Friday, February 19, 2010
Votes from Lawrence Human Relations Commission
Those for recommendation:
Scott Criqui
Laura Diaz Moore,
Lori Tapahonso
Those against recommendation:
Kirsten Krug
James Dunn
Kevin Johnson
Jason Barnhill
Video
Lawrence commission discusses gender identity protection
The Lawrence Human Relations Commission heard public comment Thursday about the absence of gender identity in the city's anti-discrimination code.
Reader poll
Do you want the city commission to include gender identity and expression as a protected part of the anti-discrimination code?
- Yes 64% 18 votes
- No 17% 5 votes
- I'm not sure what the anti-discrimination code is. 17% 5 votes
28 total votes.
The Lawrence Human Relations Commission confirmed Thursday its November decision to not recommend including gender identity and expression as a protected category in the City of Lawrence anti-discrimination code.
Students and community members commented on the issue during Thursday’s meeting. Toni Wheeler, HRC city liaison, estimated 75-100 people attended the meeting — an unusually large turnout.
Student body president Mason Heilman attended and spoke at the meeting on behalf of Elise Higgins, community affairs director, and Student Senate. With the Senate’s 2009 decision to include protection of gender identity and expression in University policy, as well as similar action taken by Kansas government, Heilman said the city of Lawrence also needed to amend its current code.
“Students who fall under the protections of a gender identity non-discrimination clause should be protected in the community,” he said. “Not just at the university.”
Heilman said other than a few people concerned with the morality of the issue, most of the arguments that opposed including gender identity and expression were technical in nature, alluding to the problems of defining identity.
Matthew Blankers, a senior from Claremont Calif., said that the current city code failed to acknowledge certain people who needed its protection.
“There are a lot of people who like to believe that Lawrence is some kind of liberal oasis and that this ordinance is not needed because people aren’t discriminated against here,” Blankers said. “But I know of transgender people who have suffered some pretty terrible treatment at their jobs here in Lawrence because of their gender identity.”
Through its recommendations to the city commission, HRC works to eliminate discrimination in employment, public accommodations and housing. Currently, the Chapter 10 code prohibits discrimination because of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, ancestry, familial status, sexual orientation and disability.
Whether to include gender identity and expression has been on the HRC agenda since May 2009. Wheeler wanted to make clear that yesterday’s vote wasn’t about amending the code, but whether HRC approved the report summarizing its previous decision to not recommend including gender identity and expression protection to the city commission.
The commission did not wish to revisit it and wanted to stick by its earlier decision, Wheeler said.
Unless a member of the public or HRC requests the recent vote be reopened for debate, the approved report will be placed on the city’s commission, which could be passed without discussion. Wheeler did not wish to comment on the likelihood that the issue be reopened, nor the opinions of the commissioners.
— Edited by Megan Heacock
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