Urgent!

Tell your legislators to vote no on the homosexual special rights bill

On Wednesday of this week, several hundred homosexual activists converged on our Statehouse in Columbus for their annual Homosexual Lobby Day.

This year their Lobby Day had a singular focus:  promotion of a radical bill referred to by the misnomer, "Equal Housing and Employment Act."

Introduced simultaneously in both the Senate (S.B.305) and House (H.B.502), this proposed law would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Ohio Civil Rights Code for "non-discrimination" in many areas, including employment, housing, education, and day care.  It even covers facilities holding Bingo licenses - directly targeting Catholic churches and schools.

Clearly, the purpose and effect of this and all such legislation - at the local, state and national levels -  is to grant special protections to those who identify themselves as homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered and thereby to strip away from employers and property owners their fundamental right to make decisions based on their own deeply held religious convictions.

Specifics of S.B. 305 and H.B. 502 include the following:

·         Require employers to hire or retain open homosexuals and cross-dressers.  Note that this includes schools, with no exemptions for religious or private schools.

·         Require day care facilities to hire open homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc.

·         Require schools and day care facilities, including religious or private schools, to admit or retain openly homosexual or cross-dressing students.

·         Require any business that seeks to bid on Ohio contracts to have a non-discrimination clause for hiring or retaining homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc.  Again, no religious exemption.

·         Require landlords or property owners to rent or sell to homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc.

·         Require the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission to prepare pro-homosexual education programs for Ohio schools and communities that "emphasize the origin of prejudice" against homosexuals, cross-dressers, etc.

·         Violation of the above and numerous other provisions of the proposed law would result in fines up to $25,000 for a single offense.

We must not let the message delivered by radical homosexual activists this week go unchallenged.  CCV has prepared a thoroughly documented policy briefing outlining the dangerous effects of this legislation and has delivered copies to key members of the General Assembly.  Please click the link below to let your legislators know that you want them to oppose this dangerous bill!

Do not be misled by the rhetoric of homosexual activists or their allies in the liberal press.  Beyond the suppression of religious expression and other unjust effects of such legislation, the plain truth is - discrimination in employment and housing on the basis of sexual orientation simply is not a problem in Ohio. 

Even the leader of Ohio's homosexual rights group, Lynne Bowman, testified before the Senate committee considering S.B. 305 this week, "I have never been discriminated against in employment or in housing."

Will we allow our schools to be forced to teach our children that homosexual behavior is normal and acceptable, contrary to our own convictions?

Will we allow all Ohio employers and property owners to be forced to give unfair advantage to those who identify themselves as homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered - or risk severe penalties?

Please click the link below to send your Ohio legislators a message requesting them to do everything within their power to defeat this dangerous legislation.