EDIT:: This article now contains the full audio of the Cuyahoga County Council meeting, if you’d like to rage-listen for yourself, including the public comments of opposer Tony George, the Cleveland restauranteur who “owns 37 restaurants and bars.” See at the bottom of the page.
Cuyahoga County Council is currently considering a charter amendment and an ordinance to protect LGBTQ+ residents and county employees from discrimination.
Current protections for Cuyahoga County include race, color, religion, military status, national origin, disability, age, ancestry and gender. The ordinance would add sexual orientation and gender identification to that list.
Six cities in Cuyahoga County already have these protections, covering 43 percent of county residents; the ordinance would move that number to 100.
Equality Ohio learned ahead of last night’s meeting that anti-LGBTQ+ extremists were planning on attending the meeting to bombard council members with opposition to the ordinance, despite the fact a vote on this ordinance was not even scheduled.
At one point, a community member said that offering these protections to LGBTQ+ members would be the same as “protecting murderers.” (Cleveland, incidentally, is responsible for 1/7th of the transgender murders nationwide in 2018 alone and the trans community is targeted for violence at an epidemic rate.)
Another claimed that elevating people’s identity to a place of “rights” is a “violation of others’ rights.” Many misunderstood the ordinance as some sort of bathroom bill.
As expected, there were plenty that saw this legislation as an attack on religious freedoms, and many saw passing legislation that will have legitimately zero personal impact on them as an attack on their rights.
A doctor testified in the opposition, and pretty much invalidated his hippocratic oath in the process: He said there were benefits to discrimination. However, studies have proven that discriminating against LGBTQ+ people in the medical field leads to poor health outcomes and higher costs.
The final speaker referred to the ordinance as an “alternative lifestyle ordinance,” again perpetuating an unfounded narrative that LGBTQ+ people are actively choosing to live this way, compared transgender women to pedophiles and then complained that there weren’t as many people at a previous meeting about “killing babies,” confusing just about everyone there.
Viewers and observers expressed their shock and anger, including Ward 3 Cleveland City Councilman, Kerry McCormack, and encouraged others to contact the County Council to combat the bigotry.
Fortunately, there was some relief from people who weren’t living on the wrong side of history.
A couple tearfully shared their story about their transgender daughter who experienced discrimination in her elementary school and was told by an administrator, “I’m sorry, but there are no laws to protect you.”
A gay activist and teacher said that after attending meetings about similar ordinances across the county, East Cleveland is the only city where he’s not witnessed opposition of LGBTQ+ protection rights, noting that communities of color are consistently moving us forward.
Kevin Schmotzer, Mayor Frank Jackson’s newly appointed LGBTQ+ liaison for the City of Cleveland, spoke about North Carolina losing $3.76 billion after passing their wildly-offensive bathroom bill, as companies like PayPal chose to cancel plans on headquartering and the NCAA withdrew the state from consideration as a host site for championships. He feared the same will happen in Cuyahoga County if we continue allowing open discrimination.
Other residents in attendance who support the legislation, including a representative from Equality Ohio, spent most of their time correcting false and downright dangerous lies perpetuated by many of the opposition.
County Executive Armond Budish, along with councilmembers Houser, Brady, Miller, and Simon, sponsored the Human Rights ordinance. If approved, it would establish a commission that could levy fines for discrimination of LGBTQ individuals.
“Ohio law already makes it illegal to refuse a person a job or housing based on their race, age, religion, gender, disability — but Ohio law says it’s OK to discriminate against people who are LGBTQ,” Budish said in July when it was introduced. “That is wrong.”
The ACLU supports the ordinance but says it doesn’t go far enough.
“The ACLU must underscore the importance for Cuyahoga County Council to create a substantive Human Rights Commission, one that can do more than just levy fines to fund diversity education efforts, but also provide real remedies, especially recovery for the damages that victims of discrimination face. Any ordinance that creates the illusion of protection, while good intentioned, is problematic and inherently lacking in true justice, because it gives the impression that people who face discrimination have a real opportunity to have that wrong righted, when, in fact, this commission could potentially provide mere tokenisms, not real and meaningful redress,” it said in July.
The charter amendment that would add identity and gender expression to the list of protected classes for county employees, if approved, would appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Additionally, Rep. Nickie Antonio is the primary sponsor of House Bill 160, proposed legislation that would offer protections for LGBTQ+ people across the entire state of Ohio that would override any potential lack of protections if Cuyahoga County’s protection ordinance does not pass.
This article appears in Sep 12-18, 2018.
Can we get a list of these folks so we can choose not to give their business our money?
Can someone please remind these straight white men that they are (and always have been) an exponentially larger threat to us than we could ever possibly be to them?
Do you notice that they are all white, older males. Reflects our dysfunctional federal government and the crap they support.
Good article. Thanks for covering this.
No one could have made a better case for the need for this amendment than this group of protestors.
Keep up the good work!
The list of folks is mainly Pastors and sensible people who don’t feel that they need to bow down to societal pressures to promote an agenda for this certain minority. Why does 96% of the population have to cater to the 4% ?
The most oppressed people in America today are straight white males. We can’t say anything, do anything or promote anything without a backlash.
I cant believe someone just said that white male Americans are the most oppressed people today when in fact they hold all of the wealth make all of the laws
I believe the number for lost revenue to North Carolina was $3.76 Billion (with a B) not million. A little proofreading would be nice!
The amount of lost revenue in North Carolina was $3.76 Billion (with a B) not million. Can you please correct the article so that we don’t minimize the potential damage from this boneheaded bigotry?
