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.

Updates on Ohio Issues

Equality Ohio has put a lot of great alerts out these last few days covering what's been going in the state, and I thought I might go ahead and steal some of the news to keep everyone informed.

First, in Cleveland, thanks to the fierce activism of folks in this state -- House Dems credit the LGBT community for assisting in this decision -- Cleveland City Councilmember Roosevelt Coats will not be getting promoted to the 10th District State House of Representatives seat being exited by Rep. Eugene Miller. Coats, as you may remember, publically opposed Cleveland's Domestic Partner Registry by quoting Bible passages, angering a lot of us (and our friend Bo over at BearsLeft.com who put everyone onto the issue) and leaving us wondering whether he would be a fair-minded representative for all of his constituents... or if he may become another religious idealogue turned represenative. The House Democratic caucus, however, selected Cleveland lawyer Robin Belcher to take over. I do love me some women in politics.

Onto the Equal Housing and Employment Act (HB 176)... the first round of hearings for the sexual orientation and gender protections bill, this time in the State Government Committee in the House, was held yesterday with two primary speakers: sponsors Rep. Stewart and Rep. McGregor. Equality Ohio reports positive feedback and states that they are taking what they learned from the questions and responses to further refine their arguments and address specific concerns for folks.

I got a copy of four testimonies -- Stewart, McGregor, EO Executive Director Lynne Bowman, and Toledo resident Brandi Fasnaugh -- that will be available on Do What's Right, Ohio later today, but I thought I'd give you the most rocking-est part, thanks to Republican sponsor Rep. McGregor:

The Declaration of Independence declared before the world that in this country, ”all Men arecreated equal.‘ In the nearly two hundred and twenty-three years since that document was authored, we as a nation have worked to ensure that all People are treated equally in the eyesof the law. It has not always been an easy task, and often, it has taken government action tohelp to move that process along. The law protects citizens, regardless of race, color, religion,gender, national origin, age, ancestry, or disability from being discriminated again inemployment and housing rights. And, yet, in Ohio, people can lose their jobs or be denied housing, solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

There is no more controversial issue being debated in this nation today that that of the issue ofequal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. However in my view, the debate surrounding this legislation is not an issue of morality. Representative Stewart and I arenot asking you to vote in support of a lifestyle that you may or may not agree with. We standbefore you today to vote in support of fairness and equality. We stand before you today to vote against discrimination.

Some will argue that this legislation is not necessary because homosexuality is a choice, alifestyle that an individual chooses to subscribe to. While opinions and scientific research varyon whether or not homosexuality is a choice that is not what this debate is about. House Bill 176‘s sole intention is to protect basic constitutional rights when it comes to housing,employment and public accommodation, just as we already prevent discrimination of individuals based on religious affiliation.

Holla!!!!

The next round of testimony -- this from proponents -- will be next Wednesday at 2:30pm (Room 17 in the Statehouse) in committee. EO has been asked to keep it down to six people -- sigh -- but, hopefully, that means the next week's (June 10th? I'm losing track of days ... is that the next week or the next next week) testimony from opponents will be kept that short, as well. You'll be sure to hear from me if it isn't. EO is asking people to attend the committees as best they can; you can contact the organization by visiting their website, or through the website Do What's Right Ohio.

Looks like we may be slated to a committee vote -- and from there onto the House floor -- by the end of June. Let's get this shit done, folks, keep contacting your Representatives (and your State Senators, while you're at it... let's prime that pump!).

OHIO/CINNKY: Equal Housing and Employment Act -- UPDATE

This is an email I sent out to the "I Support the Equal Housing and Employment Act" Facebook group, so I thought it only right that I update all of you...

Just a quick update:

1) Do What's Right, Ohio! (www.dowhatsrightohio.com) has finally gotten off it's ass and just started a group here on Facebook... well, not "just started," but whatev's. It's slightly larger than ours and here it is:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17672606189
2) Per that same organization, it appears that, since the House and Senate are on recess, the bill will flounder until the houses reconvene in November. At least, that's what I gather from their websites.

So, make sure you're emailing and calling! I'm about to put in a new email, because I never heard back from either Driehaus or Kearney, and I'll post my email along with their response when I get it!

Thanks to everyone!!!

Long story short: ain't jack shit happening. And, considering at least two of the members of the subcommittee we're watching (read updates here and here) are running for higher office, this is probably good for everyone involved.

IE: The vote is after the election, so those people who are for it but afraid to make a statement when they're moving up the political ladder will be safe from "calling themselves out" as pro-gay rights.

Blah blah blah.

So here's to a quiet summer...

OHIO/CINNKY: Equal Housing and Employment Act Graphic

I asked Equality Ohio to provide an image that local bloggers could use to show their support for the Equal Housing and Employment Act (blogged here and here).

This is what they provided. It's not perfect, but it's something. I was looking for more something that is like the Cincy Streetcar support stickers you can find on Edro Edro or UrbanCincy.

Doesn't look like there's much movement on the bills at the moment, and I can barely find any news about it, but Do What's Right Ohio says there will be no more movement until the Senate and House returns on November 12th. But the United Church of Christ came out in support of it -- THANK YOU!

Check out my original post to find contact information or check out the Facebook groups (mine and theirs).

PS 400th Post! Oh, and much love to Cincinnati Blog for this post that I missed. I'm telling you, I'm behind this week :-).

Updated: This blog read really poorly -- I was being rushed out the door for dinner -- so it's better now. And I am strongly encouraging you to use this image on your own blog to show your support. You can link it to Do What's Right Ohio -- http://www.dowhatsrightohio.com/ -- or Equality Ohio -- http://www.equalityohio.org/ -- websites as I have done on the right side of this page.