Voice for Equality: Jennifer Brunner

June 12, 2009

Jennifer Brunner is the Ohio Secretary of State and has been a strong advocate for individual rights for decades.

On June 10, 2009, she wrote an Op-ed voicing her longtime support for marriage equality: “In 1988, I applied for an appointment to the City Council of Columbus, Ohio. I was not chosen, but I chuckle when I think of the calls I received to vet me for the post. One of them was from the leader of a very conservative sect of our local Democratic party. He wanted to know if I supported legislation being considered by city council to allow domestic partnership benefits. I told him that if same-sex couples were permitted to be married, we wouldn't need such special legislation, and that I would prefer to see that. I don't think that was the answer he was looking for or expected.”

Jennifer was elected Ohio’s first woman Secretary of State in 2006, in the wake of Ohio's troubled 2004 election process, pledging elections that were free, fair, open and honest. During the contentious 2008 presidential election in which Ohio was a key battleground state, Jennifer defended Ohioans' voting rights in numerous cases in both state and federal court, eventually winning in the United States Supreme Court to protect voters and their ballots from being targeted for election challenges by partisan operatives. Her achievement in reforming Ohio's election system earned her a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

As an Ohioan, I am proud to claim Jennifer Brunner as a Voice for Equality!

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