Thank You to everyone who donated to the Stonewall Columbus Pantry Drive!

During our 2010 Pantry Drive items collected were donated to Project OpenHand, a Program of LifeCare Alliance dedicated to meeting the nutritional needs of men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in central Ohio. We received over 275 non-perishable food items, cleaning supplies, health & beauty items and pet food during the drive. We also received a generous $1000 cash donation from a gentleman who at one time had to use Project OpenHand services. Visit our YouTube Channel where Michelle Jones of LifeCare Alliance talks more about Project OpenHand and the services they provide to our community.

Visit http://www.lifecarealliance.org for more information about the organization.

On the night the Columbus City Council approved extending health benefits to the gay and unmarried partners of city employees, more people showed up to talk about the Columbus Clippers.

It’s a testament to how much has changed in the 12 years since city leaders first tried to offer domestic-partner benefits. Then, people packed the City Council chambers to praise the council for taking the side of fairness or to rail against a decision that they said would undermine morals.

Then, opponents gathered enough petition signatures to place the plan on the ballot and the council rescinded it.

Last night, seven people – including two dressed as mascots – accepted a resolution honoring the Clippers on their AAA baseball championship.

And two came to talk about domestic partners: Jim Hartman, a city health inspector, had looked forward in 1998 to providing health care for his partner, Bob. Last night, he thanked the council for approving the benefit, though he said that he and Bob broke up in 2004 after more than 20 years together.

Shirley Cotter opposed the benefits. She said the council has a duty to “make God smile, not make Satan smile.” She said she withholds taxes because the government isn’t doing God’s work.

Councilman A. Troy Miller, who sponsored the benefits legislation, said it was the only opposition, “if that’s what it was,” that he’s heard since the plan became public last week.

Councilwoman Charleta B. Tavares, appointed in 1999, voted at her first meeting to rescind domestic-partner benefits in the hope of bringing them back later. Last night, she took satisfaction in approving the 2010 version.

“We will finally have health care for all of our employees that is fair and equitable,” she said.

This legislation allows health coverage for “an adult with whom the covered employee shares a permanent residence” and who can prove through bank statements, mortgage documents or other means that they are “financially interdependent with the employee.”

Columbus Dispatch, Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Read the Full Dispatch Article Here

16. Columbus, OH
Same-sex couples per thousand households: 5.27 

The Republican-Democratic battleground state of Ohio has become widely known for its anti-gay marriage protests. But that hasn’t stopped Columbus, the state’s capital city, from making the list. Columbus, in fact, has a gay culture all its own: There’s a gay men’s chorus, and it’s host to a huge GLBT organization, Stonewall Columbus. Plus there’s a massive annual gay-pride festival to boot.

Read the Full Story
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-20/the-20-gayest-cities-in-america/

The Stonewall Columbus 2009 Pride Festival has been ranked #5 on the Best Events of Columbus List for 2009 by Columbus Underground from their reader survey.