In the Life: Ep. 2108, "Remaining Vigilant"

[Announcer over theme music] "In the Life," is funded in part by, [Announcer] The H. van Ameringen Foundation. [Announcer] Arcus Foundation. [Announcer] The Estate of Richard W. Weiland. [Announcer] Dewey & Leboeuf. [Announcer] And by the annual support of, "In the Life," members like you. [Narrator Anisha Kansal] With the upcoming 2012 elections, much is at stake in the fight for LGBT equality. [Kansal] In battleground states across the country, [Kansal] LGBT activists are trying to protect themselves against discrimination, and defend the rights they've already won. [Kansal] Tonight on, "In the Life," [Kansal] We revisit our story on Iowa, where activists are fighting against a campaign to repeal marriage equality. [Zach Wahls] Our hope is that we've now had, [Wahls] same-sex marriage in Iowa long enough that people have realized, you know, the sky isn't falling. [Kansal] And in Ohio, an update on how, after years of trying, [Kansal] LGBT people are still seeking housing and employment protections. [Sue Doerfer] The discrimination that's going on in the state of Ohio is so basic, that people are living in poverty. [Voice over music] We brought everybody together. [Larry Kramer] Act up! [Crowd] Act up! [Cheers] [Voice] There is nothing for us to hide. Make a promise. [Music] [Kansal] In December, 2005, Lambda Legal filed a marriage lawsuit in Polk County, Iowa on behalf of six same-sex couples who wanted to marry. The lawsuit known as Varnum versus Brien argued that under the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Iowa Constitution, it is unlawful to bar same-sex couples from marrying. [Judge Robert B. Hanson] The ruling came out in late August, 2007. The case was then appealed, [Hanson] ah, by the defendants to the Iowa Supreme Court. [David Twombley] Of course, we had been sequestered that morning and we did not know the results. [Jen BarbouRoske] You know our adrenaline went absolutely through the roof. Okay, this is it. [Dawn BarbouRoske] You've been through so much, and it's such an emotional issue. I mean it's your life. [Dawn] We won. [Unintelligible] [Clapping] It is unanimous. [Kensal] The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the lower court ruling ordering the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples. [Music] [Music] [Senator Matt McCoy] Iowa has a history of being a state that's among first. Iowa was one of the very first states that actually dealt with slavery before the Dred Scott decision. [McCoy] And we also allowed school children to attend schools together. [McCoy] Iowa was one of the first to admit women to the bar. So, it seems reasonable that Iowa should have taken a position on marriage. [Jen BarbouRoske] What we have found in Iowa, is people, [Jen] take you as a person first. [Jen] As long as you're not harming anybody, and you're doing good things with your life. You tend to be supported. [Jen] That's one of the, you know, the reasons that we felt like the case was going to be successful, is because people here realize, [Jen] well, you know what, those are my neighbors, or those are my friends. All right, you know, my kids play with their kids. And they're good people. [Frederique Boudouani] I don't think it was ever a mystery to anybody here in our small community, [Frederique] that we were a gay couple. Who are these two guys that come in and open the restaurant out of all businesses? [Frederique] And they live together, where they do everything together. [Frederique] But there is this interesting things in Iowa that people sort of don't, don't meddle into your business. I truly think that it's a live-and-let-live state. [David Twombley] Growing up, you know, by the time I was in Junior High, I knew I was different. This type of thing. [David] And you know, maybe the word gay hadn't come to mind. But, my parents had, had such a wonderful marriage. [David] But, you know I always felt. I will never have something like that. [David] You know, I just, you know, it never entered my mind that I could have that. [David] And you know, when all this started, and you know, now I have what they had. [Laughs] [David] And that's such a good feeling. [Laughs] [Cheers] [Kansal] One Iowa is the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization, [Kansal] committed to full equality for LGBT individuals. [Carolyn Jenison] One Iowa has been focused on preserving the freedom to marry, for Iowans. And that has been our focus from a public education standpoint. [Jenison] There's a lot of conversations that have to happen with Iowans right now. But, here's the thing. We are up against the, the biggest challenge of this organization's history. [?] on this election is huge. [Kansal] Stakes were high during the 2010 midterm elections. [Kansal] Control of the Iowa House, the Senate, as well as, the Governorship were up for grabs. And three of the seven Supreme Court Justices, unanimously ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, were also on the ballot for retention. [Bob Vander Plaats] We are going to take all of our effort, all of our energy, all of our resources, all of our network, [Vander Plaats] and we're going to become crystal clear in our