Because Everyone Deserves Protection From Discrimination Under the Law.

Cincinnati voters said they agreed when our city came together to repeal an anti-gay law known as Article XII in November 2004. That’s why Cincinnati City Council needs to follow through now and restore protection from discrimination for gays and lesbians to our city laws.

Cincinnati’s basic anti-discrimination law, known as the ‘Human Rights Ordinance’ (HRO), originally protected everyone from discrimination when it was adopted in 1992. Article XII unfairly eliminated those protections for just one group ­ gays and lesbians. Now that the voters have said that discrimination is wrong by repealing Article XII, City Council needs to correct the law to once again include sexual orientation.

Here’s why:

• Most voters believed that by repealing Article XII, they would be restoring protection for gays and lesbians to our anti-discrimination law. Council must now take that last step.
• Cincinnati’s Human Rights Ordinance currently protects people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation based on race, religion, marital status, age, sex, disability, and other factors, but not sexual orientation. Our city council can correct that by simply amending this existing law.
• No federal, state, or city law currently protects gays and lesbians from discrimination on the job, in housing, or in public accommodation.
• Though discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is less common than it once was, one local lawyer still receives 2 or 3 inquiries a month from people who believe they may have been discriminated against because they are gay or lesbian.
• Many of Cincinnati’s leading businesses, including Fifth Third Bank, Cinergy, GE, Procter & Gamble, and Federated Department Stores have policies that protect their employees from discrimination. Everyone who lives, works, or vacations in our city should have the same protections.
• We can’t afford to be the only city in our region that does not protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. Cincinnati is the only one of the four largest cities in Ohio that does not have a law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination. Covington, KY passed a law like this in 2003, and Indianapolis, Louisville, and Lexington all have similar laws.
• Vibrant, growing cities protect everyone from discrimination. Passing this law will help make our city a better place for everyone.

Please join us in urging our City Council to restore protection from discrimination for gays and lesbians!

Q&A Didn’t we just pass a law protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination?

No, though many people understandably believe so. In 2004, City voters repealed an anti-gay law known as Article XII, but repealing Article XII did not restore protection from discrimination. It only made it possible for our City Council to act now to do so. We are now finishing the work that began when city voters clearly said discrimination was wrong by repealing Article XII.

What does this law actually do?

The City’s Human Rights Ordinance specifically covers discrimination on the job, in housing, and in public accommodation, and it has been in place since 1992. The law makes it illegal to “unlawfully segregate, separate, or treat individuals differently” based on race, gender, age, color, religion, disability status, marital status, or ethnic, national, or Appalachian regional origin. The only change being proposed now is to add sexual orientation and transgender status to the list of characteristics that are already covered. In fact, heterosexuals who feel that they have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation will have the same protections as gays and lesbians.

I am against same-sex marriage. Does this law make same-sex marriage legal?

The Ohio Constitution bans same-sex marriage. This law has nothing to do with marriage. It just protects people from discrimination on the job, in housing, and in public accommodations based on sexual orientation and transgender status.

My church says that homosexuals cannot be ministers or priests. Will we be forced to hire gay ministers?

No. Religious and fraternal organizations are exempt from Cincinnati’s nondiscrimination laws. The U.S. and Ohio Constitutions already protect freedom of religion. This law only provides the civil protections that everyone deserves, regardless of their beliefs, in their daily lives.

‘Transgender status” was not included in the original Human Rights Ordinance in 1992. Why are we adding it to the definition of ‘sexual orientation’ now?

In 2003, the City passed a Hate Crimes Ordinance that defined sexual orientation to include transgender status, and this change will make the Human Rights Ordinance consistent with the Hate Crimes Law. Transgender people are often the most vulnerable to discrimination.

Isn’t homosexuality a choice?

No. Sexual orientation, whether someone is heterosexual or homosexual, is not a choice. The scientific evidence is that sexual orientation is set very early in life and may be genetically determined. The American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Psychiatric Association all agree that homosexuality is a normal and naturally occurring human trait,