The majority of local gays may enjoy living in Columbus, Ohio, but not everything’s peachy keen:
[A survey of about 3,400] found that:

• More than half the participants were in committed relationships, and 80 percent want the right to legally marry in Ohio.

• Nearly 60 percent said they had been called names, threatened, stalked, intimidated or had personal property defaced because of their sexual orientation.

• More than half said they had experienced discrimination; among that group, two of three reported workplace discrimination.

• Thirteen percent either had not been tested for HIV or did not know their HIV status. None of these are good things, of course…

Kent State’s most remembered for the May 4th massacre, but Harry Jackson’s hoping to change that.

The Ohio businessman just gave the Akron-area university $2 million to boost students’ gay rights activism.

The money, the school’s largest LGBT donation ever, will be spent on scholarships, booking pro-gay speakers and offering other lavender-hued programs. Said Jackson: “I’m hoping they’ll get politically active and educated. By educating them, they’ll become part of the process.”

Hillary Clinton’s campaign came back from the dead last night. The Buckeye state’s Democratic voters in Ohio overwhelming supported the Senator from New York, as did citizens in Rhode Island and Texas.
Continued…

A new poll shows that two-thirds of Democrats want Hillary Clinton to stay in the race if she wins in both Texas and Ohio. Absolutely earth-shattering results, right? Well, conversely, if Clinton loses both states, 51% want her out. We have a feeling the Senator from New York’s about to sweep this shit. Just a hunch, though. [Washington Post via Gay Socialites]

Barack Obama’s probably feeling pretty confident right now - he’s won the last eleven primaries, has eaten into Hillary Clinton’s base and keeps climbing in national numbers. It seems the Senator’s just two states away from clinching the Democratic presidential nomination. If he wins in Texas and Ohio on Tuesday - well, even Bill admits that Hillary’s campaign’s not going to make it.

One can’t get lazy, of course, which may explain why he’s now placing the above “generic” LGBT ad in gay newspapers in Ohio and Texas. Oh yeah, Obama’s definitely stamping on Clinton’s queer territory. It’s a crazy strategy, yes, and may just push Obama over the edge…
Continued…

Barack Obama’s in it to win it. The Democratic presidential candidate has snatched up ads in some Ohio and Texas’ gay weeklies. From The Advocate’s Kerry Eleveld:The Obama campaign is lavishing some of its cash advantage on the LGBT community with targeted ad buys in Ohio and Texas leading up to the critical March 4th primaries in both states (Rhode Island and Vermont also vote that day). According to Obama LGBT Steering Committee member Eric Stern, the campaign has just completed an ad buy with queer newspapers in the four largest LGBT markets of those two states — Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas and Houston.

Full page ads will appear starting this Friday in Outlook Weekly … Continued…

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama had what may be their final debate last night…
Continued…

An Ohio woman named Chantel can’t believe her roommate likes boys, so she asked her University’s “Gay Guy” advice columnist for some guidance: “Is it true that all gays are totally outrageous and fun? Because my roommate is gay, but he is moody and won’t help me pick out socks. Is he a closet stright [sic]? Also, he never brings guys or anyone else to the house. What’s up with this?” The advice columnist recommend Chantel take her pal out for a drunken night. Ah, booze, the queer cure all! [U Weekly]

News travels slow in Ohio. Connie of the eponymous ConnieTalk posted a little something something today in which she explains that “Failed actor” and TMZ honcho Harvey Levin likes penis. Shocking, right? Especially after that TMZ commenter went off about old lavender Levin.

Ms. Connie doesn’t say anything particular interesting, but she did throw together the above image, which, we imagine, she takes to be a visual indicator of Levin’s poofter ways.

Poor Connie obviously has a dearth of gays in her life, so we’d like to offer her one creative suggestion: if that picture’s meant to highlight Harvey’s homosexuality, we suggest you turn him about 90 degrees.

James D. Piergies gets smacked down after ethics call.

An Ohioan Democrat doesn’t seem to understand that justice is blind. Judge James D. Piergies questions whether his queer colleague Mary Wiseman’s lesbianism will tip the scales.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Mary Wiseman, who is openly gay, should excuse herself from cases involving the state constitutional ban on gay marriage and Dayton’s new law banning discrimination against gays, her Democratic primary opponent says.

Montgomery County Area Court Judge James D. Piergies cited Wiseman’s role in writing an earlier, failed version of the anti-discrimination law when she was a Dayton city commissioner in 1999. He said it would create an ethical problem as well if she were to consider cases involving the Ohio constitutional … Continued…

We’re kind of in love with this man: Dave Muskera. From what we gather, the Ohio-based former counselor married a woman, had two children, divorced said woman and has now set up shot with his “life partner,” John. In addition to being a great example of queer courage - coming out post-marriage in Ohio can’t be easy - Muskera wrote an adorable critique of the right wing’s rhetorical “gay lifestyle”: If I read or hear the words “the gay lifestyle” one more time, I’m going to chew nails, or yell like a summa wrestler whose butt’s been kicked. I’m fed up with this phrase and the people who use it… It’s really … Continued…

There’s could be new day dawning in Toledo, Ohio.

Democratic councilman Joe McNamara has introduced legislation for a domestic partnership registry, thus giving gay couples the option of filing for employer benefits. While some balk at the idea of queer inclusion, McNamara insists it’s for the good of the city’s coffers: This is a creative-class-driven issue. Studies have shown a community that’s accepting is more attractive to the creative class. Something like this helps Toledo’s reputation, whether or not it’s used. Equality Toledo honcho David Mann agrees, “[It]will cost the city of Toledo nothing [and] will provide real benefit for those families and an opportunity to have their relationship recognized”.

Toledo’s city council will hold a … Continued…

America’s first out orthodox rabbi hit the nail on the holy head this weekend in Ohio. Speaking at Ohio State University’s St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church yesterday, Rabbi Steven Greenberg told the congregation that they should not take the Bible as “God’s word”. Rather, it’s up to everyone to interpret the good book for themselves: [Greenberg] wasn’t saying that the Bible is not the revealed word of God. But according to Jewish tradition, he said, God gave that word to man and entrusted him to decipher it.

“No one can say, ‘It says in the Scripture,’ to ground any policy,” Greenberg said. “All we can say is, ‘My community says this.’ ”

After his sermon, he said it’s … Continued…

• Mary J’s new video for “Just Fine”!

• Gay paper Outlook refuses to endorse Republican queer Bill Brownson. Says co-publisher Michael Daniels: We started the process, as the queer newspaper, hoping we could endorse the queer candidate. But we were not going to endorse someone based purely on their sexual orientation. They will, however, endorse every Democrat in the district. Hmmm…

• Mitt Romney endorsed by anti-gay Bob Jones University.

• The outs and outs of Oprah’s gay show.
Continued…