You showed up BJ. Youre the most ignorant idiot in Cleveland.
Wow y’all need to GROW UP on both sides of the aisle, in order for this to be legal and equal under the law(justice)it HAS TO APPLY EQUALLY TO ALL, EVEN WHITE MALES!
I love Ohio…it’s Ohioans I can’t stand…especially white male Bible-totin’ homophobic bigots in gray suits, who look like they were all bused in from the Statehouse in Columbus. or maybe from Cincinnati.
These are the folks who keep Ohio in the headlines, as a national sick joke., standing proudly alongside places like Oklahomophobia and Mizzippy. What outfit paid them to show up?
“The list of folks is mainly Pastors and sensible people who don’t feel that they need to bow down to societal pressures to promote an agenda for this certain minority. Why does 96% of the population have to cater to the 4% ?
The most oppressed people in America today are straight white males. We can’t say anything, do anything or promote anything without a backlash.”
As posted by user ‘Conservative Christian’.
First and foremost religion has NO place in government. While our nation was founded by “Christians” it has since evolved to include many religions. This means we can not have ruling bodies creating policy based on religious beliefs. And let’s face it, the whole “anti-gay” thing really comes from the religious sector more than anywhere else.
Next….we are ALL, as US citizens, born with the same exact rights. So why is it when a person identifies as anything other than straight they begin to lose rights and protections? If members of the LGBTQ+ community never came out they wouldn’t have to deal with any of these issues. Why is that? Why is being gay a forfeiture of the privileges of US citizenship? And please cite the law that legitimizes that forfeiture.
If you want to start throwing around vague percentages here’s a few: 99% of the population caters to and works for the 1%. Of that one percent 99 percent are white. Where’s the oppression?
And this as nothing to do with catering to anyone. It’s about ensuring ALL US citizens have equal rights under the law. How is that a bad thing? Equal rights aren’t an “agenda”. They are a birthright.
I am a straight white male, father, leader, US Army Veteran. I am willing to die in order to protect the rights of EVERY US citizen. You could dye yourself bright orange, identify as a Unicorn and worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster. If you’re a US citizen I will lay down my life to protect your human rights..
– Send in the Clowns –
BJ-hating troll/trolls: You really need to comment on the message and not the messenger. America is still a free country…or was the last time I checked. And that includes the freedom to wear black and cut one’s hair the way they like and look sad and pathetic in all-black clothes or dress and behave like every day is Halloween. Goth styles and trashy prostitute styles are not one and the same. You are the one spreading the hate, and you need to save your time and your keystrokes because calling someone names and spewing homophobic rants will only get your comments deleted. Wise up!
Tony George is the founder of the Harry Buffalo chain and also owns Barley House, Crop and Town Hall to name a few
Tony George at 16m38s: https://youtu.be/bPPQhsgpLZk?t=16m38s
Supposedly, Tony George is neither an owner nor a co-owner of Town Hall. His father, Bobby George, is the owner. Maybe somebody can do a search of business license records or liquor licenses, and clear up the confusion about that. Start digging up the dirt, Beej!
BUT…Town Hall DID host a yuuuuuuge fund-raiser for Resident Rump (just two years ago this month), which resulted in a yuuuuuuuge stink at the time.
SO…is it any wonder or any surprise this bozo Tony is on the wrong side of history? How soon they forget.
This is digusting to think that people really think that this is putting woman and children in such a state of sexual violence !!! Where they should be worried about is the catholic chuch and all those men priest. Another thing is – noone gives a shit about dudes 37 resturaunts, the food is terrible (personal experience) the service is shit, and the majority of people choose not to frequent those places – this is just from personal experience and from polls of most popular resturants in Cuyahoga County. Nevertheless, People should really get with the times and know who the real predators are! http://www.gundersenhealth.org/ncptc/jacob-wetterling-resource-center/keep-kids-safe/sexual-offenders-101/sexuality-of-offenders/ and to add to that … Its straight men who get caught crusising public restrooms. I have told on a few married men and I will drop name IF I NEED TO just to provide evidence that its the straight older men and Preist we gotta beaware of !!!!
This is to the commentator Conservative Christian.
Food for thought: The current 4% you are referring to is OUT homosexuals. Those are the brave or lucky few that made the choice or were forced to go public about their homosexuality. More and more are doing that, thanks to people like you having increasingly less power to oppress and harm them. Or worse!
So, if we take that 4% as it is, and factor in that at least 1/2 of the homosexuals are not OUT, that would easily take that percentage up to 8%. Then there are all the bisexuals. It’s by no stretch of the imagination to state that there are more bisexuals than homosexuals. Maybe even more than heterosexuals. However, I will go with the conservative percentage and just state that there are the same percentage of bisexuals as there are homosexuals. That takes the percentage easily up to 16%.
So, by your logic, (or lack thereof) because blacks only make up 12.3% in the US, their rights should be ignored.
When all LGBTQ+ people have all of the protections and rights as everyone else in this world, the percentage that are OUT will make you download in your pants.
Have fun going the way of the racists.
FYI, there in nothing in the Biblical Scriptures that states that any and all same sex sex is a sin or wrong, and noting in them that states that marrage is to ONLY be between a man and a woman. So, you calling yourself a “conservative Christian” is you being a religious hypocrite on the level of the Pharisees that got Jesus killed.
The ordinance has passed. The good guys won. the fearmongers lost.
You still want to move all your restaurants out of Cleveland, Georgie Boy?
OKAY, CLOWN! BACK UP THE TRUCKS!