GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Pride Guide 2009

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Equality bill headed for House

by Eric Resnick

Columbus When the Equal Housing and Employment Act passes the House State Government Committee as expected June 17, it will not be the same as it started.

More than a dozen amendments have been proposed to the measure, which would outlaw discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity. They come mostly from Republican lawmakers and the Ohio Chamber of Com-

merce.

The bill's sponsors, Democrat Dan Stewart of Columbus and Republican Ross McGregor, and its main backer Equality Ohio, only intend to allow four of these.

"If I would have put everything the Chamber wanted in the bill, we would have gotten to 75 votes," said Equality Ohio director Lynne Bowman. "But I won't do it."

Sixty votes are expected when H.B. 176, as it is also known, goes to the full 99-member House. Chamber lobbyist Tony Fiore said his group has been interested in the bill since 2006, but that interest heightened this year when it became clear that the bill will pass the House and has a chance to pass the Senate.

Fiore testified as an interested party on the bill during a June 10 committee hearing.

The Chamber says that they "do not support workplace harassment or discrimination,” and that they are "committed to encouraging fair and consistent employment practices and policies in hiring, training and compensation."

However, their interest in EHEA appears to lie more in Fiore's belief that the bill can be used to pass the Chamber's broader agenda, than a concern for LGBT workers.

Fiore initially proposed seven amendments, including caps on damages paid to employees that are discriminated against, limits on access to Common Pleas Court and a weakened right to sue, and a general weakening of Ohio's administrative process that precedes court actions.

Fiore testified that in order to get the Chamber's support for EHEA, all of these provisions would need to be accepted.

"Add the clarifying language to the existing provisions of H.B. 176 and amend in the remaining provisions that address the problems facing all employers and the remaining protected classes

in existing law," Fiore told the committee. The Columbus Chamber of Commerce supports the bill without any changes.

For the Ohio Chamber, a position of "support" means the vote will be scored on their legislative scorecard.

Many legislators, especially Republicans, are very concerned with their Chamber scores.

A "neutral" position means the Chamber will neither support nor oppose the measure, nor will it be scored.

"Opposition" means the organization will actively oppose the bill, and it will be scored.

Had Equality Ohio and the sponsors not accepted any Chamber amendments, they would have opposed the bill, making it difficult to get any Republican votes. This would have dimmed its chances in the GOP-controlled Senate.

A deal was struck that the bill would contain Chamber amendments that do not seem to threaten the narrow intent of the bill in exchange for the neutral position.

Chamber wants changes to gender text

The House will vote on Chamber amendments that change the definition of "gender identity."

The original definition uses the phrase "gender related identity, appearance, or expression..."

The amendment changes that to "gender related identity, appearance, or mannerisms ..."

Fiore says that the change adds clarity. Bowman says neither the lawyers Equality Ohio is working with, nor the Human Rights Campaign, find any difference.

Other Chamber amendments appear to add more redundancy than clarity around shared dressing rooms and shower facilities, a statement that no employer needs to construct new facilities to accommodate transgender employees, and a statement that a transitioning employee cannot prohibit an employer from enforcing dress codes.

An employer's abuse of the latter provision could lead to a federal Title VII violation under sex-stereotyping.

The final Chamber amendment prohibits employers and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission from collecting statistics on employees'

sexual orientation or gender expression.

The entire package of Chamber amendments are not dead, however.

Fiore said he intends to bring up the entire package again, including the ones rejected by . the sponsors and Equality Ohio, when the bill gets to the Senate.

This could become a "poison pill" if majority Republicans attach the entire package to the Senate version, thereby creating a bill Democrats could not support.

Bowman acknowledged that possibility. "But the Chamber has been trying to pass that agenda for ten years, and they couldn't, even in two Republican-controlled chambers," Bowman said. "What the Chamber wants may not have much support."

Bowman believes that moving the Chamber to the neutral position on EHEA will give Senate Republicans enough political cover to vote their conscience.

No affirmative action or 'quotas'

Republican Rep. David Daniels, who is the ranking member on the House State Government Committee, also offered amendments.

Initially, Daniels' amendments added catchphrases of the anti-LGBT establishment which are not now legally recognized including "special rights," and "preferential treatment."

Bowman admittedly wants Daniels' support and doesn't see two of his amendments as dealbreakers once the anti-gay catch phrases were removed.

The Daniels amendments likely to make the bill include a specific pronouncement that nothing in the bill requires employers to "implement quotas or affirmative action policies or programs, based on sexual orientation or gender identity," though nothing else in the bill suggests that it does so.

Daniels will also get a more specific exemption for businesses with an anti-LGBT business motive.

The original bill only exempted churches and religious non-profits. The only example of such a for-profit business is religious bookstores. At press time, it was still not clear whether or not acceptance of the amendments bought Daniels' support.

Has Fisher changed his stand on marriage?

by Eric Resnick

Cleveland-Ohio Lieutenant Governor and U.S. Senate candidate Lee Fisher may have changed his position on marriage equality or he may not have.

Fisher and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, both Democrats, are seeking the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican George Voinovich. The winner of the May 2010 primary will face Republican Rob Portman, a former member of Congress and Bush administration official.

Brunner unequivocally says that samesex partners should have the right to marry, a belief she held publicly since 1989. Last week, she wrote a Huffington Post article saying that "For LGBT couples, the right to marry is elemental."

Fisher has been less clear. Three months

ago, he said, "I am in favor of civil unions, but I have questions about marriage.”

But last week, his campaign sent out a statement they described as "our statement in support of gay marriage."

"The government should be focused on creating jobs, lowering health care costs and moving to alternative energy, instead of trying to stop individuals who want to be in a committed relationship and take responsibility for each other," the statement read.

Fisher has been criticized by LGBT rights advocates since a reporter asked him about his answer to a three-year-old Vote Smart survey at the Cleveland Human Rights Campaign dinner in March.

"Do you believe that the Ohio government should recognize same-sex marriages?” the 2006 survey asked. Fisher answered

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"No."

Pressed to clarify at the HRC dinner, the former Ohio attorney general said he is "not closing the door" to marriage equality, and that he expects to have discussions with HRC about it during the course of the Senate campaign.

"I don't know whether civil unions will be sufficient or not," Fisher said, "and those discussions will help me to understand."

Adding to Fisher's pressure is Brunner's clarity in support of marriage equality. It is one of the few issues in which there is any difference between the two candidates. Both candidates are generally seen as LGBTaffirming and want the community's support.

Brunner, a former judge, published the Continued on page 21

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Pride Guide, June 19, 2009 Volume 24, Issue 26

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