A federal judge has ruled in favor of William Saki, an Ohio man who sued after the state rejected his request for a personalized license plate reading "GAY," which he sought to mark National Coming Out Day and "express a central part of his identity."
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) had rejected the plate as "Inappropriate/Invalid," according to its online registration tool.
Saki then tried to register other plates, including "QUEER" and "HOMO," but those were also rejected, according to the Ohio-based LGBTQ outlet The Buckeye Flame.
Two Ohio Democratic lawmakers say they’re introducing the “Conception Begins at Erection” Act, a proposal that would criminalize men who engage in unprotected sex without the intent to conceive.
State Reps. Anita Somani (D-Dublin) and Tristan Rader (D-Lakewood) are backing the tongue-in-cheek measure that would make it a felony for men to “discharge semen or genetic material without intent to fertilize an embryo.”
Penalties for violating the law would include a $1,000 fine for a first offense, $5,000 for a second, and $10,000 for each one after that.
A rainbow crosswalk in Columbus, Ohio -- part of a federal road safety study -- was defaced when an unknown vandal poured a black tar-like substance across its brightly colored panels.
The incident comes as rainbow crosswalks nationwide face political pushback, with Republican leaders including former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis portraying them as dangerous distractions on the road.
City officials learned of the vandalism on August 25 after a Reddit post and calls to 311 alerted them to the damage. The crosswalk, at Lane and Waldeck Avenues near Ohio State University, had each of its colored panels smeared with the black substance.
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