On Wednesday the Ohio state Senate narrowly voted to strip state employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights. And buried in that bill is a clearly unrelated provision that prevents the state from for offering any benefits to the partners of gay employees. Think Progress has the text:
Sec. 3101.01 of S.B. 5: … A marriage may only be entered into by one man and one woman. Any marriage between persons of the same sex is against the strong public policy of this state. Any marriage between persons of the same sex shall have no legal force or effect in this state and, if attempted to be entered into in this state, is void ab initio and shall not be recognized by this state. The recognition or extension by the state of the specific statutory benefits of a legal marriage to non-marital relationships between persons of the same sex or different sexes is against the strong public policy of this state. Any public act, record or judicial proceeding of this state, as defined in section 9.82 of the Revised Code, that extends the specific statutory benefits of legal marriage to non-marital relationships between persons of the same sex or different sexes is void.
Same-sex marriage has been banned in Ohio since 2004, so it’s unclear exactly what the aim of the above provision may be.