This past Wednesday, when I
received a text from the Field Director at Equality Ohio asking me if I would
be willing to share my story on October 28th, I didn’t think much about it
before saying that I would. I wasn’t
sure which part of my story he was asking for, but, at this point, I don’t have
many secrets. Pretty much anything
anyone wants to know about me can be ascertained from a quick Google
search.
The next day I began to wonder more
about what it was. Was I being
recorded? Was it for a specific type of
media? Would I be speaking in front of
people? Regardless of the response, I
would have probably agreed. Equality
Ohio has referred me for a handful of interviews, and I knew that they wouldn’t
put me in a situation that would be unsupportive. When the response came back, my anxiety
spiked. I learned that I would be
speaking in front of people at the Statehouse regarding the need for
non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people in Ohio in the areas of
employment and housing. I was filled
with a mixture of honor and fear.
When I mentioned to a few friends
that I was nervous, they said that they couldn’t understand why. Why, after all the other public work that I
have done, would this make me nervous?
I’ll admit that my first reaction was selfish. Talking in front of people scares me to
death. I push through and do it when I
believe the importance of the work necessitates it. I this situation, having experienced what it
is to be in a situation where I had to come to work every day knowing that I
could legally be fired at any time because of who I am, I didn’t have to
hesitate on whether or not the work was worth me dealing with some anxiety.
Coming to this realization brought
a new kind of anxiety with it though.
The weight of importance that accompanies this kind of legislation is
enormous. The words that I would say or
not say could have an impact on whether or not this bill would pass. What, for me, is a simple issue of basic
fairness is, to some, an unnecessary measure to extend protections to people
that they feel don’t deserve them, to people like me who they feel don’t
deserve them. My hope is that the
legislators in my state will send a message to me, and so many others, that I
do matter. Having the Supreme Court of
the United States, back in June, affirm that the relationship and marriage that
I hope to share with another man someday will have the same significance and
legal standing as anyone else’s is amazing.
It truly is, but, it makes it even more disheartening that my state
continues to send the message that the basic needs of employment and housing
don’t matter for me.
I was honored, on Tuesday, to be a
part of the introduction of this very important piece of legislation, The Fairness Act, by
Representative Nickie Antonio. My hope
is that Ohio is finally ready to make a clear statement in support of fairness
and equality for ALL Ohioans.
~Culbs
You can watch the press conference of the introduction of The Fairness Act at the link below.
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