8 GAY PEOPle's ChroNICLE FEBRUARY 12, 1999

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Campaign to repeal Issue 3 will move ahead

by Lycette Nelson

Cincinnati-Since the announcement in October 1998 that the Supreme Court would not hear an appeal to the Sixth Circuit Court decision upholding Cincinnati's anti-gay charter amendment, known as Issue 3, the Cincinnati Stonewall Political Action Committee has begun organizing a repeal of Issue 3.

I was among the members of the PAC board who attended the Creating Change conference in Pittsburgh in November, where we were able to meet with leaders of other initiative campaigns and political strategists to begin formulating a strategy for the Issue 3 repeal.

To repeal Issue 3-now Article XII of the city charter the voters of Cincinnati would have to pass another charter amendment.

As reported in the January 1 issue of the Gay People's Chronicle ["Solicitor: Issue 3 allows hate crime law"] a ruling by the city solicitor on whether Issue 3 barred the city from passing hate crimes legislation that included sexual orientation as a protected category has created a good deal of confusion about what exactly Issue 3 means.

The city solicitor ruled that Issue 3 "does not prohibit enforcement of any sexual orientation anti-discrimination legislation."

As Attorney Scott Greenwood noted in that article, the city solicitor has left the possibility open for activists to once again petition city council for inclusion of sexual orientation in the city's Human Rights Ordinance.

So why repeal Issue 3 if it doesn't mean anything anyway? First of all, the city solicitor's opinion is open to challenge. Second, Cincinnati City Council is in a state of flux at the moment, and what the make-up of council will be over the next year is a big question.

Two members facing term limits, Bobbie Sterne and Dwight Tillery, have resigned to give their replacements a chance to run as incumbents this year. Two more members, Tyrone Yates and Roxanne Qualls, are in the last year of their terms on council. The city solicitor's ruling may open up an avenue we had thought closed by Issue 3, but many questions still remain.

We hope that when Councilmember Todd Portune's hate crimes amendment moves forward, some of these will begin to be answered.

While waiting for some clarification about the city solicitor's ruling, we are proceeding with the repeal effort. In addition to the climate of intolerance it creates in Cincinnati, Issue 3 sets a terrible precedent for other cities that might think of passing copy-cat legislation.

Issue 3 passed by 62% of the vote in 1993, so a repeal presents a daunting challenge. One of our first orders of business is to conduct a poll of registered voters to see where we are right now. This will help determine the timeline for a repeal as well as giving us valuable information about message framing and voter targeting.

We will be kick-

when the issue will be placed on the ballot, so we can gather the signatures and determine on the strength of that and the poll which election to shoot for. Our target election, however, is November 2000.

At a community meeting held on January

Stonewall Cincinnati

ing off a petition drive to gather signatures of Cincinnati registered voters at the May primary, to be held on May 4. The petitions for a charter amendment do not have to state

26, we began organizing committees for the repeal. The committees include the campaign committee, coalition building, fundraising, voter registration/petition drive, and the speakers bureau. We encourage anyone who is interested in getting involved to contact

Stonewall at 513-651-2500.

Our biggest need right now is to raise money for the poll and for the costs of a campaign-staff, media, etc. Please help by sending a contribution in any amount to Stonewall PAC, P.O. Box 954, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201.

Don't let Cincinnati stand as a bastion of intolerance. Repealing Issue 3 will help uphold the right of every person in the state and in the country to equal protection under the law. ♡

Lycette Nelson is executive director of Stonewall Cincinnati and Stonewall PAC.

Second Freedom to Marry Day is set

In late 1997, the National Freedom to Marry Coalition declared that February 12, 1998, would be the First Annual National Freedom to Marry Day. Activists, students, members of the clergy, and non-gay allies responded energetically and staged over fifty events in 36 communities across the country to build support for equal marriage rights for lesbian and gay Americans, garnering television and print coverage in major media markets nationwide.

February 12 was chosen for National Freedom to Marry Day to coincide with Lincoln's Birthday and Valentine's Day two days later, thus emphasizing the themes of love and equality.

Before the day itself, national, state, and local partners in the National Freedom to Marry Coalition laid the groundwork for success by starting conversations with and asking for support from allies and potential allies outside the gay and lesbian community.

The National Freedom to Marry Coalition envisions the second annual National Freedom to Marry Day as an opportunity to expand our movement's reach, in terms of both the total number of events and the extent to which we all reach out beyond our own communities.

The marriage movement

November's election results in Hawaii and Alaska may have prevented our winning the breakthrough so far, but have not at all stopped our movement-and the breakthrough may still be at hand within a matter of months.

Ours is a long-haul civil rights struggle, not a one-time political campaign. Like all civil rights struggles, it will require great

fortitude and persistence. Two election de-

feats won't turn us back, but they can help us focus on what we need to do most: education and outreach. It takes more than political campaign work to change hearts and minds. It takes months and years of ongoing personal contact and public dialogue-exactly the kind of work that building toward and beyond National Freedom to Marry Day can entail.

Though a breakthrough decision is possible in Vermont and even in Hawaii in 1999, our recent election losses demonstrate how important it is to be able to defend the victories we've secured through the courts. This means that our urgent task is to focus our energies where we can have the most impact: at home.

national freedom to marry day

In Dayton, the Metropolitan Community Church will hold a rite of blessing for committed monogamous relationships between lesbian, gay, transgendered, and supportive heterosexual couples Sunday, February 14. For times and other information about these events, see Charlie's Calendar on the facing page. Want to know more about the freedom to marry, our successes so far, how to engage non-gay allies and talk about the issues involved? Visit web sites such as Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (Boston) at www.glad.org; the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task Force at www.VTfreetomarry.org; the Partners' Task Force at www.buddybuddy.org; the Human Rights Campaign at www.hrc.org; or the National Freedom to Marry Coalition

february 12, 1999

A critical freedom to marry battle, for example, is facing Californians in just over a year. Will our movement focus now, build a diverse array of supporters, and help educate the California electorate over the time available to us about what civil marriage really means? That's what we have to do in order to move closer to our end goal of full equality. And that's what needs to happen everywhere, beginning now-without squandering opportunities-regardless of whether an initiative is on the ballot.

Events in Ohio

Stonewall Akron is sponsoring a Freedom to Marry Day Caravan and Treasure Hunt. Participants will meet on Saturday, February 13 to drive a caravan of cars with signs saying NOT ALLOWED TO GET MARRIED to publicize support for same sex marriage rights.

WHAT TO DO ON A SAAB TEST DRIVE

When nobody's behind you, stop suddenly. This will be a good time to ask about the world's first active head restraint designed to prevent whiplash.

at

www.freedomtomarry.org; or call 212-

807-1700.

Adapted from Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund press materials.

Community Groups

The "Community Groups" columns on this page are published by the Gay People's Chronicle free of charge, as a public service. They are written by members or officers of each non-profit organization, reflecting the views of their group.

If your organization would like to submit a column for this page, contact the Chronicle's managing editor, Doreen Cudnik, at 216-631-8646, tollfree 800 426-5947, or e-mail

editor@chronohio.com.

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