Ohio Churches Support LGBT Rights Bill

The Ohio Council of Churches has endorsed a proposed state law that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

By a vote of 9-0, with five abstentions, the council's governing body passed a resolution supporting House Bill 176. The vote was taken in late October, but was announced Monday by Equality Ohio, an LGBT rights group. The state house of representatives approved the bill in September, and it is pending in the senate, where it has been referred to the rules committee.

The vote is an "important and courageous step" that "marks important progress in gaining widespread support for fairness in employment, housing, and public accommodation," Kim Welter, Equality Ohio's director of programs and outreach, said in a press release.

The council includes Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic churches, among many other denominations. It joins numerous large and small companies, 19 Ohio municipalities, and more than 150 individual churches and pastors in supporting the bill, according to Equality Ohio. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Ohio chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management have taken a neutral position on the legislation.