They just didn't know it would take 11 years for the battle to begin again, or that the opening salvo would be delivered by Mayor Charlie Luken.

Luken's appeal to Cincinnatians to change their minds on gay rights came 22 minutes into his State of the City address Monday at Union Terminal - a speech that dwelled considerably on Cincinnati's national reputation as a "less-than-tolerant place."

Cincinnati Mayor Chrlie Luken delivers his State of the City address at Cincinnati's Museum Center. (Michael E. Keating photo)

"There is something else hanging over our heads in Cincinnati. It's called Article XII," Luken said, referring to the charter provision that prohibits City Council from banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"It stands as a symbol that Cincinnati is willing to tolerate discrimination for one class of our citizens. In my view, it singles out one category of citizens for unfair and discriminatory treatment, and it should be repealed in 2004," he said.

As Luken delivered those lines, Lisa Haller was one of two dozen people in attendance to spring to her feet. The president of the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau said Cincinnati has lost business and visitors because of the charter provision.

"Cincinnati is such a fabulous destination. We need to keep the doors open for business travelers of all races, colors, ethnicities, et cetera," said Haller, one of a growing number of downtown business leaders who see the charter amendment as a hindrance to the city's economy.

"The time is right," she said.

Phil Burress, the chairman of the committee that put Article XII on the ballot in 1993, wasn't at the speech. He said he was "shocked" when he saw Monday's headline that Luken would lead an effort to repeal what voters had already decided.

Article XII passed as Issue 3 with 63 percent of the vote. The charter amendment came the year after City Council voted to add sexual orientation to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance, and has survived constitutional challenges all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"For someone like Charlie Luken to put this in the State of the City, it's all about getting re-elected, plain and simple. His speech is about securing a small minority of votes that are going to campaign for him and give him money," Burress said. "Charlie Luken needs to be reminded that in 1993 when this was on the ballot, there were three politicians who lost their jobs."

In the nine months leading up to the Nov. 2 election, supporters and opponents of gay rights will debate what has or hasn't changed since 1993.

Gay rights supporters will launch their campaign next Monday at Christ Church Cathedral downtown. They've spent the last year quietly collecting petitions to put the issue back on the ballot, and say they have more than the 6,771 signatures necessary.

The strategy of each side is apparent in the names of their campaign committees.

The Citizens to Restore Fairness will frame the issue as one of discrimination. Cincinnati is the only place in America that has such a provision written into its charter, and more than 200 U.S. cities have ordinances banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

"It's about basic fairness, and it's not about anything more than that," said Gary Wright, co-chairman of the Citizens to Restore Fairness. The organization's board includes all seven Democratic and Charterite City Council members; Xavier University President Michael J. Graham; and other business, religious, political and civic leaders.

Similarly, the Equal Rights, Not Special Rights Committee will try to make the case that a law gives homosexuals special rights. Its supporters include Councilman Sam Malone and state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr.

Part of the group's success initially came because it was able to frame the debate through the ballot language. Article XII prohibits the city from recognizing homosexuality as the basis for "any claim of minority or protected status, quota preference or other preferential treatment."

"If the people don't read the language (of Article XII) they will never understand this, because of code words like 'tolerance' and 'discrimination,'" Burress said.

The two sides will also spend hundreds of thousands of dollars - raised nationally - to wage door-to-door and television campaigns.

In an annual campaign finance report filed Friday, the Citizens to Restore Fairness disclosed contributions worth $199,620 in cash, goods and services last year. Big contributors included Procter & Gamble and the New York-based Human Rights Campaign.

The Equal Rights, Not Special Rights Committee did not file an annual statement.

A decade ago, the pro-Issue 3 forces vastly outspent the gay rights faction. Equal Rights, Not Special Rights spent $505,526, compared with $198,362 spent by Equality Cincinnati.

Luken, in his speech Monday, said the 1993 vote was not necessarily indicative of the feelings of Cincinnatians.

"Article XII was passed after an expensive and slick campaign that, I think, misled voters about what was at issue. What is at issue now, as then, is discrimination, pure and simple," he said.

Burress said the numbers haven't changed from 1993.

"It's the same minority," he said. "They're just becoming more organized. Ten years ago they didn't get it and they still don't get it today."

Burress said his internal poll shows 34 percent of Cincinnati registered voters support a repeal effort. He said the survey was conducted in December by The Polling Co. of Washington, D.C. He would not release details.

A survey conducted Monday for WCPO-TV (Channel 9) by Survey USA found similar numbers. Only 32 percent said City Council "should be allowed to pass laws that give protective status for gays lesbians and bisexuals." The polling firm called 500 Cincinnati households Monday afternoon.

---

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com