Adoption:

3. Adoption by gay man allowed in In re Adoption of Charles B., 552 N.E.2d 884 (Ohio 1990). Gay and lesbian parents can enter into enforceable agreements to share custody of their children. In re Bonfield, 780 N.E.2d 241 (Ohio 2002).

4. (Franklin County, Ohio, January 25, 2007) — In a 12 page decision, Judge Carol Squire ruled that a custody arrangement between two lesbian parents is valid despite Ohio’s antigay constitutional amendment.

Discrimination:

3. In Dayton, the City Commission amended its anti-discrimination law to include sexual orientation and gender identity.n March 2008, Oxford became the 15th city in Ohio to have an LGB or LGBT anti-discrimination ordinance. Ohio cities with such laws include Athens, Canton, Cincinnati*, Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Columbus, Dayton*, East Cleveland, Lakewood, North Olmsted, Oberlin, Oxford*, Toledo* and Yellow Springs.
* denotes that ordinance also covers gender identity.

4. On March 4, 2008, Oxford City Council by a vote of 7-0 passed the newly amended Chapter 143 of the Oxford Code of Ordinances that includes nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex, etc. They join 16 other municipalities in Ohio affording these protections...and are one of only 4 that include gender identity. They add nearly 22,000 people to the number of Ohioans now protected by local ordinances.

5. Toledo passed Section 554, Ordinance 1183-98 to ban discrimination for person’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, bisexuality, homosexuality, or gender identity

Hate Crimes:

The law makes it a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail, to harass, menace or deface someone's property because of his or her sexual orientation, age or disability

Sex Crimes:

House Bill 511, passed in December 1972, completely overhauled Ohio's criminal codes and in part repealed Ohio's sodomy law criminalizing homosexual acts between consenting adults .

Section 2907.07 of the Ohio Revised Code makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to ask anyone of the same sex to engage in sexual activity “when the offender knows such solicitation is offensive to the other person, or is reckless in that regard.”

Marriage:

2.On 15 April 2002 Cleveland Heights became the first Ohio city to offer health benefits to same-sex couples one or both of whom are city employees

3 2004 The state’s Constitution is amended to say, “Only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by This state and its political subdivisions. This state and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.”

4. The Court of Appeals of Ohio has affirmed a lower court ruling which dismissed a lawsuit brought by a legislator seeking to take away the domestic partner benefits of employees of Miami University.

5.the cities of Toledo and Dayton! In November 2007, the Toledo City Council passed and the Mayor signed a law creating a domestic partnership registry, joining Cleveland Heights as the only Ohio city to do so. Most gays are afraid to take advantage due to listing of their names and addresses in a public document.

6. Unmarried couples, gay and straight, could qualify for property benefits given to married couples under a bill tentatively approved by the Maryland

7. But when the Attleboro resident recently applied for a new passport so he could go to Africa, he learned the U.S. State Department would not recognize his new hyphenated name because he is a gay man married to another man. He said the State Department said it was prohibited from recognizing his new name by the Defense of Marriage Act.

Gender:

The court followed its own July 31 decision on a similar case involving a lesbian couple to rule that Richard Maloney of Butler County can change his name

3. 6^th Circuit Court has ruled that transgender are protected by Title VII.

Military Service

1. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was a compromise to allow gays to serve in the Armed Forces so long as they are not open about it.

WHEREAS, all citizens are valued in the City of Toledo; and

WHEREAS, the City of Toledo seeks to promote economic development by attracting and retaining new businesses and industries to our community, and assisting businesses and universities in the recruitment of a talented and diverse workforce; and

WHEREAS, many unmarried residents of Toledo have formed lasting, committed, caring, and faithful relationships with a person of the same sex or different sex. These couples live together, serve and participate together in the community, and rear children and care for family members together; and

WHEREAS, many public and private institutions voluntarily permit their employees, members, patrons and other individuals with whom they interact to include their partners as beneficiaries of various policies, including but not limited to, health insurance coverage, hospital visitation rights, family recreational memberships, and authorization to pick up children after school; and

