GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

EQUALITY OHIO

Ohio's Newspaper for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community · www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

KELLY SMITH

State Rep. Nickie Antonio of Lakewood speaks to a rally outside the Statehouse marking the Sept. 27 reintroduction of a bill to outlaw anti-LGBT discrimination.

Transgender women attacked near Clifton and West Blvd.

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-Two transgender women were attacked on September 22 while returning to their house after a jog.

Zoe Page and Jeolene Strietward stopped at a pet store's grand opening and were walking back to their house on West Boulevard at about 9 pm when five men walked by. One dropped. his bike, and Page recounts that he said, "Hell no, what are you faggots doing here?"

Page, a combat veteran of the armed services, told Strietward to run away and get help, and attempted to hold off the attackers before being hit in the back of the head with what she describes as a brick. Once she went down, the assailants kicked and beat her.

She tried to get back up repeatedly, only to be knocked down again, before managing to get into the middle of the street. Once there, an off-duty Lakewood firefighter

chased off the attackers and called emergency medical services.

Strietward, meanwhile, had been knocking on the doors of nearby houses, trying to get someone to call the police, but nobody answered. She was knocking so hard she broke a pane of glass in a door, requiring stitches in her hand.

The assailants made off with Page's backpack, along with much of the contents of her pockets, including her keys.

The following day, Page went to the VA hospital, where she was treated for a broken nose, abrasions and bruised ribs.

Despite an end to the assault, which occurred near Clifton Boulevard, Page still faces reminders of the attack. On October 3, she spotted two of the assailants at the Shell gas station on Clifton. She called police from the cell phone of a person at the station, and got

disconnected repeatedly, finally waiting three hours for police officers to come and take her statement.

According to Page, the two she spotted on October 3 were the only two still at large. Police caught the first two shortly after the attack, and they had her belongings with them. A few days ago, a detective came by with a photo line-up and she identified the third assailant.

A detective was slated to come out to talk to Page about spotting the remaining two attackers on October 4, as this issue is going to press. Page said the detective was going to turn the information over to the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the hate crime element of the attack.

Police officials had not returned calls for comment at press time.

Strietward has been involved continued on page 2

Volume 27, Issue 8 October 7, 2011

Equality bill is back in Ohio Statehouse

by Anthony Glassman

ac-

Columbus-The Equal Housing and Employment Act was reintroduced into the Ohio legislature on September 27, companied by a rally on the Statehouse steps at which a number of the sponsors and their representatives spoke.

The bill would bar discrimination by sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations, similar to existing Ohio laws covering race, religion and other areas.

It was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives by Democrat Nickie Antonio of Lakewood and Republican Ross McGregor of Springfield, both of whom gave strong statements in favor of the legislation.

"Ohio can no longer afford to drive away the talented workforce of tomorrow by not enacting this legislation," McGregor noted. "A creative and vibrant workforce is what is required to create a 21st century economy in the state of Ohio. By enacting House Bill 335 we are saying that Ohio is a place where everyone can live and work free of discrimination.”

"This bill provides for the simple universal right of all citizens to equal treatment under the law, based on the premise that all are created equal including those Ohio citizens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual transgendered," Antonio said.

She pointed to the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," and said, "It's time for Ohio to join with the 21 states and over 650 Fortune 500 companies across the country who know that banning LGBT discrimination is good for employees and good for busi-

ness.

EHEA passed the Democratcontrolled Ohio House of Representatives in 2009, but died in the Senate. This session, both houses are controlled by Republicans, but Equality Ohio executive director Ed Mullen believes that the bill still has a chance to pass.

According to polling figures from Equality Ohio, 72 percent

Inside This Issue

of Ohio residents favor adding sexual orientation and gender identity to non-discrimination laws in the state, and 65 percent of Ohio Republicans are on board with the expansion of antidiscrimination legislation.

Seventeen cities across the state, including all of the six largest ones, bar anti-gay discrimination in their ordinances. While 21 other states have similar laws, there are no federal protections.

The bill was introduced in the Ohio Senate by Michael Skindell of Lakewood and Charleta Tavares of Columbus. Skindell staffer Leo Almeida spoke to the crowd at the rally, as did Mullen and Bonnie McGinnis, who talked about her own experience with employment discrimination.

Prior to the reintroduction of the legislation, Mullen pointed to a burgeoning change in the way conservatives across the country view LGBT equality

measures.

"What we're seeing around the country is that conservatives who are supportive of the LGBT community are not booted cut of office, and are, in a way, canonized," he noted, pointing to the Republican state senators in New York who were strongly lobbied by major donors in favor of marriage equality in the

state.

"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," he said, noting that there has been a great effort to reach out to legislators who might not have made up their minds about EHEA and an anti-bullying bill, also introduced by Antonio.

"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," Mullen said. "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."

Obama promises more progress at HRC dinner

News Briefs

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October is LGBT History Month

Charlie's Calendar Resource Directory Classifieds

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