Jennifer Tyrrell and Zach Wahls have
joined the effort to repeal Ohio's constitutional amendment banning
gay marriage.
The 2004 voter-approved amendment
prevents the state from recognizing any union other than a
heterosexual marriage.
Tyrrell, the Belmont County mom who
last year was ousted as den leader of her son's Boy Scout troop
because she is a lesbian, has been an outspoken opponent of the Boy
Scouts of America's (BSA) ban on openly gay scouts and leaders.
Wahls is the founder of Scouts for
Equality, a leading voice calling for an end to the ban. He came to
prominence defending his two-mom family at an Iowa House hearing
considering a proposed measure which would repeal the state's gay
marriage law by defining marriage as a heterosexual union in the Iowa
Constitution. A video of Wahls' testimony attracted more than 18.3
million views on YouTube to become the site's most-watched video of
2011.
The effort to repeal the amendment
began last year. The group FreedomOhio is in the process of
collecting the roughly 385,000 valid signatures needed by July 3 to
qualify for this November's ballot. The group has said that it
expects to meet the deadline.