The bill, which has been introduced four times but has always
stalled in committee, passed 56-38 and now goes to the state senate.
Says the Columbus Dispatch:
The bill could hit a wall in the
GOP-controlled Senate, where President Bill M. Harris, R-Ashland, has said
repeatedly that although the measure will get a hearing, he doesn’t see a need
for the legislation and that there are already sufficient protections in place.
“Other people are getting that evidence
and information (of discrimination), but I am not,” Harris said. “I talk to
business people all the time, and they’re saying it’s not an issue. If they had
trouble with it, they’d be trying to get a law passed.”
Twenty states have gay
anti-discrimination laws, as do 443 Fortune 500 companies and 17 Ohio cities.