Toledo Council President Joe McNamara
has endorsed an effort to repeal Ohio's gay marriage ban.
Marriage equality supporters earlier
this year began an effort to repeal Ohio's 2004 voter-approved
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
The group Freedom to Marry Ohio is collecting signatures to put the
question on next year's ballot.
McNamara, a Democrat and a possible
2013 mayoral candidate, announced his support last Tuesday, saying
that the issue of marriage equality was the civil rights issue of
this era.
“This is a thoughtfully crafted
amendment to the Ohio Constitution that gives a loving couple,
regardless of gender, the freedom to marry,” McNamara is quoted as
saying by the Toledo
Blade. “At the same time, the amendment ensures religious
institutions have the freedom to choose to recognize or not recognize
same-gender marriages.”
In 2007, McNamara introduced the city's
domestic partner registry.
Freedom to Marry Ohio co-founder Ian
James said the “tide has turned when it comes to the issue of
marriage equality.”
“When people look at the amendment
and examine what's in their hearts, the natural conclusion is that
this is a matter of social justice,” he said.