- Ohio House votes to ban gay marriage
12/11/03
Stephen Ohlemacher
Plain Dealer Bureau
Columbus- The Ohio House voted to ban same-sex marriages last night following an emotional debate over the definition of marriage and the rights of gay couples to have access to health insurance.
The bill, which passed 69-23, would prevent Ohio from recognizing same- sex unions, regardless of where they are performed. It also would prevent the state from extending the legal benefits of marriage to unmarried couples.
"This bill is not about the defense of marriage. I can tell you that a homosexual couple is in no way a threat to my marriage," State Rep. Dale Miller, Democrat of Cleveland, said during the House debate.
"To pretend that these people don't exist or should be treated as second-class citizens is just plain wrong."
State Rep. Ron Young, Republican of Leroy Township, said, "We're talking about one of the pillars of our society, and that's traditional marriage. Consider the human condition: We're made up of males and females. We're designed for one another."
The bill says same-sex marriages are "against the strong public policy of the state of Ohio."
That phrase is important because state courts are constitutionally obligated to recognize contracts and acts of other states, unless they violate the strong public policy of the state.
Legal experts have predicted the issue of gay marriage will ultimately be settled by the U.S. Supreme Court, though a ruling could be years away.
"This threat is a real threat," Seitz said.
"I'm not willing to leave it to our courts to divine what our strong public policy might be."
The sooner the Supreme Court rules on this the better. I am confident that they will do the right thing and set these states straight (so to speak.) These people obviously have no idea what it means that all men are created equal. This is little more than some anti-gay rhetoric. It seems very hateful and ignorant to me.
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