GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

September 23, 2011

www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Equality bill is back in the Statehouse next weeknu

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus-A rally outside the Ohio Statehouse will launch the efforts to pass an LGBT anti-discrimination law on September 27.

L-

The Equal Housing and Employment Act will be reintroduced by Republican Rep. Ross McGregor and Democratic Rep. Nickie Antonio. The same day, Equality Ohio is holding a rally, press conference and lobby day for the bill.

The measure passed the Ohio House of Representatives on September 2009. It was then sent to the Ohio Senate which took no action, so it died when the session ended last year.

The bill would bar discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity in public and private employment, housing and public accommodations.

Similar measures are already on the books in 21 states, of which 15 include gender identity. No federal law protects either group from discrimination.

Although none of Ohio's neighboring states have such laws, all six of its largest cities do, along with 11 other ones.

The groundwork has been laid for the bill's introduction, with over two hundred people at each of the last two Equality Ohio Lobby Days in May of 2011 and 2010. Hundreds of constituents, representing virtually every county in the state, spoke to legislators about LGBT issues, including antidiscrimination and anti-bullying legis-

lation.

Antonio is also the lead co-sponsor of an anti-bullying bill, with Rep. Michael Stinziano of Columbus.

While EHEA passed a Democrat-controlled House and died in the Republicancontrolled Senate, Equality Ohio executive director Ed Mullen believes that the bill have a chance to pass in the current GOP legislature, and it is an effort that must be made.

"I think a lot of people throughout the

state think, because the legislature is a lot more conservative than it has been in the past, this will be a hard bill to get passed," Mullen said. "But I also think there has been a dramatic shift across the country in how conservatives view gay issues."

Mullen pointed to the conservative money and lobbying efforts on behalf of

Nickie Antonio

based on both LGBT status and disability, he can speak to legislators about the heavy cost of inequality. In a state in dire financial straits, that is a point that bears repeating.

He also believes the groundwork that has been laid with legislators, including 40 freshmen lawmakers, has made a difference already. He said there is an enormous differ-

ent between talking to lawmakers a year ago, and speaking to them now, although other LGBT advocates around the state do not necessarily see that. "What have been doing to try to get support for both the bullying bill and the nondiscrimination bill is go into the districts where legislators are on the fence, where legislators could vote yes or no on the bills," he said, noting that Equality Ohio has been reaching out to community, busi-

Ross

McGregor

same-sex marriage in New York, where full equal marriage passed earlier this year. There, major Republican donors pushed lawmakers to support marriage equality.

"What we're seeing around the country is that conservatives who are supportive of the LGBT community are not booted out of office, and are, in a way, canonized," he noted.

He acknowledges that it will not be easy. "I think it is an uphill battle, but I think there's a definite opportunity for us to get this passed in the next legislature,” Mullen continued. “I think it is going to take a lot of people working very hard together to make it work, but I do think it is a definite possibility."

Mullen, who took the reins of Equality. Ohio in February, has a firm grasp of what he speaks. Having handled civil rights cases

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DADT

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but before it was certified in July. A 60-day waiting period ended on September 20.

The U.S. joins about three dozen other nations that allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, including NATO allies Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

While DADT and the earlier bans are history, the future is still undiscovered country. It will likely be easier for gay and lesbian servicemembers to report harassment based on their sexuality. Before, such complaints were often held in check for fear of investigation into whether the person actually was gay or lesbian.

Additionally, the military is not offering benefits to partners of gay and lesbian personnel, although around 20 percent of respondents to a poll by the gay and lesbian

service member organization OutServe indicated that they would get married to their partner if their state allowed it.

OutServe's co-founder, who went under the pseudonym J.D. Smith, came out as First Lt. Josh Seefried, an Air Force finance officer at a base in New Jersey.

At 10 pm, a memorial was held at Twist during the reception, honoring personnel who were killed due by anti-gay violence. These included Allen Schindler, killed by a shipmate in 1992, and Barry Winchell, murdered by a fellow soldier in 1999. Two other combat fatalities were honored, Alan Rogers, the first known gay casualty in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Andrew Wilfahrt, who was killed by an improvised explosive device in Kandahar, Afghanistan last February.

Bohusch also explained that, despite the repeal of DADT, trans people still cannot serve openly. A gender identity disorder diagnosis can lead to a psychiatric separation from the military, and transgender people who have undergone full gender reassignment could be invalidated from service for having had major surgery, similar to women who have had hysterectomies.

The last two major changes in military policy-the integration of African Ameri-

ness and religious leaders in those areas, asking them to express their support for LGBT equality to their lawmakers.

"The same arguments and the same people and the same conversations support both bills," Mullen said, noting that it was "moving the needle forward on explaining why our issues are so important."

While the current internet age makes social networking seem like a powerful force, Mullen does not believe that "liking" things or signing petitions, paper or online, will get the job done.

"The absolute most important point is that nothing is going to happen in the state unless people demand it, and 'demand it' doesn't mean signing a petition or going to a Facebook page," he stressed. "It means picking up the phone and calling your legislator, going to Columbus with your straight allies and family members and talking to your legislator.”

"Unless we demand it in that way, nothing is going to happen," he concluded.

The Equal Housing and Employment Act rally will begin at 1:30 pm in front of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus. For more information, go to www.equality ohio.org.

can and female service personnel-saw increases in reports of violence against those groups. Bohusch doesn't believe incidents of anti-gay violence or harassment will increase, but she believes their visibility will, and that it is a good thing.

"What I foresee is that what already goes on will have a higher reporting ratio," she said. "When it becomes more acceptable for service members to report post-traumatic stress, or when it becomes more comfortable for women to report rape and sexual assault, the increased reporting rate makes it look like the actual problem is increasing when it's just a matter that, when it's okay to report, people report."

"That will be a good thing, because it will bring the bad apples to light," she continued. "I think the increased reporting rate will cause the actual rate to decline when the so-called bad apples see either themselves or people around them suffering consequences for that sort of behavior, that they will be deterred from acting on their own biases."

The United States Army top brass released a letter on September 20 urging the upholding of discipline and respect, saying, "Our rules, regulations and policies reflect the repeal guidance issued by the Department of Defense and will apply uniformly without regard to sexual orientation, which is a personal and private matter."

The letter concludes, "Accordingly, we expect all personnel to follow our Values by implementing the repeal fully, fairly and in accordance with policy guidance. It is the duty of all personnel to treat each other with dignity and respect, while maintaining good order and discipline throughout our ranks."

Locally, the renewed focus on the military and gay service members has reinvigorated Bohusch's organization, NEOAVER, which will begin holding monthly meetings again on the second Tuesday of every month. Their first meeting will be on Tuesday, October 11 at 7 pm at Twist, 11633 Clifton Blvd. in Cleveland.

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