Gay rights law doomed in Senate
By Jon Craig • jcraig@enquirer.com
• September 28, 2009
COLUMBUS - Anti-discrimination legislation that easily passed the Democratic-controlled Ohio House earlier this month has no chance of passage in the GOP-led Senate because it's seen as "anti-business,'' state senators said last week.
The House's 56-39 vote on Sept. 15 for House Bill 176 marked the first time either chamber of the Ohio General Assembly approved a bill protecting equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Ohioans. Last year, similar legislation, Senate Bill 305, died in committee.
This month's passage of the Equal Housing and Employment Act sent a clear message, according to Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, the state's advocacy organization for LGBT issues: "Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity will not be tolerated in Ohio, regardless of where a person lives, works or plays."
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