explained Hammond.

The Pentagon told CBS 5 that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994.

File this under what will they think of next . . . ??

From Yahoo News: 

Mike Rogers has outed so many closeted gay politicos, he's starting to make Capitol Hill look like Brokeback Mountain.

Members of the 110th Congress consider yourselves warned: Mike Rogers is making his list.

Rogers is a muckraking gay blogger who uses his insider's knowledge of Washington politics and broad blanket of contacts to "out" gay politicos — but only, he says, if they are undermining gay rights. Critics call his tactics divisive and politically motivated.

Read The Full Story > > 

In related News:

Jeb Bush "a poster child for gay marriage"

“A coalition of civil rights groups that back gay marriage is using photos of prominent couples like the former Republican governor and his Mexican-born wife, Columba, in an advertising campaign marking the 40th anniversary of Loving v. Virginia, a U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave interracial couples the right to marry. The groups say they hope to use the couples and the court case to bolster their contention that marriage is a civil right that should know no bounds - even for those of the same sex.”

If it is right for Mary Cheney and Heather Poe, partners of fifteen years, to be entrusted with the birthing and raising of a child, then how is it logical, as this White House has insisted, to deny the legal status of marriage to same-sex couples seeking to have their commitment legally acknowledged? Does not the life of Mary Cheney, born to God-fearing parents in a home of presumably high moral tone, and herself an activist in the Republican Party that has exploited homophobia for temporal political advantage, definitively answer the argument that homosexuality is not a fickle choice but a facet of the natural order of things? On what basis could this nation logically deny Mary Cheney the right to equal participation in any aspect of our publicly governed life, be it through military or civic institutions?

The problem is that the inalienable human rights to freedom and the pursuit of happiness do not, according to the law, apply to Mary Cheney. Living as she does in Virginia, she must assume full responsibility for her child without being able to legally rely on her partner, who has no state-recognized connection to the child. As another example of the absurd contradictions that mark the law in this area, had Mary Cheney sought to fight in the war in Iraq, which her father did so much to cause, she would have been rejected because of the very honesty she exhibited in her personal life.

Read the Full Story "Welcome, Baby Cheney" at The Nation: 

For the first time, a sitting governor of the state of Ohio will attend the HRC Columbus Gala Dinner.

Governor Ted Strickland, who won broad support from the GLBT community in the 2006 elections, is scheduled to attend and speak at the June 16 event.

On May 17, Governor Strickland signed an executive order protecting state employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. His action reestablished protections that had been in place until former Governor Taft eliminated them in 2000.

The 24th Annual Columbus Gala Dinner will take place on Saturday, June 16, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency ballroom, 350 N. High Street. The theme for this year's dinner is "Equality Unmasked."

HRC is the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender political organization with members throughout the country. HRC effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that GLBT Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community. For more information, visit www.hrc.org.