WHEREAS, a registry for unmarried couples maintained by the City would remove the administrative burden on hospitals, universities, employers, and other businesses to define and verify the existence of these committed non-marital relationships; and

WHEREAS, a registry for these unmarried couples will acknowledge the existence of their committed relationships without affecting the definition of marriage and without creating or recognizing any legal status that intends to approximate marriage; and

WHEREAS, a registry for unmarried couples will make those couples and their families feel welcome and valued in this City; NOW, THEREFORE,

Be it ordained by the Council of the City of Toledo:

SECTION 1. That the Toledo Municipal Code is amended by enacting Chapter 114 entitled Domestic Partnership Registry to read as follows:

DEFINITIONS. As used in this Chapter:

(1) “Domestic partnership” refers to the non-marital intimate relationship of two adults of the same or different sex, who share a common residence and affirm that they share responsibility for each other's common welfare, and have signed and filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the City.

(2) “Share a common residence” means that both domestic partners share the same residence. It is not necessary that both domestic partners have title to the property where they reside or the legal right to possess the common residence. Two people may share a common residence even if one or both have additional residences. Domestic partners do not cease to share a common residence if one leaves the common residence but intends to return.

(3) Domestic partners will be deemed to have an "intimate" relationship and to "share responsibility for one another's common welfare" if they execute a Declaration of Domestic Partnership affirming that such facts are true.

DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP. To establish a domestic partnership, both individuals must file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the City affirming that they meet all of the following qualifications:

(1) Both individuals share a common residence;

(2) Both individuals affirm that they have an intimate relationship and share responsibility for each other's common welfare;

(3) Neither individual is married to any third party;

(4) Neither individual is part of an existing domestic partnership with any third party;

(5) Each individual is 18 years of age or older; and

(6) The individuals are not related to one another by blood.

(A) FILING LOCATION. Two individuals seeking to become domestic partners must complete and file a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Clerk of Council.

(B) FILING PROHIBITION. No individual who has previously filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership in this City may file a new Declaration of Domestic Partnership until a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership has been filed with the City. However, this prohibition shall not apply if the previous domestic partnership ended because one of the domestic partners is deceased.

(A) REGISTRATION FORMS. The Clerk of Council shall develop “Declaration of Domestic Partnership” and “Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership” forms, and shall not add to or alter the requirements listed in Section 114.02 of this Chapter.

(B) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS. The “Declaration of Domestic Partnership” form shall require each registrant to:

(1) Affirm that he or she meets the requirements of Section 114.02 of this Chapter;

(2) Provide a mailing address;

(3) Sign the form under penalty of perjury; and

(4) Have a notary public acknowledge his or her signature.

(C) AVAILABILITY OF FORMS. The City shall have declaration and termination forms available at the Clerk of Council office.

(D) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE. The City shall charge an administrative fee of $25 to persons filing a Declaration of Domestic Partnership. No fee shall be charged for the filing of a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership.

(E) PARTNERSHIP REGISTRATION. The City shall register the Declaration of Domestic Partnership in a registry and return a copy of the declaration form to the domestic partners at the address provided as their common residence.

(F) TERMINATION REGISTRATION. The City shall register the Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership pursuant to the requirements set forth in Section 114.05 of this Chapter.

(A) TERMINATION. A domestic partnership ends when:

(1) One of the domestic partners dies; or

(2) A Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership has been filed by one or both domestic partners with the City.

(B) NOTICE OF TERMINATION. If the facts affirmed in the Declaration of Domestic Partnership cease to be true, one or both parties to a domestic partnership shall file a Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership with the Clerk of Council office. Upon receipt, the City shall return a copy of the notice marked “filed” to each of the partners, if jointly filed; or two copies to the filing partner. Unless the partners jointly file the notice, the partner filing the notice shall, within five days, send a copy of the filed notice to the other partner’s last known address. However, this requirement shall not apply if the termination is due to the death of one of the domestic partners.

