Did you think 2010 would slip by without an anti-gay ballot measure? Think again, and direct your eyes toward Bowling Green, Ohio. This November, voters in the city of nearly 30,000 will head to the polls to decide on whether two historic ordinances will be allowed to become law, protecting LGBT folks from discrimination. Those ordinances, originally passed in August 2009, amended city law to prevent LGBT people from being discriminated against when it comes to employment, housing, education and public accommodations. And they were necessary, because currently federal-level anti-discrimination protections don't go far enough to stop discrimination against LGBT people.
But what was a bold move for equality was interpreted by a number of anti-gay folks to be a step toward indecency. And they did what so many anti-gay groups have done in the past decade: they froze the city council ordinances by gathering signatures to put the policies on a November 2010 ballot. Meaning that Bowling Green, Ohio voters will now decide on whether LGBT people should be thrown out of restaurants because of their sexual orientation, or denied an apartment because of their gender identity.
