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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com September 25, 2009

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 3

A single donor covers half of Equality March's budget

by Anthony Glassman

Washington, D.C.-A Utah gay advocate has donated $100,000 to the October 11 National Equality March, estimated to be half of the budget for the event.

Bruce Bastian already gave $70,000 and said he plans to donate an additional $30,000 because he believes that it will engender more people stepping up to fight for LGBT equality.

The march, and an accompanying rally on the west lawn of the Capitol, will be held on Sunday, October 11. It will be the fifth national march for LGBT equality; the others were in 1979, 1987, 1993 and 2000.

On Saturday, October 10, a related conference will cover all aspects of LGBT advocacy, from youth to AIDS to repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

The march will begin at noon on Sunday,

House

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Assistant Majority Floor Leader and EHEA co-sponsor Tracy Maxwell Heard of Columbus offered an amendment, then allowed another co-sponsor, Mike Skindell of Lakewood, to speak about it.

Skindell described it as three relatively minor word changes to clarify some fine points. But they did something else that he didn't mention. They changed the same text the Chamber amendment was aimed at, and House Rule 91 prohibits amending the same paragraph twice.

Heard's amendment passed 51 to 43, after an impassioned speech from EHEA cosponsor Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati, a Democrat, who called it "meaningful clarifications and improvements," and urged passage of the bill.

"We should not stand idly by and wait for equality to come or wait for history to be made at some distant hour," said Yates. "History has handed us an opportunity, a moment to continue on the path of equality and understanding."

Minority Leader William Batchelder of Medina took issue with part of the amendment, perhaps understanding what was taking place. He asked for clarification, which Skindell offered.

All Democrats voted for the amendment, joined by Republican Cliff Hite of Findlay. All other Republicans, including the bill's sponsor Ross McGregor of Springfield, voted against it.

With Heard's amendment passed, Republican Gerald Stebelton of Lancaster offered the Chamber amendment but it was ruled out of order, despite protests by Assistant Minority Leader Louis Blessing of Cincinnati.

Democrats are fundamentally opposed to the Chamber's tort reform, and most of them, according to multiple sources, would have voted EHEA down if Stebelton's amendment had made it into the bill.

But it would have, if it had come to a vote. The House has a number of Democrats that narrowly defeated Republicans in swing districts who would lose their seats if the Chamber opposed them in the next election, which in turn would cause Democrats to lose control of the House.

The Chamber intended to score members' votes on each amendment section separately, raising the stakes even higher.

At a Chamber legislative retreat earlier this month, Democrats were pulled aside and warned about what would happen if they voted against the amendment.

So, the only way to pass EHEA was to make sure the amendments never came up for a vote, and the Chamber of Commerce had nothing to score.

Let our

and it is expected to last around two hours. The post-march rally will be in the same location as President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Organizers refused to posit a guess as to attendance, but Park Service recommendations suggest one portable toilet for every 300 attendees. The National Equality March has ordered 300 port-a-potties and an additional 60 wheelchair-accessible units, reported the Washington Blade.

While the formula would then put predicted attendance at around 100,000 people, march planners point out that the Park Service suggested the 360 units.

Organizers were criticized during the early planning for the march, facing accusations that in a troubled economy, many people would be unable to afford the trip, and that it could well siphon funds that would otherwise be spent

Wagner decries a 'lifestyle'

With the Chamber amendments off the table, debate on the merit of EHEA continued.

The first to speak against the bill was Republican Jeff Wagner of Sycamore.

Wagner gained notoriety last spring when he publicized a letter he sent to an EHEA opponent in which he decried homosexuality, divorce and infidelity as responsible for "a continued collapse of the basic building block of society" and the cause of "sexually transmitted diseases, kids without parents, heartbroken people and I believe a host of mental and physical illnesses."

For that, Wagner was publicly rebuked by 23 Democratic House members.

But Wagner repeated the claims during the EHEA debate-less than 50 feet from Tom Grote and Rick Neal of Columbus in the gallery, holding the five-month-old daughter they are adopting.

"When you get down to the root of H.B. 176, it is not really about people being denied rights to basic needs," Wagner said. "It is about forcing the acceptance of a lifestyle than many disagree with."

"I strongly believe that the sexual revolution this country has undergone in the past four decades has had a huge negative effect on our society and a devastating effect on our families," Wagner said, listing living together before marriage, promiscuity, easy divorce and "the homosexual lifestyle" as the culprits.

“What has all that enlightenment gotten us," Wagner asked rhetorically, then answered, "Today we have a lot more children without loving homes as a direct result of that revolution."

"We should not use the machinery of state government to force people to accept lifestyles they do not believe in," Wagner concluded.

'This is the right thing to do'

GOP co-sponsor Ross McGregor was up

next.

"We are given a short amount of time, sometimes even shorter than we'd like," McGregor began, "and I have vowed that I am going to use every moment I have been given to do what's right despite how unpopular that may be at times."

