|
Lucas County first county to officially endorse Ohio Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment
April 18, 2013: The Lucas County Commissioners became the first Board of County Commissioners in Ohio to endorse the Ohio Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment. The constitutional amendment, should it pass, would create a provision in Ohio law allowing marriage equality for all Ohioans, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity, while respecting religious freedoms by allowing religious institutions of all types to determine whom to marry and which marriages to perform in their own congregations and buildings.
In 2010, Lucas County extended healthcare eligibility to domestic partners of county employees, allowing any employee in a committed relationship to ensure that a partner would receive health coverage.
“Equal protection under the law is a fundamental right of all citizens and we must stand against discrimination and do what is right,” Commissioner Carol Contrada said. “By supporting this amendment, I support the right of all families to be recognized and respected in Ohio.”
“I have been an advocate for civil rights for 50 years and the fight for civil rights does not stop with gender, age, ability, or race,” Commissioner Pete Gerken said. “Now we should extend those rights to marriage equality. What's right is right is right."
“True acceptance of all citizens includes marriage equality,” Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak said.
The Ohio Freedom to Marry and Religious Freedom Amendment is a ballot initiative which seeks to overturn a 2004 Ohio Constitutional Amendment that banned any definition of marriage other than one between one man and one woman. This amendment may be on the Ohio ballot in 2013.
|
