Powered by Max Banner Ads Our Diversity and Differences Can Be Our Greatest Asset in the Fight for of Marriage Equality by Ed Mullen I know you all missed hearing from me last month (right?), but I had writer’s block. I wrote a long, boring article about communications we do around the state outside of the LGBT community and deleted it because I felt like it was dishonest. Not because... 

Freedom to Marry by Ed Mullen The freedom to marry effort is on the move in Ohio. Last year, I wrote that the road to full marriage equality was a difficult and most likely long one. Over the past few weeks, events in Ohio have made me question that assumption, but other events have reminded me how far we have to go. The recent flurry of activity seems to have begun with a project initiated by Freedom... 

by Ed Mullen Every year is an election year, but the Presidential election every four years draws more attention, voters and money than others. If you have been reading the news or watching TV, you know by now (and have probably known for too long now) that 2012 is a Presidential election year. In the next 10 months, you will hear a lot in Ohio about the Presidential election and learn a lot from the... 

Now Is Our Time by Ed Mullen Happy New Year! A lot happened in Ohio and around the country in 2011 socially, legislatively and politically for the LGBT community. And there is no doubt 2012 will be a very interesting year. 2011 was a year to absorb many changes for Equality Ohio and the community we serve. The economic crisis meant that we had to do more with less. Like all non-profits, our funding... 

Play to Win Equality by Ed Mullen The Gay Games is coming to Cleveland-Akron in 2014. The Gay Games is the largest sporting event in the world. It’s even larger than the Olympics because of its policy of inclusion. I have participated in two Gay Games. I competed in the marathon 1994 in New York and in the triathlon in 2002 in Sydney. Each of those events had a profound effect on me in very different... 

How do we get marriage already? by Ed Mullen Outlook asked me to write an article about marriage this month. No surprise there. Everywhere I go, I get questions about marriage. From our community. From our allies. From everyone. When will we get marriage? How will we get marriage? What are you doing to get marriage in Ohio? Intellectually, the answer is simple: we are doing the long, arduous, oftentimes... 

Equality Now! Are You With Me? by Ed Mullen In 1992, I was offered a job in media relations for a professional sports team. As I left the office of the person who hired me, I ran into a woman I knew who had recently been hired by the same organization. Although I was not out at the time, this woman had known I was gay and had studiously avoided me since she found out. Minutes after I got home that... 

Laws, Love & Loss by Ed Mullen I have always wanted to have kids. I still might someday, but the optimal time seems to have passed. Growing up, I didn’t think gay couples had kids; in fact, I didn’t really know there was such a thing as “gay couples.” But over time, I met role models who were in committed relationships raising children. These couples became parents in many different ways... 

Equality Now by Ed Mullen Recently, there was a lot of buzz about a J. Crew advertisement featuring a mother and her male child with toenails painted pink. Laughably, anti-gay activists saw this as promoting homosexuality and a subversive attempt to make children transgender. But the fact that it touched a nerve among opponents of equality is not a surprise. People who oppose LGBT equality generally... 

Equality Now Celebrating My Pride by Ed Mullen I attended my first Pride event and parade in 1989 in New York City. It was the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, so the event was even bigger and bolder than usual. At that time, the LGBT group at my college (which I chose in part because it was supposed to be LGBT-friendly) was small and not very visible. People studiously avoided wearing jeans...