# Thanks, Ohio legislature, now I know where not to go on vacation. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454 "2004-02-04T06:50:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/41 "2004-02-05T08:20:02Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > [Here’s the letter as it appeared in the Enquirer.](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/05/editorial_0205whatyousay.html) And isn’t Clyde Stauffer a dork? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/42 "2004-02-05T14:07:11Z")
I think i found **SanibelMan** ’s letter [here](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/05/editorial_0205whatyousay.html). ---
**Author:** ![JerH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bb73d2/32.png) [@JerH](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JerH)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/43 "2004-02-05T14:31:30Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > Is he saying the gay lifestyle is so appealing that if we poor heteros were exposed to it we’d immediately flee screaming and jubilant (and likely naked and wet) into homosexuality? I’ve always thought that most of the conservative arguments against homosexuality seem to imply that gay sex is just more fun than the lame-o man-woman kind. I mean, if I’m going to risk my family rejecting me, becoming a social pariah, and burning in the flames of Hell, then the sex must be pretty damned amazing - we’re talking orders of magnitude better than hetero sex - for it to be worth the trade-off. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/44 "2004-02-05T15:07:35Z")
> [@Shayna](#): > > Not that any individual will ever put a dent in their pocketbooks, but you might want to check your cabinets for products such as Tide, Downy, Cheer, Febreze, Cascade, Dawn, Joy, Bounty, Puffs, Charmin, Secret, Sure, Cover Girl . . . _Noooooooo!_ Not Cover Girl! But . . . but . . . Cover Girl’s “Rose Quartz” lipstick is the only shade that is absolutely perfect for my complexion! Oh, crap. . . . Can I use Cover Girl if I promise to blot my lipstick by kissing another woman? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/45 "2004-02-05T15:33:09Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Can I use Cover Girl if I promise to blot my lipstick by kissing another woman? Only if it means you’re dating again. ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/46 "2004-02-05T17:13:39Z")
[From here](http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/23/gay.marriage.states.ap/) > [@](#): > > In all, 37 states (Ohio makes 38) \*\*and the federal government \*\* have Defense of Marriage acts that say marriage can only be between a man and a woman… > > _snip_ > > Proposed \*\*constitutional amendments \*\* that would ban gay marriage have been introduced in Arizona, Georgia, Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Michigan; one is expected soon in Alabama. An Idaho Republican, Rep. Henry Kulczyk, plans to introduce a similar measure there… > > _snip_ > > only 12 states, including Massachusetts, (do \*\*not \*\* have a DOMA). The others are Connecticut, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming. [/quote] I’m from Ohio and I think this law is insulting, embarassing, and just plain wrong. But it’s hardly just about Ohio, is it? Perhaps people should check what their own walls are made of before they start throwing stones, there’s plenty of blame to be spread around. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/47 "2004-02-05T18:23:20Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > [From here](http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/23/gay.marriage.states.ap/) > I’m from Ohio and I think this law is insulting, embarassing, and just plain wrong. But it’s hardly just about Ohio, is it? Perhaps people should check what their own walls are made of before they start throwing stones, there’s plenty of blame to be spread around. I agree, and I’m sorry for singling out Ohio - but it seems like Ohio’s legislation is one of the strongest DoMA’s out there. My understanding, and correct me if I’m wrong, is that Nebraska is the only other state to have a clause prohibiting state-run organizations from extending benefits to same-sex spouses. It just seems particularly mean, and I’m disappointed that I haven’t seen more outrage in urban areas like Cincinnati. I’m really disappointed about Charter Amendment 3 and the fact that 60% of citizens feel it’s necessary to exclude homosexuals from the city charter’s non-discrimination clause. Both of those, combined with the fact that I’ve lived in Cincinnati and know its history with regard to Robert Maplethorpe, Marge Schott, etc., led me to lash out, as it were, at Ohio. By the way: You can’t, by any chance, get a copy of today’s Enquirer, can you? If you can pick one up, would it be possible to send it to me? I’ll send you money for the paper and postage via PayPal… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/48 "2004-02-05T18:24:14Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > It is just state agencies. And folks, just because a company has headquarters in Ohio, it does not mean they agree with this shit. The company I work for is based in Cleveland, and they state in the benefits package that all benefits apply to habitation partners of employees, of both the same and opposite sex. Punishing those companies just because the politicians are shit heads is not fair. I think you misunderstand. It’s not the companies we wish to “punish,” it’s the state itself, by denying it revenues from the taxes paid to them by those companies. Personally, I don’t think it’ll have enough of an impact to even be noticed, let alone felt, but for many, it’s a moral stance. > [@Eve](#): > > _Noooooooo!