CAPITAL COVERAGE NEWS SERVICE
media in the public interest
Pink Paradigm
Wants Games Here
Activists Target Olympics
Head with Anti-Gay Record
By John Zeh
Capital Coverage News Service
6/1/99
CINCINNATI - Gay and lesbian activists told people in the campaign to make this town the US Bid City for the 2012 international Olympic Games May 23 that their work is in danger due to anti-gay discrimination here.
Cincinnati 2012 Inc. held its first major fundraising event at Sawyer Point along the Ohio River, prompting members of Pink Paradigm to leaflet participants
The new group organized to promote gay and lesbian visibility distributed pink educational flyers to support the Olympic bid, but with a caveat that the International Olympic Commission is committed to sports without "discrimination of any kind."
They argued that Nick Vehr, the former City Council member who voted against gays while in office and now heads up the Olympic effort here, should redress their grievances by removing the city's "disqualiying bias," and work for fairness.
The international Olympic charter forbids discrimination of any kind, said Jenn Cunninghamm, 27, a resident of the Oakley neighborhood. "We want to give Cincinnati the best shot to have the Olympics here, In light of what happened in Cobb County, Ga., we think Cincinnati 2012 should address the issues of discrimination and equality," she insisted.
Olympic events were withdrawn from the Atlanta suburb and the Olympic Torch relay was rerouted because of the county's resolution condemning the "gay lifestyle."
The Queen City has a similar law that could eliminate the town from the list of candidate cities for the 2012 Games, Pink Paradigm members said. "Save the Olympics," the group's flyer said, "It's more than fun and games."
The Issue 3 charter amendment, approved by a 62%-38% margin in November 1993, bars municipal protections based on gay, lesbian, or bisexual "orientation, status, conduct, or relationship."
After Issue 3 passed, City Council removed sexual orientation from its Human Rights Ordinance on March 8, 1995, with then-councilman Vehr voting in favor of the removal.
Vehr is now president of Cincinnati 2012 Inc. Asked at the rally by the Gay People's Chronicle for comment, Vehr declined to discus the Paradigm's demands or even read the small hand-out. "It's a free country and this is a public venue," is all he would say of the Pink Paradigm members, each dressed in pink tee shirts.
Efforts to overturn Issue 3 failed when the US Supreme Court declined to take up the case. An effort by Stonewall Cincinnati, Citizens to Restore Fairness, has not issued a report. Stonewall is about to undergo go a leadership changed with the recent resignation of executive director Lycette Nelson who is said to be planning to enter law school. Pink Paradigm was launched to increase visibility initially by buying ads on major billboards throughout town.
After defeat May 19 of an amendment to the city's hate crimes law that would have included gays, Pink Paradigm memebers say they are well on their way to achieving their first goal.
A fundraiser at the Pipeline bar earlier this month and one set for June 25 at Upstairs at Carole's on Main, a popular restaurant downtown, are expected to help provide funding for the billboards' rental.
Pink Paradigm facillitator Michael Blankenship called on Vehr's group to acknowledge that its bid in endangered due to passage of Issue 3. "We believe that this is a disqualifying bias," he said, wearing a yellow pansy he had found in a flower bed along the riverfront.."We expect the organizing committee to disapprove of discrimination and stand up for fairness in our city. "
Nine Paradigms members had hundreds of leaflets left over because the 5 pm "Catch the Spirit" event drew only a few hundred people by 6:30 pm. Olympic supporters paid $65-$150 each to watch exhibitions of Olympic sports and enjoy music, food, and other attractions.
After the fund-raiser, The Commodores performed a free concert next door at the Bicentennial Pavilion. Members of the band's entourage gladly accepted flyers from Pink Paradigm members, who enjoyed a lavish feast of their own later at Arnolds, the town's oldest working tavern. Transgender activist Ricky Nye, who has served on the board of Transport here for three years, performed on the piano in the cafe's courtyard.
In April, Cincinnati 2012 Inc. appointed a committee of more than 25 business and community leaders to prepare the city's bid to be named the US Olympic candidate city. Their bid is due at the US Olympic Committee in December 2000. The USOC will name the US candidate city in 2002.
Vehr "was instrumental in getting Issue 3 passed," declared Peter St. John, a Pink Paradigm organizer and longtime Walnut Hills resident. "And he keeps saying, 'Catch the Spirit.' He says he wants the entire community to be involved, or is it really just 90 percent?
Pink Paradigm member Jeff Wehner, a chemical engineer, said he considers Vehr's call to "come together" completely "disingenuous in light of his voting record on human rights."
While getting a degree last year from the Northern Kentucky
University Chase College of Law, he said he realized that "it
takes more than relying on legislators to foster fairness and
equality. The people must step forward."
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Cincinnati native John Zeh publishes PRAXIS, an e-journal of
current events and affairs, and LINX, a local media directory.
He's at JohnZeh@aol.com