focus, on unseating three justices on the November Two ballot. [Kansal] Bob Vander Plaats campaigned against the justices. [Kansal] Iowa for freedom was historic. For the first time it politicized the retention process. [Dan Moore] It was the perfect storm. Bob talked the talk, [Moore] about the justices. He painted a picture, that stuck with the Iowans that wanted to vote no because they were upset about one thing or the other. [Moore] We were given the intellectual arguments. Where Bob was just given the sound bites that stuck with the TV and radio. [Narrator] Liberal, out of control judges. Ignoring our interests, [Judge Robert B. Hanson] They say that, that I, and the Supreme Court of Iowa, exceeded our judicial authority. Because of those people's, ah, disagreement with one decision. The Varnum versus Brien decision. [Hanson] They say that, that is a basis for not retaining us as judges. The reason I say that, that is, um, at best, a misuse of the retention process, ah, and at worst, an abuse of the retention process. Is because that the retention process was never meant to be a referendum on particular decisions. It rather, it was intended to be, ah, an assessment of any particular judges fitness to, [Hanson] ah, hold the position that he or she occupied. [Moore] Justices need to make decisions based on the merits of a case. The case is presented to them. The facts are presented to the justices. [Moore] And they hear out the facts. And then the justices are charged with the duty of applying the law, and applying the Iowa constitution to the facts of a case. And from that they make a decision. [Moore] They're not influenced by money. They're not influenced by power. [Music] [Jason Hancock] And that's pretty much where our coverage really kicked off in a couple months, is trying to find out, [Hancock] where the money is coming from, what it's going to, and who these people are. Now, by the time it was, they're, they were kicking off their judge bus tour of the state, um. [Hancock] There was a half dozen to a, you know, a handful of, of national anti-gay organizations that were spending big money in Iowa. [Mark McCormick] The money that is funding Mr. Vander Plaats campaign is largely out of state money, [McCormick] ah, contributed by special interests. How much money are you getting from this, ah, [McCormick] marriage organization, that's headquartered in Mississippi, as I understand it. [Vander Plaats] I think the National Organization of Marriage is actually headquartered out of Michigan. [McCormick] How much money are you getting from, from those groups? [Vander Plaats] I think, if you take a look at our independent expenditure reports, because we do follow the letter of the law, [Vander Plaats] ah, you'll find out exactly what we're spending. [McCormick] No, it's nuts. [Background conversation, unintelligible] [McCormick] How much are you getting from those groups? [Vander Plaats] I'm the state spokesperson and chaired this deal, but as far as the one night [Vander Plaats] Well, what we have done and they think, [McCormick] Is it fifty million dollars? Is it a hundred million dollars? [Music] [Kansal] In the midterm elections, democrats lost control of the house and the governorship. But held on to a slight majority in the senate. District Judge Hanson was retained. But all three supreme court justices were unseated. [Justin Uebelhor] The day after the election was, was a tough day. [Uebelhor] At the end of the day, we woke up and we realized yeah, we had a tough election night. We lost a lot of, ah, pro quality legislators, we lost the three justices. Ah, but we still realized we had marriage equality in the state of Iowa. Bob, essentially, in my opinion, took the retention vote and turned it into a retaliation vote. We've lost three excellent judicial servants. Justices Streit and Baker and Ternus. [Moore] So, Bob did a real disservice. I think to the people of Iowa and did a great disservice to our Judicial Branch. [Clapping] [Hancock] Nobody really took Bob Vander Plaats all that seriously. [Hancock] He had never won a campaign before. So that was part of the reason, I think that a lot of people dismissed it. [Hancock] Part of the reason a lot of the media dismissed it. It was because, they didn't think they had to take him seriously. [Hancock] But, this was a guy that had the money to do it. Had the organization to do it. [Hancock] And, he was taken for granted that he was not going to be successful in this. [Cheers] [Hancock] It really emboldened the social conservatives and the right. From the very beginning these groups said, This is step one. Like, we are going to start here. And this is going to send a message to judges all over the country. [Vander Plaats] Iowa is in need of bold leadership today. [Cheers] [Kansal] Since the Supreme Court ruling came down in 2009, same-sex marriage opponents have been trying to get a marriage amendment through the Iowa legislature. An amendment to the constitution is the only way to change marriage in Iowa. The Bill would have to pass through two consecutive sessions of the legislature. Then it could go on the ballot for a vote of the people. [Senator Michael Gronstal] I see, a bunch of people, that