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Compiled By GayToday
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Columbus, Ohio--Ohio's Republican Governor Bob Taft ended an
executive order that prohibited employment discrimination in state
employment based on sexual orientation.
The original executive order, issued by former Democratic Governor Richard Celeste,
had been in effect since 1983. That executive order was reenacted by former Republican
Governor George Voinovich (now a U.S. Senator), who succeeded Celeste. |
"Yahoo! D'em queers got no rights while I'm in the saddle."
-- Gov. Bob Taft |
The National Stonewall Democratic Federation (NSDF) says the move is
"proof positive" of the threat posed by a Republican presidency.
"This is a signal of things to come under Republican leadership,"
says NSDF Ohio board member Brian Shinn. "The Republican agenda in 2000 is
clearly to turn back the clock on civil rights advances. A
Republican-controlled White House would strip the L/G/B/T community of the
great advances made under the Clinton administration. Federal
nondiscrimination, security clearance, and HIV/AIDS executive orders that
have paved the way for progress are all at stake."
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According to a recent study by the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force Policy Institute, more than 100 million Americans live in towns,
cities, or states with laws barring discrimination based on sexual
orientation. The new number marks a dramatic increase from the 12 million
covered a decade ago in 1990.
"We have made tremendous progress in ensuring the equal treatment of
gays and lesbians in the workplace," says NSDF Co-Chair Michael Perez.
"The Republican attack on the right of the L/G/B/T community to work in an
open and fair workplace threatens the dignity of everyone's labor.
Governor Taft and the Republican Right's threat to the national
accomplishments we have made is real and should serve as a wake-up call.
They can indeed turn back the clock on the civil rights advances we have
made."
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Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Republican National Committee Plans TV Gay-Bashing
Hysterical Republican Candidates Denounce Equality
Will Republicans Roll Back Federal Non-Discrimination on Jobs?
Related Sites:
National Stonewall Democratic Foundation
GayToday does not endorse related sites.
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NSDF points out that some of the world's largest corporations offer
employment nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation.
Successful corporations such as IBM, Shell, Chevron, BP Amoco, Merrill
Lynch, Harley Davidson, Disney, Levi Strauss, and American Airlines all
include and support fair employment practices.
"This is a battle we will have to fight again in Ohio. We had enjoyed
the right to a discrimination-free workplace in state government but now
it is lost.
"I hope this sends a clear signal that we can't take our gains
for granted; they can be easily taken away under this kind of Republican
leadership, locally or nationally," says Shinn.
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