Pride Guide 2002 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
Fight for Cleveland Heights partner benefits is not over
by Keli Zehnder
Cleveland Heights-On April 15, Cleveland Heights City Council, in a six-to-one vote, passed an ordinance to provide a range of benefits, most importantly health insurance, to the domestic partners of city employees. This positive and inclusive step was made by council members who said they were acting in accordance with citizens' expressed wishes gathered during a severalyear public "visioning" process.
However, the heated debate at that council meeting included a number of opponents giving speeches based on strident, religious arguments. A group that calls itself Families First organized in opposition to the ordinance, and its first strategy has been to try to collect enough signatures from registered voters to put the ordinance up for a referendum vote at a special election. This "Families First" should not be confused with the Stark County social service agency called Families First, which does wonderful work on behalf of children.
In turn, we have organized a group called Heights Families for Equality that is working to educate Cleveland Heights citizens about the ordinance and the efforts to repeal it. Our first major step was to encourage voters to "decline to sign" the petitions through a public information campaign at polling places during the May 7 primary election.
Cleveland Heights City Hall representa-
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tives report that, on May 15, the petitioners turned in around 5,200 signatures—a count well below the required 5,324 that the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections computed as 15% of the Cleveland Heights registered voter base. In addition, over 600 of the petition signatures were collected before the ordinance was filed by City Council, and
The group that sponsored
the petition drive may sue
the city or the county.
therefore have been disqualified pursuant to city laws on referendum drives.
Thus, this referendum drive apparently ended due to insufficient public support to go forward.
Where do we go from here?
We can take heart in the fact that the residents of Cleveland Heights recognized the efforts of this narrow, right-wing group called Families First to turn an employee benefit issue into an opportunity to further anti-gay sentiments.
We can celebrate that informed voters here saw through the effort to disguise an argument based on hate in the clothing of providing health care to other groups-the
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introduction of legislation to provide health care to even more people is something that many of us would support.
We can rest assured that the citizens of Cleveland Heights clearly understand the difference between religious tolerance and imposing narrow religious views on the entire city.
However, Families First, the group that spearheaded the petition drive, has retained attorney David Langdon from Cincinnati a city torn apart in recent years over issues such as this one—and may be planning to file a lawsuit against either the City of Cleveland Heights or the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, or both. Of course we will continue to monitor developments.
In the meantime, we will continue our efforts to support what our neighbors clearly already know: that Cleveland Heights is a
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city where diversity is embraced, where domestic partners can have benefits, and where such an ordinance providing equal rights to gays and lesbians will be successful, whether put to a public vote or simply passed by our elected City Council members. We will reach out to the diverse groups in the city--of all races, family situations, ages, and religionsto create opportunities for dialogue and mutual respect.
If you would like to volunteer your talents or time to the effort, please call 216-556-0571. If you would like to donate funds to support our activities, please send your check, payable to "Heights Families for Equality," to P.O. Box 181367, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118. Our web site is www.heights families.org.
Keli Zehnder is volunteer coordinator of Heights Families for Equality.
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