A Letter from the Bishop on Civil Rights

April 21, 2008

Sisters and brothers in Christ,

Today Bishop Breidenthal of Southern Ohio and I, along with our colleagues, Bishops Price, Bowman, Persell, and Williams, have submitted a letter of encouragement to members of the Ohio State Legislature as they consider current legislation that would protect the civil rights of homosexual persons in the State of Ohio, particularly as regards equal access to housing and employment (House Bill 502 and Senate Bill 305).

The text of our endorsement is as follows:

Re: Statement of Support for Civil Rights for Gay and Lesbian Persons in Ohio

Legislation currently before the Ohio State Legislature seeks to secure equal access to housing and employment opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons. The Episcopal Church has stated unequivocally that the civil rights of all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, must be upheld and protected. As the bishops of the two Episcopal dioceses in Ohio, we strongly support the enactment of laws that further this goal in our state. We pray that the demands of justice and equity will guide you as you consider this opportunity to extend a small measure of protection and dignity to our brothers and sisters in the GLBT community.

While there is a wide range of perspective and conviction in our Church and Diocese on issues related to human sexuality, there is and must be consistent advocacy for the civil rights of all people. This is well reflected in Resolutions A069 and A071 of the 65th General Convention (1976) which proclaim respectively that "homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all other persons upon the love, acceptance, and pastoral concern and care of the Church," and that the General Convention "expresses its conviction that homosexual persons are entitled to equal protection of the laws with all other citizens, and calls upon our society to see that such protection is provided in actuality." The pastoral concern and care of the Church includes working to protect such basic rights as equal access to housing and employment.

Gratefully,

The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr.

Bishop of Ohio