Oh My Oh My Ohio

Sometimes great things take time. Keep that in mind, y'all, when you bash Obama for this administrations movement, or non-movement, on LGBT issues. Great things take time.

Take for example a bill in Ohio that prohibits discrimination in employment and housing. It's been "in committee" for years, apparently gathering dust, to no avail. No movement. No passage. Not even a little light chatter.

But that bill passed in a divided Ohio House this week.
Congressman Dan Stewart, who co-sponsored the bill with Congressman Ross McGregor, a Republican, said, "This is not special rights. These are rights all Ohioans are afforded."

Now before we start marching in joy, the bill could hit a big GOP wall in the Republican-controlled Senate. Senate President Bill M. Harris, naturally a Republican, says that, although the measure will get a hearing, he doesn't see a need for the legislation and that there are already sufficient protections in place.

Uh-huh. Yeah. If there were protections in place already, Bill, then there would be no need for the bill.

"Other people are getting that evidence and information (of discrimination), but I am not," Harris said. "I talk to business people all the time, and they're saying it's not an issue. If they had trouble with it, they'd be trying to get a law passed."

One group, fighting passage of the bill, is the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents thousands of small business owners. Ty Pine, NFIB's legislative director, is worried that this new bill will bring about many new lawsuits, most without merit, that will cost business thousand in legal bills. But studies in other states where similar legislation has passed show no marked increase in wrongful termination lawsuits.

Socially conservative groups, read religious wingnuts, such as the Ohio Christian Alliance and the Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values have opposed the bill, arguing it creates special protections and is not addressing a major problem.

Making it illegal to fire someone because of their sexual orientation. Isn't that special?

The vitriol continued from Republicans like Jeff Wagner, who said the bill is not about rights or protections, but rather "is about forcing acceptance of a lifestyle that many people disagree with."

Say it with me, Jeff, "It's a life, not a lifestyle."

Republican Congresswoman Lynn R. Wachtmann, took her hatred a step further, saying, that bill supporters "keep your immoral beliefs to yourself. You want to punish people who don't believe the way you do."

No, Lynn, we just want a safe place to work.

In the end, Ohio House Democrats blocked Republicans from offering an amendment backed by the NFIB and Ohio Chamber of Commerce and those conservative groups, a move that angered some GOP bill supporters.

Dan Stewart and others have introduced the bill three times over past legislative sessions, but it did not get a floor vote until Democrats reclaimed control of the Ohio House this year. In a speech to his colleagues, he recalled some of the stories he has heard from Ohioans who were fired from various professions once bosses found out that they were gay or lesbian.

"Injustice to one is injustice to all," he said.

Co-sponsor Ross McGregor, a business owner himself, put it in economic development terms, arguing that regions accepting of diverse lifestyles tend also to attract high-tech jobs. "Creating an environment open to all is only going to help our economy in Ohio," he said. McGregor also pointed out to his Republican colleagues that while they may oppose the bill, many of their young staffers have stopped by his office and told him it's the right thing to do.

"Love thy neighbor. Simple, end of story," McGregor said. "People want nothing more than to have a good job, a place to live and not feel threatened."

Isn't that special.