On Thursday, October 2, 2008 Stonewall Columbus hosted another “Meet the Candidates Night.” Members of the GLBT community of Central Ohio were able to visit with candidates from both the republican and democratic parties. Last year two legislators, Dan Stewart (D) and David Goodman (R) sponsored the housing and employer non discrimination bill. Audience members were very interested find out which of the candidates were behind this bill and which would support future efforts to have it passed and turned into law. Overall, everyone attending the forum seem to feel as if they really knew how each candidate felt about our GLBT issues.
Last Tuesday, the Center on High hosted “Meet the Candidates Night.” The purpose of the event is to allow the community to meet and ask questions of those individuals in our community who are running for public office. Rob Berger did a fantastic job organizing the event and he also moderated the evening. Attendees wrote questions for the candidates and each had to answer the questions within a minutes time. What was really great about the evening was that so many candidates both Democrat and Republican showed up to speak with our GLBT community. All of them were very interested in our community issues and challenges. As a voter I left the forum feeling very confident and secure about the votes that I will cast in the next month. I encourage everyone to find some time to have some heart to heart and face to face talks with these individuals who are running for office. If you were not able to make it to the center, we taped it for your enjoyment. Although the forum was not intended to be a debate, it did get rather heated so take a moment and check it out. It’s getting HOT in HERE!
HIV infection is on the rise in our community. For so many years this was not the case but recent studies show that more and more gay men in their 30’s and 40’s are getting HIV. It has been difficult for some in our community to consistently maintain safe behaviors. Alcohol and drug abuse are key factors. Individuals who are using are more likely to engage in unsafe sex. There are many men who are living two lives unable to accept their homosexuality. They have unprotected sex with other men and then bring HIV home to their wives or female lovers. One of our missions at the Center on High is to build self esteem in our LGBT community and reduce negative feelings about one’s sexual orientation. We have a free coming out group for men on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month and also a men’s discussion group on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Stonewall Columbus partners with CATF on the 1st Thursday and 2nd Saturday of every month for free HIV testing. The test utilizes an oral swab that requires no blood and no needles. Results are ready in 30 minutes and counselors are on hand to help. Please check out the Stonewall programs on our website a http://www.stonewallcolumbus.org.
On Monday, September 8, 2008, I had the pleasure of speaking for the Damesbond organization here at the Center on High. Approximately seventy business women came together at the center to network and learn about Stonewall Columbus and ask some very important city planning questions of Councilwoman, Mary Ellen O’Shaughnessy. Mary Ellen cruised into the meeting via bicycle after attending council’s meeting downtown. Her method of transportation proved that without a doubt, she practices what she preaches with regards to keeping our city a greener place to live. The event was a great opportunity for women in business to meet one another and make connections. You do not have to have your own business to join the group and it was exciting to have so many new visitors at the center. For a list of upcoming Damesbond events and to find out more information, please visit www.damesbond.com.
