Hundreds of people took over
Cincinnati's Fountain Square on Saturday in support of gay marriage,
Cincinnati
NBC affiliate WLWT reported.
The issue of marriage equality is not
up for debate in Ohio, where Republicans control the governor's
mansion and the Legislature.
Organizer Adam Hoover, however, said he
hoped to change thinking in the Buckeye state.
“Honestly, all I want is just
marriage equality in Ohio,” Hoover said. “I want to be able to
change stuff in Ohio. I don't want to be that person that doesn't do
stuff. I want to be the person what is there for everyone. No
matter what I do, I just want to be there.”
Cincinnati voters in 2004 sent a
puzzling message on gay rights by simultaneously voting in favor of a
constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a heterosexual
union in Ohio and repealing a 1993 voter-approved charter amendment
that banned the city from enacting an ordinance that would protect
gay men and lesbians against discrimination (Issue 3). A year later
the city approved such an ordinance.
One protester, Matt Rudkin, said a
ballot measure is not needed to keep the issue alive.
“It's always going to be an issue,
even if it's not on a ballot. You don't have to have it on a piece
of paper to make it an issue, or to keep it on the forefront of
people's minds,” he said.