By Leo Shane III
and Jim Siegel
Gannett Columbus Bureau

COLUMBUS - House members gave final approval to an anti-gay marriage bill on Tuesday. Gov. Bob Taft has said he will sign the bill.

By a 72-22 vote, House members agreed to minor changes that the Senate made last month.

The Defense of Marriage Act reiterates that Ohio does not recognize same-sex marriages and would prevent the unmarried partners of state employees from receiving benefits.

Opponents protested that the measure could hurt Ohio's business climate and cost the state jobs.

"This will discourage the best and the brightest from coming here by writing a new form of discrimination into law," said Mary Jo Hudson of Columbus, a member of Ohioans for Growth and Equality, a coalition of gay-rights supporters.

Sponsor Rep. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, said the measure does not affect private companies' benefits. He said he did not expect it to influence corporate expansions or relocations.

House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, said, "There is not much evidence to claim that this has stopped job creation in other states that passed it," he said.

Supporters say the bill will prevent Ohio from being forced into recognizing same-sex marriages from other states and from being forced into offering domestic partnership benefits.

"What are we afraid of?" Rep. Dale Miller, D-Cleveland, asked his colleagues. "What would a relationship between a loving and committed couple do to harm the sanctity of marriage in Ohio?"

Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-rights group, also opposed the bill.

"Our message to the governor is clear that this legislation is divisive, intolerant and mean-spirited," Bill Brownson, a Log Cabin chairman from Columbus, said. "It's not the kind of message that will help Republicans in November."