GAY PEOPLE'S

Chronicle

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

Panel drops LGBTs from Ohio bully bill

by Anthony Glassman

Columbus-Just a few weeks after Equality Ohio sent an e-mail to members and supporters expressing optimism for the coming year, the Ohio Senate Education Committee put forward only two-thirds of the anti-bully bill introduced by Rep. Nickie Antonio in the state House of Representatives.

The bill, which passed the committee unanimously, requires that school districts provide comprehensive anti-bullying training and provisions to protect students against "cyber-bullying."

But the part of the bill which enumerated categories upon which protections can be based including sexual orientation and gender identity was removed.

Equality Ohio pointed out in a press release after the January 10 vote that 18 percent of students in districts with policies that do not enumerate categories feel unsafe, compared to only 2 percent of students in districts with policies that include enumeration.

It also noted that students in states without enumeration in antibullying laws report the same levels of bullying as those in states without any bullying laws at all.

The three parts of the bill were introduced separately in the Ohio House of Representatives, so enumeration may still pass in that chamber and be accepted by the Senate.

"It's been a long 48 hours, let's just put it that way," said Ed Mullen, executive director of Equality Ohio. "Our hope was that all three would be rolled into one, but enumeration was left out. It would have been easier and quicker had it been added as an amendment or a substitution bill to what was in the Senate."

The bullying bill is not Equality Ohio's only legislative priority this session. The LGBT Equal Housing and Employment Act has also been reintroduced, although its fate, like that of enumeration, is very much up in the air given the conservative domination of the legislature.

"We've always known it was going to be an uphill battle to get things passed," Mullen noted, pointing out that the hearings provided usable data going forward.

"Now we know who is for it and who is not for it, and we know who to approach in a targeted way to change their vote," he said. "I think there is definitely a chance of it

going forward. I can't say yet how optimistic I am that it will pass, it's too early to tell."

One major component to getting the bullying bill and EHEA passed may be Equality Ohio's seventh annual Lobby Day, which will take place on May 16.

"I think we have a really good idea of what messages we need to put out there and what districts we need to target," Mullen said. “I would encourage people to start thinking about coming down to Columbus on the sixteenth of May."

There is also the possibility of three more out legislators joining Nickie Antonio in Columbus after this year's election cycle. While Antonio is up for reelection this year, Wood County Commissioner Tim Brown will be running for Ohio House District 3, and has no primary opponent. He will simply have to campaign against his Democratic opponent in November.

Steve Newsome, the former political co-chair of Cincinnati's HRC steering committee, will be running against incumbent Rep. Louis Terhar in House District 30. Joining them will be James Helmink in Lake County, who has a three-way primary on March 6.

Volume 27, Issue 15 January 13, 2012

Tasty dishes from the grave

Radio host Frank DeCaro has dug up a hilarious but tasty collection of recipes from over 145 famous corpses, from Liberace's Sticky Buns to Joan Crawford's Poached Salmon. See Evenings Out on page 5.

Man and officer hit after police stop couple

by Anthony Glassman

Brilliant, Ohio-One gay man is hospitalized and another pleaded no contest to minor charges after an altercation with a police officer on Christmas night.

Barry Starcher and Jimmy Coil went for a walk after having a bad Christmas. They were sitting on a guard rail when a police officer approached them. While police and Starcher have differing stories about what happened, both Coil and Officer J.J. Kamerer wound up being hit by a car and taken to hospital.

At around 10 pm on December 25, Coil and Starcher were sitting on the rail near the intersection of Third Street and an Ohio 7 off-ramp in Brilliant, on the Ohio River just south of Steubenville.

Wells Township Police Capt. Sean Norman told WTOV Channel 9 in Steubenville that Kamerer approached the couple because he assumed they needed help, but that when he asked what was wrong and if they were okay, the said it was none of his business. Police also said that Coil threw a bottle of prescription medication at the officer's face, telling him that was his identification.

Police say that they argued and Kamerer chased the men onto Third Street, where a car hit him and Coil.

Kamerer's leg was injured, but Coil is in critical condition. His lungs were damaged in the collision, and he is unable to speak, although he is responsive, according to a se-

ries of posts Starcher put up on Facebook.

Three days after the event, Starcher was interviewed by WTOV and gave his side of the story.

"[Kamerer] asked, 'What's going on?' and we said, 'Nothing.' He said, 'What are you doing?' We said, 'Nothing.' He said, 'Well, what's your name?' And I said, 'I'm not sure if I should give you that. Why do you want it?' And that's when he jumped out of the car," Starcher said.

He denies Coil threw the pill bottle at Kamerer; instead, he handed him the bottle, noting that it was the only thing he had on him with his name on it. Starcher admits, though, that he and Coil mouthed off to the officer.

Inside This Issue

He also denies that he and Coil ran from the officer, but asserts that he was sprayed with pepper spray by Kamerer, so he could not see what happened immediately before the collision, although he heard it.

"I heard the officer running into the road screaming, and I see the officer being pushed by the car. And then all of a sudden the car stopped and the officer flies across the road, and when the car backs up, there's Jimmy laying in the road."

Starcher pleaded no contest to obstructing official business and failure to disclose personal information. He was scheduled to be sentenced on January 11, but no information on the sentence was available at press time.

Candidates take jabs at marriag in New Hampshire

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