An ordinance passed by Toledo City Council and signed into law by Mayor Finkbeiner a few weeks ago went into effect yesterday. Mayor Carty Finkbeiner on Nov. 21 signed the law that made Toledo the largest city in Ohio to create a domestic-partner registry. It requires the clerk of council to set up a registry for domestic-partner couples, whether of the same or opposite sexes.The Blade reported that one of the first partnership registry requests was from a Universtiy of Toledo provost, Carol Bresnahan. Ms. Bresnahan, who is the vice provost of the University of Toledo, said bigotry is to blame for those who oppose the law. "It's their religious beliefs, and bigotry in the name of religion is still bigotry," Ms. Bresnahan said.
>An example of this religious bigotry came in the form of a letter from the bishop of Toledo which he mandated be read at all weekend masses just before council voted on the measure. A statement from the Toledo Catholic Diocese said that Bishop Leonard Blair was "confident that he speaks for many, many people in Toledo in expressing deep disappointment that both the City Council and the mayor have taken this action."
That letter angered many Catholics in the Toledo diocese causing some to decide to leave the church. I personally know of two such people.
The Blade reports that Cleveland Heights, Ohio, with a 2006 population of about 47,100, enacted such a registry in 2003 after passage of a citizen initiative.
