Marriage Ban Effect on Gays Varied

Cleveland Plain Dealer story features Equality Ohio:

Nathan Schaefer is young, well-educated and a former Ohioan because, he says, the state in which he grew up and came out made it clear a year ago that he and other gays are unwelcome.

For Schaefer, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage "was like a slap in the face." The measure, approved by 62 percent of Ohio voters, took effect Dec. 2, 2004.So, when he finished graduate school at Case Western Reserve University in May, Schaefer left for Washington, D.C.

"Why would you pay taxes to a government when it won't protect you?" asks the 25-year-old, who was raised near Sandusky and had intended to use his social work degree in Ohio.

Group assails domestic-partner benefits suit against Miami

Article in the Dayton Daily News featuring Equality Ohio:

COLUMBUS An official for a new gay rights political advocacy group, said a lawsuit seeking to overturn domestic partner benefits at Miami University is "mean spirited."

"Taking away existing coverage from these families simply because they are gay is mean spirited and unnecessary," said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, officially established in August in response to the November 2004 constitutional amendment banning civil unions.

It advocates equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Ohioans.
But state Rep. Tom Brinkman, R-Cincinnati, who filed the lawsuit, said, "Anyone getting state money should follow the law — that's all we're saying."

Equality Ohio stands with Miami University Alumni and Employees

Columbus, OH - The stability of at least thirty Ohio families was attacked yesterday in a lawsuit filed against Miami University in Butler County Common Pleas Court because of the domestic partner benefits the school offers to employees.

”t a time when health care is an issue for so many Ohioans, taking away existing coverage from these families simply because they are gay is mean spirited and unnecessary,” said Lynne Bowman, Executive Director of Equality Ohio, Ohio’s statewide political organization which envisions an Ohio where everyone feels at home, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Read full press release

Changes to bully bill don't include targeted groups

Gay People's Chronicle reports on the movement of Ohio's Safe Schools Bill:

Columbus--An anti-bullying bill in an Ohio House of Representatives committee will face a slate of changes when it next comes up for discussion, but advocates for LGBT youth believe those changes do not go far enough.

A sub-bill to House Bill 276, introduced by the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, follows Ohio School Board Association recommendations to clarify the requirements schools would face under the legislation to prevent, punish and report bullying.

However, despite intensive lobbying efforts from LGBT groups including chapters of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, youth organizations and others, the sub-bill still does not enumerate groups of people who should be covered.

Same-sex marriage ban’s biggest effect has been in political arena

The Columbus Dispatch reports on fallout from the Constitutional Ban on Same Sex Marriage in Ohio:

A year after Ohio’s much-debated constitutional ban on same-sex marriage took effect, the fireworks have fizzled.

There have been no lawsuits, no challenges and no visible fallout for businesses and universities, despite dire predictions.

Ohio State University and four other academic institutions — as well as many private businesses — continue offering benefits to same-sex couples just as they did before Ohioans voted overwhelmingly Nov. 2, 2004, to define marriage as solely between one man and one woman.