On Wednesday at about 5:15 am I rolled out of bed, showered, threw on my best pants, shoes and shirt, and picked out a snazzy tie.  It was time for another trip to the State House and this time for House Bill 176 Equal Housing and Employment Act.  HB 176 amends 39 sections (if I counted correctly) of the Ohio Revised Code to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  This bill passed in the house with all the democrats voting to pass the bill as well as five republicans (Blair, Dolan, Hite, Lehner and McGregor).  HB176 is currently sitting in the Senate and has yet to be moved into committee where testimony can be heard.

The Plan:
I was visiting my hometown Senator Steve Buehrer (R) and Representative Cliff Hite (R) as well as Representative Bruce Goodwin (R). The main object with the Representatives was to bring two additional pieces of legislation to their attention. One would change Ohio’s Safe Schools law to including kids who are or are thought to be LGBT.  The other would expand the Ohio Hospital Patient’s Bill of Rights to include the right of the patient to specify who has access to them during consultation, treatment and/or inpatient stays.  Additionally, because Rep. Hite supported the passing of HB176 we wanted to thank him tremendously.  With Sen. Buehrer the objective of the day was to try to have him speak with Sen. Bill Harris to at least allow HB176 to have a hearing as well as to gain his “yes” vote if the bill does reach the house floor.

The Meetings:

Rep. Goodwin (R):
The first meeting of the day was with Rep. Goodwin.  While he has not voted positively on LGBT issues in the past he also has not outwardly spoke against them either.  The meeting we had with him was very brief as he had another meeting to get to but we focused a lot on the Safe Schools law and how it was an important piece of education legislation hoping that he would support it due to his 40 year work in school systems as a teacher, counselor, and administrator.  Given the brevity of the meeting and that Rep. Goodwin seemingly did not want to take a stance on the issue, we were unable to get a “yes” or “no” confirmation from him.

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Have you ever seen a flyer that says “Pregnant, Scared, Need Help?”  Have you ever questioned what type of assistance they offer? Well the answer is not simple. 

If they have a name of an organization on them, such as Planned Parenthood, Family Planning Health Services or some other well known supporter of comprehensive sex education and contraceptive rights, then it is likely that you will not be coerced into making one decision over another.  However, keep in mind that some of these places are federally funded (such as FPHS) so they can not merely mention the word abortion or else they will lose their funding.  Now as far as the flyers that do not have a specific name on them or they have a name on them like Crisis Pregnancy Center then it is likely that these services are not going to give you medically accurate information that will allow you to make an informed decision.  Of course this criteria cannot always be followed because confusion and mixing up all of the above is usually the point

Now you may be asking yourself; why in the world are you bringing this up? Well, recently on the University of Cincinnati campus I came across some of these non-labeled flyers.  Now I am a good researcher and before taking any action or saying anything I made sure that it was a center that would not be giving proper information.  So I took down a flyer so that I would have the helpline number later.  Sure enough when I called the “helpline” it was a local center that was recently reprimanded in our Student Newspaper for not providing information about abortion. 

So after my researching, I decided to further look at the current situation of these flyers that were plaguing the parts of campus that I frequent.  It was then I realized they were only in specific areas.  They were placed in our Student Life Center in several areas some of which made me angry and one of which made me laugh until my stomach hurt.  They seemingly were placed right by our Ethnic and Cultural Center, our Women’s Center, and our LGBTQ office.  Can you guess which ones I was angry about and which one I couldn’t help but laugh at?  While it’s a good marketing technique, I think it’s a despicable thing to do to target those specific student groups.  However, I will give them only a B+ in marketing because of the flyers placed right outside of the LGBTQ office. (I mean really I’m pretty sure we aren’t going to need to call the Crisis Counseling Center about pregnacy any time soon.) 

So at this point I would like to offer a confession.  I personally do not believe women should have an abortion unless the pregnancy was caused by rape, incest or if the pregnancy will cause severe medical problems to the mother.  However, I also do not believe it is my right to take away the right of choice to a woman.*  A choice can only be made when all the options are presented equally and fairly, when all positives and negatives are given and someone makes the decision of their own free will.  That is not what these centers are doing.  

Luckily, some of my friends and I who happen to frequent the areas of campus that have been targeted by this centers flyering campaign know that when you are doing research you need many samples.  So, they brought me plenty of sample flyers and after I was done with my “research” I discarded the samples properly right into a recycling bin.

*I would like to point out that I am inevitably Pro-Choice and Pro-Life at the same time which is one more reason for us to call the opposing sides Pro-Choice and Anti-Choice

The Ohio Prevention First Act, similar to the REAL Act proposed at the federal level would provide realistic sexuality education and teen pregnancy prevention programs, guaranteed access to birth control prescriptions, ensure contraceptive equity, and provide emergency contraception access and education.  On Wednesday November 18, 2009 I as well as nine other witnesses provided testimony as to why this Act should move beyond this second hearing (the furthest it has gotten in the past five years). 