McGregor, a business owner, addressed EHEA from that perspective.

"By creating an environment that is open to all, that is only going to help our economy here in Ohio," McGregor said.

"What I find most telling and impressive are the numbers of your staff who come by my office, stuck their heads in and tell me this is the right thing to do."

"The younger people in our state under-

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fighting anti-gay ballot measures in Maine and Washington state.

However, especially in the case of Maine, planners pointed out that it would be a perfect venue for those trying to keep samesex marriage in the state to bring their travails to a national stage.

Lead organizer Cleve Jones, one of the creators of the Names Project AIDS Quilt, said in a conference call on September 14 that there will be an impressive lineup for the rally, with some "spectacular" speakers, but that the program would not be announced until it is finalized.

Jones told the Blade that "we do have some amazing people confirmed, including Julian Bond [NAACP board chair], Matthew Shepard's mother Judy, Lt. Dan Choi and Dustin Lance Black."

Black, the writer behind the screenplay for the biopic Milk, won the Academy Award

stand that diversity and acceptance is what Ohio needs to promote," McGregor said.

"I really don't care whether a guy's wearing silk panties under his blue jeans if he's showing up to the shop on time and acting as a member of our team," McGregor said. McGregor then read several messages he received from constituents against EHEA.

"Is there a provision for me to pound these queer people into next week?" he quoted one writer.

Then he read a pro-EHEA letter to the editor of his local newspaper, from a Christian pastor.

"There are people in Ohio who want nothing more than a good job, a place to live and to not feel threatened," McGregor said, "and Ohio cannot afford to discriminate."

Also speaking for passage of EHEA were Majority Leader Jennifer Garrison of Marietta, who is a candidate for Secretary of State, and Republican Peggy Lehner of Kettering.

Lehner objected to the parliamentary move that kept the Chamber amendments from consideration-a move that Republicans also used frequently when they were in the majority. She said that it was tempting for her to vote against the entire bill over it, except that EHEA is too important.

Lehner opposes abortion, and tied EHEA to the unalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

"I have vigorously argued for years that to deny the right to life to unborn children violates one of the most important principles upon which our great nation was founded."

"There are those who have taken the liberty of substituting the principle of unalienable rights with a principle of freedom of choice," said Lehner. "I am not among those."

"The Constitution does not speak of choice when it refers to life, but nor does it speak of choice when it addresses liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Constitution does not grant this body the privilege of conferring liberty only on those we agree with, who live like us or believe what we believe in," Lehner continued.

for best original screenplay at this year's Oscar ceremony. Choi is an activist advocating the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The ultimate goal of the march is simple, according to Jones: complete civil equality for LGBT people in all 50 states.

"We are trying to change the strategy. We are doing this because we are tired with the endless state-by-state, county-by-county, city-by-city, hoped-for victories that, even when achieved, are incomplete and impermanent," he said.

Full information on the march, rally and conference are available online at www.nationalequalitymarch.com. Chartered buses are planned to bring people to Washington D.C. from across the Midwest. Ohio information is at http:// 2009Equality March.org, or e-mail

contactjack@earthlink.net.

Lehner said EHEA does a good job of protecting the natural rights of all citizens.

Republican Lynn Wachtmann of Napoleon then spoke against EHEA, repeating a talking point that the bill violates antigays' religious liberty.

"Shame on you for bringing this bill up and having no respect for those of religion who disagree with these issues," Wachtmann said.

"This bill is about punishing those who do not agree with your beliefs," Wachtmann said.

Republican Kevin Bacon of Worthington wanted to "score a big win for the business world" and protested that the Chamber amendments were scrapped.

Republican Matt Huffman of Lima said EHEA is not the same as granting voting rights.

"It's about taking away rights of a business owner or someone who owns a house," said Huffman.

but

Huffman, an attorney, said he has been asked to take a number of these cases, said that the people were all really fired and denied housing for other reasons, inferring that the owners have a fundamental right to do it.

"This is about taking rights away from people," Huffman said.

Democrat John Carney of Columbus countered Wachtmann and Huffman by saying that discrimination is not a right.

After an hour and nine minutes of debate, EHEA passed to applause from the gallery. The bill's title was amended to add nine new co-sponsors, all Democrats.

In the end, five Republicans voted for the bill, well short of McGregor's goal of 10 to 12.

Republicans joining McGregor were Hite, Lehner, Matthew Dolan of Novelty, and Terry Blair of Washington Township.

The lack of Republican support may give the Senate an excuse to dismiss the measure. However, House Democrats have said they are willing to negotiate with Senate Republicans to pass EHEA in exchange for something they want, should the opportunity arise.

Jason & deMarco in Concert

Sunday, September 27~ 7 p.m. Tickets: $10

General A mission

Available At The Doo*

Franklin Circle bristian Church 1688 Fulton Rd

Near West Side