_ Not Cover Girl! But . . . but . . . Cover Girl’s “Rose Quartz” lipstick is the only shade that is absolutely perfect for my complexion! Oh, crap. . . . Can I use Cover Girl if I promise to blot my lipstick by kissing another woman? I was about to jump up and down and yell, “Pick Me! Pick Me!” But then I remembered that even if I weren’t boycotting their products, I’m highly allergic to Cover Girl makeup. And I’m married now, too, so I don’t think my husband would approve. Althoooooough, he likes you an awful lot, **Eve** , so perhaps he’d consider making an exception. But then we’re right back to that allergic thing. Can you switch to Maybelline’s “Forever Lipcolor” in [peach](http://www.maybelline.com/perl/view_details.pl?category=lips&sub_category=lipstick&item_code=700LPC)? It looks like a pretty close match to the Cover Girl [rose quartz](http://www.thelipstickpage.com/library/lipp.shtml#Pink)? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/49 "2004-02-05T18:38:42Z")
For some reason I thought the editorial on the subject, titled [Ban hurts retention, recruiting](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/05/editorial_doma0204.html), was about something else entirely… ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/50 "2004-02-05T18:48:02Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > By the way: You can’t, by any chance, get a copy of today’s Enquirer, can you? If you can pick one up, would it be possible to send it to me? I’ll send you money for the paper and postage via PayPal… Hon, I’d do it for free, but I’m up in Toledo and don’t know of any places that carry the Enquirer other than the library… Sorry! Hopefully one of our Cinci dopers will wander by soon and be able to help you out. ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/51 "2004-02-05T18:59:36Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > Hon, I’d do it for free, but I’m up in Toledo and don’t know of any places that carry the Enquirer other than the library… Sorry! Hopefully one of our Cinci dopers will wander by soon and be able to help you out. Heh, you don’t want to drive down and pick one up? I remember it as a fun drive… 😉 Thanks, though. Maybe I should have called this thread “Why does the Queen City hate gays?” to attract more Cinci Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@The\_Man\_With\_The\_Golden\_Gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_With_The_Golden_Gun)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/52 "2004-02-05T20:16:32Z")
There are times when I love this state. This isn’t one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/53 "2004-02-05T20:22:52Z")
> [@GrizzRich](#): > > Well, moving here SEEMED like a good idea at the time. I just moved here a month ago. I’m wondering if I can get my VA driver’s license back. I’m almost embarrassed to give my address as an Ohio address. Mr. avabeth is a lifelong Ohioan, so at least I know that the entire state doesn’t feel this way about gay marriage. Well, the first thing I did when I got here was to get a new driver’s license and register to vote. Should this ever come up in the polls, at least I have the ability to give it a big “Fuck you”. Ava ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/54 "2004-02-05T20:53:00Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > _Noooooooo!_ Not Cover Girl! But . . . but . . . Cover Girl’s “Rose Quartz” lipstick is the only shade that is absolutely perfect for my complexion! Oh, crap. . . . Can I use Cover Girl if I promise to blot my lipstick by kissing another woman? Procter & Gamble apparently lobbied against the bill. They offer same-sex benefits, according to this editorial: > **[Cincinnati News, Sports and Things to Do | Cincinnati Enquirer](https://www.cincinnati.com)** > > Breaking Cincinnati news, traffic, weather and local headlines from The Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper. Julie ---
**Author:** ![sperfur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9adbd/32.png) [@sperfur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sperfur)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/55 "2004-02-05T22:03:36Z")
> [@Lok](#): > > It is just state agencies. And folks, just because a company has headquarters in Ohio, it does not mean they agree with this shit. The company I work for is based in Cleveland, and they state in the benefits package that all benefits apply to habitation partners of employees, of both the same and opposite sex. Punishing those companies just because the politicians are shit heads is not fair. I would agree with you if you hadn’t started off with ‘It is just state agencies.’ It’s so much more than that. The message of hatred this bill is sending makes me sick. > [@Shayna](#): > > I think you misunderstand. It’s not the companies we wish to “punish,” it’s the state itself, by denying it revenues from the taxes paid to them by those companies. Personally, I don’t think it’ll have enough of an impact to even be noticed, let alone felt, but for many, it’s a moral stance. I understand this, but I have a question. How do you weigh boycotting this company because it will generate revenue for Ohio against supporting this company because it offers benefits to same-sex couples and lobbied against this bill? From The Enquirer - [Ban hurts retention, recruiting](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/05/editorial_doma0204.html) - 6th paragraph > [@](#): > > Several companies that offer partner benefits to same-sex couples, such as **Procter & Gamble** , Federated Department Stores and NCR, lobbied against the bill. bolding mine If P&G had done nothing, the boycott would make more sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/56 "2004-02-05T23:46:14Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > For those of you telling me to make sure people in Ohio know about my personal boycott… > > I wrote a letter to _The Cincinnati Enquirer,_ detailing my disgust at this legislation. Five minutes later, I get a call from an editor. They’re running it on the Op/Ed page in tomorrow’s paper. > > Are there any Cincy Dopers who’d be willing to send me a copy of tomorrow’s paper? I’ll PayPal postage to you. I’ll bring you one on my next trip down (although I don’t get _quite_ all the way to Sanibel). Here’s an [editorial](http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/02/05/editorial_doma0204.html) against the ban in today’s paper, which is especially interesting as the Enquirer is generally fairly conservative. I can’t find any letters from the editor in today’s online edition. On my drive back up from Florida today I caught part of G. Gordon Liddy’s show on talk radio, discussing the Massachusetts’ Supreme Court’s ruling that requires the state to allow gay marriage. Their “intellectual” argument against it: “it’s the most revolting thing I’ve ever heard of”. Granted I didn’t listen to the whole show, but at least a specious argument would be better than that. PS to **Otto** : my ass is yours, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/57 "2004-02-06T00:30:45Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > PS to **Otto** : my ass is yours, baby! I like a man who ends a sentence with a proposition. You _are_ a man, aren’t you? Let me know next time you’re in my neck of the woods and I just may take you up on it… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/58 "2004-02-06T00:32:49Z")
That’s about as intellectual as Plumber Man gets. That megawatt light reflecting into your eyes? That’s Liddy’s patented ChromeDome Idea Reflector. Guaranteed to keep all common sense and good ideas from entering whatever he’s using as a brain. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/59 "2004-02-06T02:01:22Z")
I just sent the tourism board a financial breakdown of the money I spend on a typical visit to my sister in Ohio. > [@](#): > > gay sex is just more fun than the lame-o man-woman kind And now it will be even better because I’ll have all that money I didn’t spend in Ohio to jazz it up with. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![black\_rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f19dbf/32.png) [@black\_rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/black_rabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454/60 "2004-02-06T02:06:12Z")
Oddly enough, my fiancee and I are in Wedding Defcon 5 at the moment. We’re almost at the point where she cusses my mother out. How convenient that this bullshit would come up just as we’ve settled on dropping of a shitload of cash on a wedding reception across the river. Here’s the letter we just sent to the guv: > [@](#): > > Governor Taft, > > Thank you for making your position clear on the issue of same sex unions. > > We are a loving, heterosexual couple from Cincinnati who are in the midst of planning our upcoming wedding, and we find it serendipitous that this issue should arise at a time when we have an opportunity to make a difference. > > In the light of the passage of the DOMA by the legislature, and in anticipation of your signature of the bill, we have decided that we would prefer to spend our money in Kentucky. > > We will be hosting a reception for approximately 350 guests, and expect to spend at leat $15,000. In addition, we will be booking hotel rooms for several dozen relatives. > > Not a dime of any of this will be spent in the state in which we live, and we will discourage our friends and family from making any purchases toward the event in Ohio. > > While we realize that Kentucky has its own discriminatory legislation, your lack of moral leadership in this time of controversy makes us feel that we have to split the difference in the way we choose to publicly express our love and commitment. > > The only part of the day that will take place in Ohio will be at the ceremony itself. We will be married at Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral, which is reknowned for its efforts to extend basic human rights and dignities to all people. We are quite pleased that our financial contributions to the Church will help support their work. As an added benefit, the state won’t be collecting any taxes on that money. > > We do not feel that it is the business of the government to restrict the rights and priveledges it affords to a particular set of loving, monogamous couples. > > We can only hope that you might change your mind from your stated position of pandering to bigotry and hatred. This legislation cheapens the very institution that its proponents claim to defend. > > Sincerely, > > Polly & Liam [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thanks-ohio-legislature-now-i-know-where-not-to-go-on-vacation/227454.md?page=4)