In
the
aftermath
of
President
Bush’s
State
of
the
Union
address,
in
which
he
strongly
hinted
at
support
of
a
constitutional
amendment
on
gay
marriage,
15
state
legislatures
around
the
country
have
begun
debating
sweeping
bans
on
recognition
of
gay
unions,
while
a
smaller
number
of
states
are
weighing
pro-gay
measures
aimed
at
stopping
the
rush
to
amend.
A
bill
blocking
state
recognition
of
gay
marriage
and
barring
state
workers
from
receiving
partner
benefits
passed
the
Ohio
Senate
last
week
and
is
likely
to
be
signed
by
the
state’s
Republican
governor.
Meanwhile,
legislators
in
Indiana
and
Arizona
succeeded
in
blocking
bills
that
sought
to
amend
their
state
constitutions
to
ban
same-sex
marriage.
While
the
Ohio
bill
is
intended
to
prevent
the
state
from
recognizing
a
gay
marriage
performed
in
another
state,
the
bill
strongly
notes,
“specific
statutory
benefits
of
marriage”
are
against
the
“strong
public
policy
of
the
state.”
State
Sen.
C.J.
Prentiss
(D-Cleveland),
who
voted
against
the
measure,
called
the
bill
“the
most
draconian
violation
of
many
rights”
and
tried
to
add
a
bereavement
amendment
to
the
measure
at
the
last
minute
that
was
eventually
tabled.
“Since
I
believe
that
everyone
is
human,
has
a
heart,
can
cry,
I
thought
my
colleagues
would
have
said
‘yes’
to
the
bereavement
bill
and
not
expose
their
homophobic
feelings,
but
I
was
wrong,”
Prentiss
said.
The
controversial
measure,
House
Bill
272,
dubbed
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act
by
supporters
and
the
Denial
of
Benefits
Act
by
opponents,
has
Ohio
leaders
divided.
Auditor
Betty
Montgomery,
a
moderate
Republican
who
wants
to
be
Ohio’s
next
governor
in
2006
supports
the
state’s
new
measure
while
Attorney
General
Jim
Petro,
another
Republican
gubernatorial
contender,
opposes
the
bill
calling
it
“a
little
too
broad”
adding
that
“binding
unions”
between
gay
couples
should
be
afforded
some
protections.
“I
don’t
think
it
should
be
against
the
strong
public
policy
of
the
state
to
show
respect
and
a
little
bit
of
tolerance
for
all
people,
and
that
may
include
people
who
make
a
strong
commitment
to
one
another
and
who
happen
to
be
of
the
same
gender,”
Petro
told
the
Cleveland
Plain
Dealer.
Petro
did
not
return
Blade
calls
seeking
comment.
Orest
Holubec,
a
spokesperson
for
Republican
Gov.
Bob
Taft,
said
the
governor
is
prepared
to
sign
the
measure
into
law.
Prentiss
noted
that
the
private
sector
is
expressing
concern
that
one
of
the
country’s
most
far-reaching
gay
marriage
bans
could
hurt
their
bottom
line.
Patrick
Guerriero,
executive
director
of
the
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
strongly
condemned
the
actions
taken
by
the
Ohio
Legislature
and
again
criticized
Bush’s
State
of
the
Union
remarks
in
which
the
Republican
president
assailed
“activist
judges.”
“I
think
more
damaging
than
the
exact
wording,
was
the
signal
[the
president’s
remarks]
sent
to
legislators
around
the
country,”
Guerriero
said.
“We
knew
that
legislative
leaders
had
been
holding
back
from
pushing
forward
with
any
legislation
and
sadly,
within
hours
of
the
president’s
speech,
we
saw
the
most
onerous
of
them
pass
the
Ohio
Senate.
“We
now
have
places
like
Ohio
turning
back
the
clock
not
just
on
gay
marriage
but
on
basic
civil
rights
for
gay
and
lesbian
Americans.”
When
signed
by
Gov.
Taft,
Ohio
will
become
the
38th
state
to
pass
some
sort
of
DOMA
measure.
State
legislators
are
scrambling
to
respond
to
the
Massachusetts
Supreme
Judicial
Court
ruling
last
November
mandating
that
state
offer
marriage
benefits
to
gay
couples,
setting
off
a
heated
national
debate
over
a
proposed
amendment
to
the
U.S.
Constitution
that
would
define
marriage
as
the
union
of
one
man
and
one
woman.
“I
really
do
believe
that
all
this
state
activity
is
due
to
a
very
well-coordinated
campaign
to
exploit
the
marriage
issue
in
the
2004
elections,”
said
Matt
Foreman,
executive
director
of
the
National
Gay
&
Lesbian
Task
Force.
“It’s
no
coincidence
that
these
are
being
launched
in
key
battle
ground
states:
Maryland,
Ohio,
Michigan,
Wisconsin,”
Foreman
said,
citing
the
expected
role
those
states
would
play
in
this
year’s
presidential
election.
“I
believe
that
this
is
part
of
the
right-wing
forces
in
the
country,
which
now
sadly
dominate
the
Republican
Party.
It’s
a
‘brilliant’
and
consistent
use
of
wedge
issues
in
society
to
advance
a
very
base
political
interest.”
Fifteen
states,
many
of
them
with
DOMA
laws
already
on
the
books,
are
weighing
anti-gay
marriage
ballot
measures
this
year.
And
at
least
seven
states
are
proposing
new
measures
that
would
prevent
gay
marriage
through
a
state
constitutional
amendment.
Constitutional
amendments
have
been
introduced
in
Georgia,
Oklahoma,
Kentucky
and
Michigan;
one
is
expected
soon
in
Alabama.
An
Idaho
Republican
told
the
Associated
Press
that
he
plans
on
introducing
such
a
measure.
And
lawmakers
in
Massachusetts
are
debating
the
contentious
issue
of
a
constitutional
amendment.
Indiana
is
the
second
state
in
a
week
to
shelve
a
constitutional
amendment.
Last
week,
Indiana
Gov.
Joe
Kernan
(D),
said
that
there
is
no
reason
to
amend
the
state’s
constitution
because
state
law
already
prohibits
gay
marriage.
Indiana
Attorney
General
Steve
Carter,
a
Republican,
disagreed
saying,
“The
institution
[of
marriage]
is
still
under
legal
attack.”
But
Rep.
Scott
Pelath
(D-Michigan
City),
chair
of
the
House
Rules
&
Legislative
Procedure
Committee,
said
that
the
bill
“wasn’t
a
priority
at
the
moment.”
And
last
week,
the
Arizona
Senate
Family
Services
Committee
refused
to
hold
hearings
on
a
proposed
amendment.
Arizona
Sen.
Mark
Anderson
(R-Mesa),
who
chairs
the
Senate
Family
Services
Committee,
declined
to
hold
the
hearings,
noting
that
the
state
already
has
a
DOMA.
Meanwhile,
in
Oklahoma,
Republican
state
Rep.
Bill
Graves
wants
a
bill
stating
that
gay
unions
are
“repugnant
to
the
public
policy”
of
the
state.
Georgia’s
proposed
amendment
—
which
could
go
on
the
November
general
election
ballot
—
was
presented
last
Wednesday
in
the
...
