Act NOW on Equal Housing and Employment Act!

And in the great state of Ohio, we have news coming out from Equality Ohio on the Equal Housing and Employment Act (EHEA): we are currently being out-called by the opposition at a rate of 2-1. That is, for every pro-EHEA phone call our representatives are getting, they are getting two against it.

For a quick reminder, the EHEA seeks to ban discriminatino in the state based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression and is being spearheaded via the website, DoWhatsRightOhio.com (a project of Equality Ohio and Progress Ohio). It's a good thing, our little bill, and it's time for you to call and call now. Or email, or stop in, or send a note, or whatever the hell else you want to do ... so long as you get in touch with your representatives.

I know, you're probably thinking, like I do sometimes, that "Well, what good can my phone call do?" Seriously, they have thousands of people they represent, why would it matter if I called? Truly, they listen. If a representative is on the fence, it is often times the outpouring of phone calls they get that make the difference. A person sits at a desk with a little notepad, takes phone calls, and makes hash marks for every phone call, what they wanted, and, sometimes, more detailed information if they feel like the Rep should call you back. At the end of the day, that data is analyzed and presented to the boss man as a way of letting them know just what their constituencies are thinking.

We have to make sure that all the Representatives in the State of Ohio are contacted. To find yours, go here. And, if you are short on words, sometimes, check out TransOhio's post with a suggested wording for an email. All it takes is a little copying and pasting and you're done for the day. Less than five minutes. I promise.

And remember exactly what you are asking: VOTE YES ON H.B. 176, the Equal Housing and Employment Act.

HA -- I made that mistake once and told my SC Rep to vote yes on DOMA. "No! I mean! Vote No!" LOL. The guy on the other line was like, "well, which one is it sir? Do you want gays to marry or do you want to protect the sanctity of marriage?" Guess which way my representative was voting. I snapped back: "Listen to my voice: does it sound like I would be against equality?" Dude hung up. Memories.