Major Stephen Snyder-Hill and his
partner Joshua Snyder-Hill have joined an effort to repeal Ohio's gay
marriage ban.
Snyder-Hill is the gay Army service
member who contributed a YouTube video question to last year's Fox
News/Google GOP presidential debate.
“Do you intend to circumvent the
progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the
military?” Hill asked Rick Santorum, referring to repeal of “Don't
Ask, Don't Tell,” the military policy that banned gay and bisexual
troops from serving openly.
Snyder-Hill's video question was booed
by the audience, who were clearly delighted when Santorum said DADT
repeal was a “tragic social experiment” and that he would work to
reinstate the policy, if elected president.
On Friday, FreedomOhio announced that
Snyder-Hill and his partner, both from Columbus, will serve as
co-chairmen of FreedomOhio's campaign wing, the Freedom to Marry Ohio
steering committee.
“I love my country and I believe this
nation is becoming more loving, more tolerant and more accepting,”
he said. “More and more people are coming to understand this is a
basic civil-rights issue and a human-rights issue.”
The effort to repeal the ban began last
year. FreedomOhio must collect roughly 385,000 valid signatures by
July to qualify for this November's ballot. The group said that it
expects to meet the July deadline.
(Related: Obama
state campaign director joins Ohio effort to repeal gay marriage
ban.)