Lawmakers introduce equal housing and employment bill

Ohio Fairness Act bans discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity
Despite a historic Supreme Court case
legalizing gay marriage this past June,
many LGBT Ohioans still lack basic protections at home and in the workplace.
Ohio is currently one of 28 states without
clear, inclusive, non-discrimination protections for the LGBT community.1

tion based on sexual orientation.2

According to a 2013 poll, 79 percent of
Ohio registered voters said they believe
that laws should be passed to ban discrimination in employment, housing and
accommodations based on both sexual
orientation and gender identity.3

To address this issue, state lawmakers

Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) and Denise
Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) recently introduced legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and
gender identity in employment, housing
and public accommodations.

Legislation has been introduced in the last

five General Assemblies to protect all Ohioans from losing their job, being denied
housing, or being refused public accommodations based on their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

Entitled as the Ohio Fairness Act, the plan

will add sexual orientation and gender
identity to the list of classes protected
from discrimination under Ohio law.

With the recent shift in conversation

about equal rights, perhaps the Republican-led legislature will finally consider a
bill to ensure that all Ohioans are protected from discrimination.

Fourteen Ohio cities have already passed

fully inclusive non-discrimination ordinances, and 80 of the 98 top employers in

1.

Ohio have corporate policies that prohibit discrimina-

3.

2.

http://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/
non_discrimination_laws
http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2015/07/
discrimination_against_gays_le_1.html
http://www.equalityohio.org/anti-discriminationlegislation-introduced-in-the-ohio-house-and-senate-with
-bi-partisan-support/

Domestic violence legislation targets loopholes in state law

Lawmakers say modernization will protect victims of dating violence
The National Domestic Violence Hotline defines abuse
as a repetitive pattern of behaviors, including physical or sexual violence, threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, and economic deprivation, used to maintain
power and control over an intimate partner.
In Ohio, state lawmakers recently outlined a plan to
modernize domestic violence laws to include victims
of dating violence. House Bill 392, sponsored by
Reps. Emilia Sykes (D-Akron) and Christie Kuhns (DCincinnati) will allow victims of domestic violence at
the hands of an intimate partner to obtain a civil protective order against their attacker.
Currently, thousands of Ohioans facing domestic violence lack legal recourse. Closing the existing loopholes will help victims in any abusive relationship to

end the cycle of violence.

Ohio only defines domestic violence as occurring between spouses, family members, those cohabiting, or
parents. People in dating or serious intimate relationships are not included.
Ohio and Georgia are the only two states that do not
cover dating violence under their domestic violence
laws. Kentucky, the last border state to expand protections, signed a domestic violence modernization
bill into law this past spring.
House Bill 392 will finally move Ohio out of the dark
ages by modernizing our states laws to protect all
women and men from abusive relationships.