Anti-Gay Petition Beaten in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, OH -- A conservative group is giving up its efforts trying to remove a Cincinnati ordinance that bans discrimination against members of the city's gay and lesbian community.

The group, Equal Rights Not Special Rights, collected thousands of signatures on a petition to have a repeal measure put before voters in November, but decided to give up its efforts when it Tuesday became clear that a large number of the signatures were fake, including the signatures of "Fidel Castro" and Cincinnati Reds owner "Bob Castellini."

The ordinance, passed in March by The Cincinnati City Council, added gays, lesbians, and transgender people to Cincinnati's human rights law covering employment and housing. Voters in 2004 repealed a restriction in the city charter that blocked Cincinnati from passing any LGBT rights laws.

Gay People’s Chronicle, an Ohio alternative newspaper, reported that Burress turned in 1,592 petition forms to on April 14 after collecting signatures for 30 days. Before turning them in, they had the Board of Elections screen some of the forms, which they estimated had more than 14,000 signatures. The sample showed that only about half were valid signatures of Cincinnati registered voters.

“Those attempting to push discrimination can't honestly get the signatures they need,” said Ralph G. Neas, president of Equal Rights group People For the American Way, in a media statement issued Wednesday. “The writing is on the wall, and the message is that gay and lesbian Americans are full citizens and entitled to the same legal rights as everyone else."