Last fall, an anti-gay billboard reading “Holy Matrimony is One Man and One Woman” went up on Olentangy River Road near Grandview Heights. Local LGBT activists answered the billboard by erecting one of their own that read “Marriage Equality! Love Will Win!” nearby.
This week, the “Holy Matrimony” billboard has returned to Fifth Avenue, likely to coincide with the Supreme Court hearing that may strike down Ohio’s same sex marriage ban, bringing marriage equality to the state. With a verdict from the court expected sometime in June, the local activists that put up their pro-equality billboard last time don’t see a reason to do it again.
“Ultimately, we think the Supreme Court ruling will be the ‘smack down’ for this negative billboard,” said Valerie Mailman, owner of Local Liberation, and one of the women featured in the billboard campaign last fall. “The consensus right now is that we are holding back, but we are considering marching the billboard in this year’s Columbus Pride parade.”
To date, no one has been able to find out who is behind the anti-gay billboard, as signage owner American Outdoor Advertising won’t reveal who is paying to display the message, and no one has publicly claimed ownership of the campaign.
In an interview in February, Why Marriage Matters Campaign Manager Chris Geggie told Columbus Underground that while this year’s expected legalization of same sex marriage in Ohio is a big step forward, but much work will still left to be done beyond it.
“Marriage equality is a fantastic issue, but it’s not the only one,” said Geggie. “In June, if they rule the way that they should, we will have 50 states with marriage equality but only 29 with employment and housing nondiscrimination laws in place. So it would be a really sad thing to get married on Monday and come into the office and get fired on Tuesday.”
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