1993 - the Battle for Equality - Issue 3 - Cincinnati - the long arc that bends toward justice. Every pride, this is history we all walk in the shadow of and celebrate. See original ad created by Stonewall Cincinnati to respond to ballot initiative.
The late Steve Buescher thank you for all of us - for capturing this. If ever folks want to see the one ad the queers put out against Issue 3 in for November 2, 1993 - here it is. Yes, we lost. The 1993 Article 12 amendment, passed with 62% of the vote, prevented Cincinnati from protecting gays and lesbians. This was Issue 3 on that ballot and commonly referred to as "no special rights" directed against the lgbtq community. Michael Chanak attended a large gather for a Stonewall meeting at St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church where the ad was shown to the community for the first time. Besty Gressler moderated that meeting.
(Steve did graphics for the old Gay Cable Network show in Cincinnati and eventually moved to Florida. He also ran the "Rainbow Page" which was www.gaycincinnati.com (Not active).
The night of November 3, 1993 there was a rally on Fountain Square that Michael Chanak attended to hear the newly elected Mayor Roxanne Qualls spoke fully understanding the impact this measure would have on us. I remeber her line "we are wonderful."
It took another 11 years before the issue came up for a vote again, thanks to the efforts of the Citizens to restore fairness, and the late Gary Wright (who was given a leave of absense from P&G in his role of company demographer). This time we prevailed. Article 12 was repealed by a 53.75% vote in the 2004 Cincinnati City Charter Amendment, with 68,062 'Yes' votes.
A few years later: Cincinnati amended its HRO on March 15, 2006, expanding protections to include LGBTQ individuals in employment and housing.