merely want to profess their love for each other. And want State Law to recognize that. Is that so wrong? [Gronstal] What I've talked to people about is to give me, you know, give me stories about, about what their life is like. I don't want it to be about me and what I believe. I want it to be about real human beings out there, and how their life is different because we have marriage equality. [Music] [Brian Bruening] You know it's funny. [Brian] You wouldn't think that the the institution of marriage would make that much of a difference in your in the day-to-day life. [Brian] I mean we have been together, since the beginning and our relationship clicked very quickly. [Brian] Marriage allows you to say to people, "This is my husband." And people know automatically what that means. It's not, "this is my partner." I mean that was always a problem here, especially since we are in a business together. [Brian] And, because of that, you don't get that, quite the same respect. Or, recognition of your relationship that it deserves. And whereas, marriage clears that up. [Brian] There is no ambiguity in marriage. [Frederique] It's a human right issue. [Frederique] Ah, it's not about religion. We're not talking about religious marriage. I'm not, I don't want to force anybody to, take me into their church. I don't want to go to anybody's church. I respect, sort of people's traditions. I always say that I didn't come here to change people's, anybody's mind on anything. I came here to live my life. I came here in the pursuit of happiness. Ah, like Jefferson so eloquently said. And I wish, that would be across the board for all of us. [Music] [Kansal] On January 19th, 2011, a joint resolution, the first step toward amending Iowa's constitution, was introduced in the house. [Kansal] On January 24th, a subcommittee meeting was held at the capitol. [Kansal] Advocates on both sides of the issue were out in full force. [Representative] This is about House Joint Resolution 6, marriage will be between one man and one woman, shall be the only legal union valid recognized in the state. I am here today because I didn't vote on your marriage, so why should you vote on mine? I'm here today because I believe that, marriage is between one man, and one woman, because I am a Christian. We just want to stay married. We want to keep our rights. I believe that everyone deserves the right to vote. [Kensal] The resolution passed the subcommittee. [Kensal] On January 31st, the Iowa House held a public hearing. A young man named Zach Wahls stood up and testified against the resolution. [Zach Wahls] Ah, good evening, Mr. Chairman. My name is Zach Wahls. I'm a sixth-generation Iowan and an engineering student at the University of Iowa. [Wahls] And I was raised by two women. Our family really isn't so different from any other, Iowa family. [Wahls] You know, when I'm home we go to church together. We eat dinner. We go on vacations. [Wahls] Question always comes down to, well can gays even raise kids. [Wahls] And question, you know, the conversation gets quiet for a moment because most people don't really have an answer. [Wahls] And then I raised my hand and say actually I was raised by a gay couple and I'm doing pretty well. [Wahls] Over the next two hours, I'm sure we're going to hear plenty of testimony about how damaging having gay parents is on kids. [Wahls] But in my 19 years, not once have I ever been confronted by an individual who realized independently, [Wahls] that I was raised by a gay couple. [Wahls] And you know why? [Wahls] Because the sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on the content of my character. Thank you, very much. [Applause] [Kansal] Despite overwhelming testimony against the resolution, it passed the house a day later on February 1st. [Wahls] I think a lot of Iowans are being, they're being played. You know, at that hearing, none of the opponents were talking about, really what, you know, same-sex marriage was doing to the state. They weren't talking about how the sky was falling or anything? They were very smart in how they addressed it. And they, you know, tried to wrap themselves in this banner of democracy. And let the people vote. Let the people vote. And that was like the refrain all night. But, at the end of the day, they kind of missed the point. You can't put these kinds of rights to a vote. So, if you were really going to try and pass this constitutional limit and really let the people vote. It wouldn't just be voting on same-sex marriage, it would be voting, fundamentally on the notion that we have as Americans of equal protection all together. [Kansal] The only thing protecting against a vote on a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, [Kansal] is the democratic-controlled, Iowa Senate, led by Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. [Gronstal] I think there's a fair-minded majority in the Iowa Senate. I don't think people believe it's appropriate to put, discrimination into the State Constitution and believe what we're doing, um, will be, ah, will be positively received by Iowans and, so it's not going to come up for debate in the senate, as long as long as I'm the leader. [Hancock] The big fights on the horizon