The Cincinnati Enquirer Chris Good, a parade organizer, stands in front of a banner that will stretch across Hamilton Avenue in Northside. One outcome could be an attempt to throw out a city prohibition against protections for homosexuals, believed to be the only one of its type in the nation. One gay-rights group is already collecting signatures for a possible repeal attempt. Some say Issue 3, the 1993 city charter amendment that prohibits the city from adopting any laws protecting gays and lesbians, is bad for business and could hurt the city's bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Parade begins at noon.
Parade will follow 1.8-mile route from Burnet Woods on Ludlow Avenue, across Ludlow Viaduct and onto Hamilton Avenue in Northside, ending at Hoffner Park. A festival and stage show will be held from 1-5 p.m. today at Hoffer Park, Blue Rock Road and Hamilton Avenue, Northside. The donation was the first to gay employees for use other than in internal company business. More local companies are offering health care and other benefits to partners of gay and lesbian employees, says Michael Hawkins, a lawyer and partner in the firm Dinsmore and Shohl and former chairman of the Cincinnati Human Relations Commission. Jack Rouse Associates, a Cincinnati design firm involved with Riverfront development, started offering partner benefits in April 1999.