(C) EFFECTIVE TERMINATION DATE. Termination of a domestic partnership shall be effective upon filing of the Notice of Termination of Domestic Partnership with the City by one or both partners, or on the date of the death of one of the domestic partners.

(D) NOTICE TO THIRD PARTIES. Following the termination of a domestic partnership, each former domestic partner who has received or qualified for any benefit or right based upon the existence of a domestic partnership and whose receipt of that benefit or enjoyment of that right has not otherwise terminated, shall give prompt notification to any third party who provides such benefit or right that the domestic partnership has terminated.

(E) FAILURE TO GIVE NOTICE. Failure to provide notice to third parties as prescribed in this section shall not delay or prevent the termination of the domestic partnership.

(A) Registering as domestic partners by two individuals who are also married to one other, in this or in another state, shall under no circumstances, be considered as evidence, knowledge, awareness, or an admission that the partners are not lawfully married and it shall not be given any other legal effect, in this or any other state, with regard to whether the persons are lawfully married.

(B) Nothing in this Chapter shall be interpreted to alter or contravene county, state or federal law.

(C) Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as recognizing or treating a Declaration of Domestic Partnership as a marriage or a legal status that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance or effect of marriage.

(D) The City shall not recognize more than one domestic partnership per residence.

If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Chapter is held invalid, the remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity.

RECOGNITION OF SAME-SEX UNIONS:

Same-sex marriage is recognized only in Massachusetts, but a state Supreme Court ruling Thursday puts California on a path to become the second state to do so. Four states _ Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire _ have civil unions. California has been one of five states with domestic partnership or reciprocal benefits laws that provide some marriage-like rights to same-sex couples. The others are Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia.

___

CONSTITUTIONAL BANS:

Voters in 26 states have approved state constitutional amendments that ban gay marriage:

Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin.

Hawaii voters approved a constitutional amendment empowering the legislature to outlaw same-sex marriage; lawmakers did so in 1998.

___

2008 BALLOT ITEMS:

A proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage will be on Florida's ballot in November. Backers of a similar measure in California say they have gathered enough signatures to qualify it for the ballot; the signatures are under review. The Arizona Legislature is considering putting such an amendment on the ballot there.
Mass. Funding:

•  Department of Public Health funding for school health and community-based services for LGBT youth was increased by $200,000 to $550,000, which is $100,000 more than what was allocated in the House.
•  Department of Education funding for school safety and suicide prevention programs for LGBT youth was increased by $100,000 to $300,000, matching the same level allocated in the House.
•  Funding for the LGBT Aging Project, which provides services and support for our seniors, increased by $20,000 to $80,000, matching the same level of funding we won in the House.
•  Funding to support LGBT victims of domestic violence was increased by $100,000 to $350,000, matching the same level of funding we won in the House. 

SACRAMENTO - A bill that would help prevent discrimination against LGBT
seniors in nursing homes and senior care facilities cleared the Senate today
and will now go to the Assembly for approval.

Senate Bill 1729, authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and
sponsored by Equality California, would train licensed health professionals
about the unique needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
seniors. The legislation would help create safe environments that are free
from bias for all older Californians. The Senate passed SB 1729 with a 24-15

	Statewide Marriage Laws
	Relationship Recognition in the U.S.
	Statewide Anti-discrimination Laws & Policies
	Statewide Hate Crimes Laws
	Second-Parent/Stepparent Adoption Laws in the U.S.
	Statewide laws or policies affecting schools & educational institutions
	Laws & policies affecting state employees

vote.

Frank asks FDIC about expanding rules to include gay couples
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, is asking the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to determine whether domestic partners can receive certain coverage limited to married couples via an administrative change or whether a legislative solution is required. FDIC rules prohibit domestic partners from being the beneficiaries of the $100,000 in deposit insurance protection per beneficiary, but allow for other family beneficiaries, including married spouses, children, siblings and stepchildren.