is going to be in Twenty Twelve, when he Senate Majority Leader Mike Granstal, he's up for re-election. I think that's going to be where the next big round of spending is going to be. I think that's going to be where the next big fight is going to be. Is if, they think, if they can knock him off. Then no one's going to stand in the way of this amendment getting through the senate. [Wahls] Our hope is that we've now had same-sex marriage in Iowa long enough that people have realized, you know, the sky isn't falling. [Wahls] You know, gay isn't catching. You know, [laughs] people aren't feeling, [Wahls] um, that you know Steve and Bob's marriage down the street is affecting their own. [Wahls] And so, we feel very good about the state of the race. But at the same time, there's a lot of pressure from outside groups, and so, ah, we've got a lot of work to do. [Music] [Music] [Jimmie Beall] Our state is pretty difficult sometimes. I think the hardest part is, [Beall] navigating life, just in general. I think it's important that people know that I'm gay and that I have children and that I have, a life and a job that needs to be protected. This is where I am. And this is how I feel and this is the way I like to be. [Toby Newlen] I have a five-year-old son. He's very proud of me. I make sure ever, no matter where we go, that everybody knows that I'm his dad. [Kaslan] Ohio is home to eleven million people. [Kaslan] Like other Americans, Ohioans are struggling to work, live and find the American dream. [Music] [President George W. Bush] Our nation must defend the sanctity of marriage. [Kaslan] In 2004, Ohio voters passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. [Sue Doerfer] Five years ago, Ohio was listed 51st, [Doerfer] out of the states, including DC in the mix, [Doerfer] the worst state for LGBT rights. [Doerfer] Transgender people don't have the right to change their birth certificate. [Doerfer] There's been battles over domestic partner registries. [Doerfer] There was a piece of legislation introduced five years ago, to ban adoption. [Doerfer] We're starting at the very basic kind of stuff. You know the discussion around gay marriage is sort of like, um, we'll talk about that once we have the right to work and once we have the right to live. [Dan Stewart] I've asked people that are common sense, sort of normal folks. [Stewart] Do you think it's right to fire somebody solely on the basis of being gay or lesbian or transgendered. And, ah, most, you know, decent people say of course not. But they have no idea that in Ohio It's actually legal. And you can get away with firing somebody solely on that basis. [Lynn Bowman] Equality Ohio, we refer to it as the phoenix rising out of the ashes of our marriage vote in 2004. [Bowman] There was a group of activists from across the state that came together and said, What are we doing in Ohio, what, what should we be doing in Ohio? [Doerfer] It's a brand new organization really, trying to organize an entire state and build relationships with legislators to, to begin that education about why is this important? How does this affect people? Um, how does this make Ohio look to the rest of the country and the rest of the world? [Ambient noise, wind] [Toby Newlen] I was a corporate trainer for nine years. [Newlen] And, ah, then I managed some large portrait studios. I thought it would be easier to get a job. Um. I have lots of experience in totally different fields. I have management, you know, behind me and things of that sort, and as soon as I started transitioning. I couldn't, I can't find anything. [Jacob Nash] Ohio is only one of three states that will not correct a birth certificate for transgendered individuals. Which makes it very difficult for people when it comes to employment. Because, they're supposed to show all this identification. And if their identification, say their driver's license says male and their birth certificate says female, there's incongruence there. [Newlen] My last job, I lost, ah, because of some complications with restroom usage. Ah, now normally in public, I'll just go into the men's restroom and have no problem. But unfortunately when you get hired, at least in my state, you have to supply a birth certificate. Which is not amended. Um, so it does state female. And, so then they start delegating where you can and cannot go to the bathroom, um. You know, I was, they had made one in the basement of a building available for me. Unfortunately it was, um, inoperable. So I left, the, the workplace to use the restroom off, off base, or what have you, and, ah, when I came back, I had clocked in too late, so I got fired. Um, and this is after they warned me not to use the men's bathroom. [Doerfer] The discrimination that's going on in the state of Ohio against LGBT people and the lack of protection, [Doerfer] is so basic that people are living in poverty because of the discrimination. [Doerfer] Which I don't think most people have thought about, most elected officials don't really think about it until you bring it to their awareness. [Gavel bangs] [Chairman] Bills for third consideration. [Kaslan] In response to the lack of protections, legislation was introduced in the Ohio State House in 2009. [Dale