An Ohio group opposed to gay rights has
called a proposed bill which seeks to prohibit anti-gay
discrimination “dangerous.”
The measure, introduced in the Ohio
House and Senate earlier this month, would prohibit housing and
workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity.
The Equal Housing and Employment Act is
sponsored in the Senate by Senators Frank LaRose, a Republican from
Akron, and Michael Skindell, a Democrat from Lakewood. A companion
bill in the Ohio House is sponsored by Representatives Ross McGregor,
a Republican from Springfield, and Nickie Antonio, a Democrat from
Lakewood. Antonio was first elected in 2010, making her the House's
first openly lesbian member.
In an email to supporters, CCV Action,
the political arm of Citizens for Community Values, the group behind
Ohio's 2004 constitutional amendment limiting marriage to
heterosexual couples, condemned the proposal.
“A dangerous bill has been introduced
into the Ohio House and Senate. The bill, under the guise of
discrimination, will eliminate some religious freedoms,” the group
wrote.
The group called the bill a “Trojan
horse” meant to open the door to “the next level.”
“Contact your Ohio House member and
Ohio senator member and stop this unfair and unjust bill that will
strip religious freedom and irrationally compare homosexual behavior
to the plight of African Americans. Homosexual activists have the
right to have sex with whom they want but they do not have the right
to force acceptance of their behavior on Ohioans, our businesses or
our children.”
A recent poll conducted by Goodwin
Simon Strategic Research found that 79 percent of Ohio voters support
such protections.