I had prepared my testimony as to why this act was important focusing on the rising number of teens contracting STIs in my home county, Hardin County,  and number of teen and young adult pregnancies in my family (of 31 cousins 13 are or will be parents before the age of 21). Hardin County teaches abstinence only education and little to know information and often misinformation on STIs. 

Speaking of which did you know that there are no contraceptives that help prevent STIs?!?!? Yes everyone, according to a local health teacher not even condoms help prevent STIs. (For those that may have been taught this or that may be confused condoms do really help prevent STIs, so if you have sex WEAR A CONDOM!!!! or use a dental dam or a finger cot, whatever it is to keep you STI free! Thanks!)

Each of the nine other witnesses had something different to say but overall the message ran clear that the Ohio Prevention First Act is very important especially for the teenage and young adult population.  As I stood giving my testimony I was more nervous than I have ever been in my life (even coming out to my parents as being queer was easier!).  At the end of the day however I feel like I as well as the other witnesses made our points and hopefully we will be seeing the Ohio Prevention First Act in front of the entire Ohio House soon.  As of right now though I need to go follow up with a particular Republican Representative that may be on the fence!

If you would like to inform the Ohio Health Committee that you believe the Ohio Prevention First Act should be moved in front of the entire Ohio House of Representatives you can do so! You can click the link http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/OhioPreventionFirstAct and fill out the information and hit the “sign now” button, or you can call or mail your representative, their phone numbers and addresses can be found here http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/ .

The other night I was at an event in Cincinnati called Guerrilla Queer Bar where the Queer people in the Cincinnati area all go to the same typcially straight bar and hang out, have a good time, but most importantly educate others.

My friend who I was with decided that she needed to use the restroom. I usually avoid them as much as possible because I don't really fit into the binary bathroom labels of male and female,  but I escorted her to the bathroom and proceeded to wait outside. While I was standing there four men exited the men's restroom.  Three of the men were clearly gay, and one of them was clearly straight. When they exited the restroom there seemed to be a small argument happening. The three gay men quickly left the area and the straight man stayed back by the restroom. He hit my shoulder and said "you know, I'm cool with it and all but sometimes you know they just get too close and I'm thinking if they get any closer I'm going to have to punch them or something"

Right then I realized that he had read me as being a straight (biological) guy. He continued talking and I zoned out because all I could think about was 'if he finds out that I am not biologically male then I am getting beaten up or worse'. When I zoned back in he said "you know" and did that thing where you hit the persons chest with the back of your hand. The only thought going through my head was, 'please do not let him feel my chest', I mean I was wearing a binder to hide my chest but still there is still a clear squishiness there if you press hard enough. Luckily he didn't notice and left soon after but for a few minutes I was so scared and I couldn't talk out of fear that my voice would give me away. Instead I just had to stand there listen to his homophobic talk and more or less agree with him by grunting.

I feel so bad though, in some ways I feel that I should have said something but in others I feel that I would have been to risky for me to do...i just don't know. I'm so frustrated right now with the whole situation, I'm tired of letting fear cripple me from speaking out but at the same time I can't help anyone if  my face beaten in. I feel like I am making the problem worse by being silent but the silence is what keeps me safe. 

Is it possible to ensure our safety while combatting ignorance? What would you have done in my situation?

Every day as I read queer blogs I become more and more disheartened.  A majority of the comments made end up turning into some religious debate between self identified gays and self identified Christians. Note that the two never mix! It is one group against the other ranting about how the one is “going to Hell” and that the other needs to stop “forcing religion” onto others.  In most cases I am always up for a good debate, however, this is one debate that is way past its prime. The same ten statements are being said over and over for example;
 
Homosexuality is a sin, it’s in the Bible. (Leviticus 18:22 & Genesis 1:28 as examples)
Vs.
The Bible was written down by a man, men can be wrong, and it can be interpreted wrong, therefore homosexuality is not a sin.
    
The US was grounded in Biblical Text so its laws follow and should continue to follow this pattern.
Vs.
The US was grounded on religious freedom so your religion should not rule my life.
 
This debate should be dead! Anyone who ever took a speech class knows that one should only continue debating if they have new information to present, which is obviously not the case for either party in this debate.  More problematic than the fact that this debate should be dead is the problem that both communities are alienating some of their own community members.
 
I identify as a Queer Christian.  Now before some of you stop reading and begin to reply to this post with the same debate please hear me out. 

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