Ms. Beiser keeps a photograph of her girlfriend, an artist named Linda, on her desk at the library. She wouldn't have dared do that 20 years ago. She said Cincinnati is more accepting now because more gay people are coming out and there is more media coverage of issues that affect gay people. They know someone personally, know them first as a person, and that makes it harder to stereotype them as part of a minority group. But progress, she said, seems to increase the vehemence of those who oppose gay rights.
People feel forced to take one side or the other.
Issue 3 has begun to make her wonder. She has roots and many ties here. I say to myself, maybe I do want to get out of Cincinnati. Issue 3 makes me reconsider a move to a more progressive place. Mr. White was born and reared in Columbus and went to an all-boys Catholic high school.