Marriage Ban Effect on Gays Varied: Some Flee, Others Battle in Courts Over Interpretation

Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Barb Galbincea
Plain Dealer Reporter

Nathan Schaefer is young, well-educated and a former Ohioan because, he says, the state in which he grew up and came out made it clear a year ago that he and other gays are unwelcome.

For Schaefer, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage "was like a slap in the face." The measure, approved by 62 percent of Ohio voters, took effect Dec. 2, 2004.

So, when he finished graduate school at Case Western Reserve University in May, Schaefer left for Washington, D.C.

"Why would you pay taxes to a government when it won't protect you?" asks the 25-year-old, who was raised near Sandusky and had intended to use his social work degree in Ohio.

Anne E. DeChant, a Northeast Ohio singer-songwriter, says she awoke in tears the day after voters approved the marriage ban.

"Second Class Citizen," the song she wrote in response, gave voice to her disappointment:

"Without knowing I'd been living in a bubble, full of love and admission of my life, I sat watching as the carvers took their knives out and changed the shape of life."

In the year since the ban took effect, its impact remains unclear. Clearly, some gays have fled what they consider an unfriendly state, although there's no evidence of a mass exodus. Also unknown is how many people or companies decided Ohio was inhospitable to gays and opted not to move here, said Tim Downing, a Cleveland lawyer who fought the amendment.

Conflicting rulings on whether the amendment's language negates domestic violence law for victims not married to, but living with, their abusers have landed the issue in state appeals court.

Eventually, it will fall to the Ohio Supreme Court to interpret the amendment, with the justices' guidance expected to extend beyond the domestic violence cases.

"A lot of folks are just in a holding pattern," said Carrie Davis, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, who predicted it could take a year or more before the high court rules.

She said the full-scale legal challenges predicted immediately after the issue passed didn't materialize because, without any clear direction, not much has changed. For instance, those state universities that offered domestic-partner benefits continue to do so; Cleveland Heights' domestic partner registry remains in place.

However, state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr., a Cincinnati Republican, last week filed a lawsuit challenging Miami University's policy of offering domestic-partner benefits.

Even before the amendment, Ohio law forbade same-sex marriage. But by amending the state constitution, supporters of the ban blocked courts from declaring the existing statute unconstitutional.

"It really was a vote on the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people," said Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, a statewide group formed in the aftermath of the vote. "When 3½ million of your neighbors are saying 'your relationships aren't as valuable as ours,' it's a punch in the gut."

However, far from felling the gay community, the blow actually stiffened the resolve of many, according to Sue Doerfer, executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

"We know we need to be prepared and we need to work together, not just wait for the next thing to come along - and it will," she said. "We want equal rights, not special rights."

Many expect the next "thing" will be an attempt to ban gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from adopting or acting as foster parents. The idea has been floated at the Statehouse but hasn't yet been introduced as legislation.

Downing, who led the lobbying group Ohioans for Growth and Equality that fought last year's ballot issue, said the adoption issue is likely to resurface next year.

What he calls "religious political extremists" were emboldened by the passage of the gay marriage ban and may use the adoption issue to energize their political base in the 2006 elections, Downing predicted.

Douglas Braun, a Cleveland Heights activist, is part of an effort to ensure that champions of gay rights aren't caught off guard, whatever the next big issue. Volunteers are building a database of potential supporters by surveying voters at the polls.

"We can't wait until something is on the ballot, because then there's just not enough time," he said. "Lack of a sense of urgency really hurts the gay community. We don't get involved until something's right in our face."

Bowman, of Equality Ohio, said the group was encouraged that Ohioans elected five openly gay candidates - three in Northeast Ohio - earlier this month. Also encouraging, she said, is a House bill that would forbid job and other discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, gay rights supporters have testified in support of addressing sexual orientation in a bill that seeks to protect the targets of school bullies.

But the president of Citizens for Community Values, which pushed for last year's constitutional amendment, also is watching those House bills.

Phil Burress said the group consistently has held that sexual orientation is not a minority class. "No one in this office has a homophobic bone in their body," he said. "It's about public policy."

He said his group also continues to press for a federal "marriage protection" amendment, which would ban gay marriage, and hopes to see the issue addressed next year.

Bowman has no illusions about the scope of the task facing her group. Ohioans' mindset on the subject of gay rights can only be changed "one person at a time," she said. "We have a very long job ahead of us."

Lynne Bowman, executive director of Equality Ohio, will be featured during a "banniversary" community forum from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday at Bounce Nightclub on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland. The event, marking the first anniversary of the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, is sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio and the Lesbian/Gay Community Center of Greater Cleveland.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

bgalbincea@plaind.com, 216-999-4185