Miller] We're talking about House Bill 176 which is the Gay Lesbian, Nondiscrimination Act, and this bill covers, employment, credit and housing. [Stewart] Businesses know that discrimination is bad for business. [Stewart talks over himself] We've tried to make the argument that why would you want to discriminate against anyone? [Stewart] Ohio, like many states are having some tough economic times. And it also ranks number one, ah, in the country of eighteen to forty year olds leaving their state. So, why would you want to put up, you're not welcome here kind of sign to anyone? [Kaslan] But conservatives have opposed the bill on moral grounds. [Representative Jeff Wagner] When you get down to the root of House Bill 176, [Wagner] it is about forcing acceptance of a lifestyle, [Wagner] that many people disagree with. [Representative] And shame on you, for thinking you know better than other people in this state, what their moral value should be. What really helped was having folks come before the legislature even before we were allowed to have hearings, ah, this, this last session. Um, there were lobby days that were organized by the advocates in the, GLBT community and to have people come in and talk to legislators to, to tell their individual stories. I think one of the best examples of that was Jimmie Beall. [Jimmie Beall] I taught high school. I taught government and law and psych, and, and you know classes that really prepared kids for the rigors that were associated with college. [Beall] I had in fact, just had my final evaluation, and I had just been offered a three-year contract. Two days later, was called in to the Principal's office and told, that despite, just being offered a contract I would be non renewed for the next school year. I would be fired. Ah, and I, can tell you today that I remember exactly how that felt then. I was absolutely stunned. She was fired just because it was suspicion that she was a lesbian. Ah, and this was a woman who was, ah, highly regarded by her peers, by her students. [Stewart] and I knew that actually, ah, more and more personally because, ah, [Stewart] I was a Facebook friend of hers eventually and I saw the comments, from the students who she had, had, in the past, who were now in college, who were writing things about, how proud they were, of her and what she had done and what she stood for. Ah, so those stories started to really make a difference, I think, in, in legislators minds and they got it. [Representative] I rise today in support of House Bill 176. [Representative John Carney] We should stop discriminating. We should support this bill. [Representative Peggy Lehner] And I know that there are many people who may be disappointed by my support for this legislation. [Representative Ross McGregor] And I come at this, not as a, Republican. I come at it as an Ohioan and really more than that just as a plain human being. [Kaslan] The House passed HB 176 by a vote of 56 to 39. [Chairman] The Bill is here by passed. [Kaslan] But the bill never made it to a vote in the Ohio Senate. [Kaslan] Late in 2011, the bill was reintroduced as House Bill 335. [Kaslan] The bill faces an uphill battle with the Republican controlled House and Senate. [Kim Welter] It's not going to be easy. It's going to take Ohioans, really kind of saying. We're going to do the letter writing. We're going to do the contacting. We're going to, you know, get businesses, talking to the senators. Where you know, that we're going to actually do this kind of grassroots work that really needs to be done. [Nash] We have to get more people out there to talk to their senators. It's the meeting the person that really makes the difference, in whether bills get passed or not. [Beall] Are you ready to move to Canada? Why are we still here? When are we moving to Canada? [Mindy Ross] The kids have their roots here. Their friends are here. Their, you know, their school's here. And they don't want, they don't want to leave. And they shouldn't have to. [Beall] So, instead of leaving we become part of the solution. Ohio is our home. I love Ohio and I really love Cleveland. We believe that we will make this change [Newlen] We're just like everybody else with regard to employment, public accommodation, housing. We need the same securities as everybody else does. [Doerfer] I want to be there when the whole state flips. When we see all of our rights. I want to be a part of that. I want to see that happen. [Announcer over music] Thank you for watching, "In the Life." To watch more, "In the States," coverage, visit our website at ITLMedia.org. [Everyone singing] What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. [Everyone singing] No, not just for some, for everyone. [Everyone singing] What the world needs now, is love, sweet love. [Everyone singing] It's the only thing there's just too little of. [Everyone singing] What the world needs now, [Announcer over theme music] "In the Life," is funded in part by, [Announcer] The H. van Ameringen Foundation. [Announcer] Arcus Foundation. [Announcer] The estate of Richard W. Weiland. [Announcer] Dewey & Leboeuf. [Announcer] And by the annual support of, "In the Life," members like you. [Theme music] [Theme music] you