Ohio

Congratulations Stephen and Joshua Snyder-Hill

Submitted by ONE Community on July 5, 2012 - 9:32pm

On June 22, 2012, I blogged about the case of Stephen Hill and Joshua Snyder, who married last year in Washington, D.C. They faced unexpected obstacles when they attempted to hyphenate their last names in their home state of Ohio. As I wrote then, "Notwithstanding the fact that changing one's name is usually a routine matter, especially when one does so as a result of marriage, it turns out that Ohio practices a form of petty apartheid when it comes to gay couples." Appropriately on the 4th of July, I am happy to report that their request has been granted. Read more »

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Scout official resigns, supports ousted gay leader

Submitted by ONE Community on May 2, 2012 - 10:07am

A board member for an Ohio regional Boy Scouts group who resigned to protest the removal of a lesbian den mother said he wants the national organization to review its ban on gays.

The Boy Scouts of America's policy of not allowing gays within its ranks has been debated for more than a decade since being upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. It is facing renewed questioning in eastern Ohio after Jennifer Tyrrell, the mother of a 7-year-old scout, was thrown out in April.

David Sims resigned from the Ohio River Valley Council's board Friday after learning of Tyrrell's story. Read more »

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Lesbian removed as Scout leader in Ohio, re-ignites debate over organization’s policy on gays

Submitted by ONE Community on April 26, 2012 - 7:49pm
Lesbian removed as Scout leader in Ohio, re-ignites debate over organization’s policy on gays

The first-graders in Ohio Pack 109’s Tiger Scouts didn’t know or care their den mother was a lesbian — at least not until the Boy Scouts of America threw her out over the organization’s ban on gays.

Now, parents who were aware of Jennifer Tyrrell’s sexual orientation well before she took the boys on campouts and helped them carve race cars for the annual Pinewood Derby have rallied to her defense in a case that has re-ignited the debate over the Scouts’ policy.

“I teach my children to judge people on their actions,” said Rob Dunn, a father in Bridgeport, a village of about 2,000 across the Ohio River from Wheeling, W.Va. “Whether you agree with their lifestyle or not.”

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