FIRED up

It is legal in the state of Ohio to be fired from your job or denied an apartment or house because of your sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. In many cities in Ohio this practice is illegal, but there are no state level protections. Equality Ohio has been working diligently to introduce the Ohio Equal Housing and Employment Act to end this type of discrimination.

As a volunteer for Equality Ohio's "FIRED" campaign, I was thrilled to read in today's Dayton Business Journal that the bills were introduced in the Ohio Senate and House of Representatives today. Unlike previous attempts at the bills' passage, the outcome of this effort appears likely to be a success. The complete text of the article is below:

A trio of Ohio lawmakers introduced bills Tuesday to make it illegal to discriminate against people in employment, housing or public accommodations because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"Ohio is among the most unwelcoming states in the nation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people," Lynne Bowman, executive director for Equality Ohio, said in a news release. "Today, Ohio took a major step toward fairness and equality."

Bowman cited a recent survey that found two-thirds of Ohioans favor passage of the legislation.

Twenty-one states, 11 of the state's four-year public colleges and 16 Ohio cities and villages have ordinances that protect their gay and lesbian residents.

Rather than continue to have a patchwork of protections across the state, or none at all, the lawmakers called for passage of statewide standards that would uniformly help all Ohio residents.

Sen. Dale Miller, D- Cleveland, is the main sponsor of the Senate bill. He has introduced similar measures in the past but noted at a news conference in Columbus that the bills introduced Tuesday have a record number of co-sponsors and the promise of committee hearings.

Plus, Gov. Ted Strickland has told the bills' sponsors that he would sign the measure into law, said Sandy Theis, a spokeswoman for the effort.

In the House, Rep. Jon Peterson, a Delaware Republican, and Rep. Dan Stewart, D-Columbus, are primary sponsors of the bill.

At the news conference, Stewart said more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have implemented similar policies. Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) has been a strong proponent of such measures and is one of a number of large corporations with employee support groups centered on sexual orientation and gender identity.

E-mail dayton@bizjournals.com. Call (937) 528-4400.