GAY PEOPLE'S
Chronicle
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Ohio's Newspaper for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com Volume 24, Issue 25 June 5, 2009
Equality bill may have tougher time in House
by Eric Resnick
Columbus-There may be less support than anticipated for an LGBT equal rights bill in the Ohio House.
The Equal Housing and Employment Non-Discrimination Act would bar discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity in public and private employment, housing and pub-
lic accommodations.
It was expected to pass the House easily when it was reintroduced last month by Democrat Dan Stewart of Columbus and Republican Ross McGregor of Springfield.
But there appears to be more resistance among majority Democrats than anticipated.
Last fall's election put 53 Democrats and 46 Republicans in the Ohio House. With control of the agenda for the first time in 14 years, the more LGBT-affirming Democrats seemed poised to pass the bill quickly.
House Speaker Armond Budish of Beachwood told a group of LGBT volunteer lobbyists on May 13 that he intended to move the measure quickly.
Budish has kept his word, with sponsor testimony heard in the State Government Committee on May 27, and proponent testimony scheduled for June 3.
However, according to a message sent to Equality Ohio's leadership, there are only 40 certain votes for the bill. The LGBT political group is the measure's primary backer.
The bill has only one other Republican co-sponsor, Terry Blair of Washington Township. This means there is a maximum of 38 Democrats committed to passing it.
The measure needs 50 votes to pass the House.
The leadership message indicates that there are 22 more possible "yes" votes in the House.
Changes improve Senate chances
The Senate's conservative president, Republican Bill Harris of Ashland, has changed his position on EHEA since he learned about two changes made since the bill appeared in the Senate last
session.
The changes include an exemption for religious organizations and exemption for employers with fewer than 15 workers.
This matches the proposed federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act, but makes sexual orientation and gender identity different from the other classes in Ohio's current anti-bias laws.
Race, color, religion, national origin, age, handicap and ancestry are presently covered by laws that extend to employers with as few as four people working.
It is believed that the bill has a chance to pass the Senate if Harris allows his caucus members to vote their conscience, rather than a party line vote against it. That is, if he lets it get to the floor for consideration at all.
When asked of his intention earlier, Harris' spokesperson Maggie Ostrowski was tightlipped, giving the standard answer for all bills sent to the Senate by the House.
Ostrowski said Harris would "refer it to a standing committee” once it arrives, but would comment no further.
A few days later Ostrowski updated the statement, having discussed it more with Harris.
Ostrowski said Harris had not been aware of the changes that had been made in the version of the bill that is currently pending in the Ohio House.
"He said that he will consider HB 176 when it is in the Senate," Ostrowski said.
Sponsor testimony
"There is no more controversial issue being debated in this nation today that that of the issue of equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual
Continued on page 2
Inside This Issue
BRIAN DEWITT
Walkers set off on the final AIDS Walk through Wade Oval in University Circle.
Springtime AIDS Walk gives a sunny finale to the event
by Anthony Glassman
Cleveland-The final Dr. John T. Carey Memorial AIDS Walk gave a gorgeous, sunny send-off to the area's longest-lasting fundraiser for AIDS service organizations.
Following the lead of other organizations around the nation, the 19th annual event on May 30 was the last. The AIDS Taskforce of Greater Cleveland announced a few months ago that it would discontinue the walks.
"We moved the walk to May because that's actually when we have always wanted to do it," said AIDS Taskforce of Cleveland walk coordinator Jill Rembrandt in February. "The Plain Dealer, who used
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to be the presenting sponsor of the walk, wanted it in the fall, so as not to compete with another major event they sponsored, so we chose to do it in October in the past."
"We decided that it was time to end it before it gradually ended itself by having less and less participants as time went on," she continued. "We are hoping that in the coming year we will be able to reinvent the fundraiser as more of a celebration of life . . . live music, food, and a great way to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS."
The walk did at least as well as expected, especially considering that it was the second one in a single fiscal year.
A Gay People's Chronicle reporter counted 443 people walking, and Rembrandt noted that a final tally for money raised won't be available for weeks.
"Money-wise, obviously we don't have totals," she said. "Money still comes in for the next month or so."
"I think we met our goals," she posited.
The October 2008 walk brought in 611 participants, so the attendance was down, but the attitude of those involved was almost ecstatic.
"I was really happy with the number of young people who were there this year, from high school through college," Rembrandt said, noting that they were energetic and she was humbled by "how
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involved they wanted to be and how passionate they felt about the cause."
In addition to the North Coast Men's Chorus and people speaking about living with HIV, DJ Freeze played music, as did the Blazing River Freedom Band.
At one point, a large crowd of primarily young walkers did the Cleveland Slide, and the energy level was through the roof.
That is the sort of thing Rembrandt would like to see in the Celebration of Life that is intended to take the AIDS Walk's place.
"We're still in the planning stages," she noted. "I'm hoping that is something that is going to be more done by committee, and have various people from the community decide what is necessary to really be a celebration of life."
She envisions a group comprised of community members, representatives from the various agencies that would benefit from the event and other giving a "consensus of what people feel is going to be a real celebration of life instead of it just being handed down by the AIDS Taskforce."
"We're thinking a lot of music, helping people cope and know what it's like to live with HIV, more a celebration than a vigil," she concluded.