Executive director of Equality Ohio to seek new laws
By Rita Price
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
On Monday, Ed Mullen was among hundreds of people packing an Illinois ballroom to watch the governor sign a law making civil unions legal for same-sex couples in that state.
"It was an extraordinary event," he said.
The next day, Mullen started his new job as executive director of Equality Ohio, where he'll push for progress in a state that ranks among the bottom in equality laws for gay residents.
The Chicago-area civil-rights lawyer said he's hopeful about the challenge.
In addition to working on anti-discrimination and equality issues, Mullen said the Columbus-based advocacy organization wants to engage on a personal level. He replaces Sue Doerfer, who resigned last year.
"The world has changed," with more Americans of all ages - and especially younger people - in favor of acceptance and equal rights, Mullen said.
Equality Ohio is working on a four-year strategic plan, with new goals and initiatives, but it "also is focused on changing the hearts and minds of people in Ohio," he said.
The Rev. Mike Castle, Equality Ohio's board chairman, said Mullen is a great fit.
"He's coming at a perfect time because of all the change that has occurred. There's a shift in the landscape," Castle said, citing the repeal of the "don't ask don't tell" military policy as one example.
"If the military can fix this, why can't we at least guarantee basic civil rights in Ohio?"
Mullen chaired a Chicago-area political action committee and was a primary candidate for state representative in Illinois' 11th District last year. For the past three years, he has worked as a civil-rights attorney at Access Living, an Illinois nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights of people with disabilities.
As a lawyer, Mullen also worked pro bono on several gay-rights cases, including representing high-school victims of harassment and discrimination.
But he said it was the hard work on Illinois' civil-union law that led him to seek the job at Equality Ohio. Five states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage, New Jersey allows civil unions, and four others have some form of domestic partnership.
Ohio has a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Still, Mullen said, that doesn't mean the march forward for those and other rights has stalled.
"You can't sit around and wait," he said.
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