It may seem like a small victory, but from the city that gave us the likes of Blackwell, Schmidt and Taft, it's an important one.
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060816/NEWS01/608160412/1077Anti-gay rights group gives up Lack of signatures will keep referendum off ballot
BY DAN KLEPAL | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Gay people will soon be protected against discrimination in the city of Cincinnati, for the first time since 1992.
Equal Rights Not Special Rights, a group involved in a petition drive to force a referendum on whether gays should be protected against discrimination in employment and housing under the city's Human Rights Ordinance, withdrew its petitions Tuesday and requested that the referendum not be placed on the ballot in November, or in any future election.
That decision ends a 14-year battle over whether gays should be protected as a class of people - a fight that caused Cincinnati to be viewed by many people around the country as intolerant.
"This shows how much the city has changed," said Gary Wright, co-chairman of a group called Citizens to Restore Fairness, which is in favor of protecting gays. "This is a very important victory and is exactly the outcome we were looking for."
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