Cincinnati City Council To Consider Gay, Transgender Protection

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - Protections for transgender people might be added to the city's human rights code under a proposal the City Council is expected to consider next month.
Supporters of the change want to see "gender identity" included as a protected category against discrimination to city code, just like race, religion, disability or sex, The Herald-Times reported today.
Bloomington's human rights commission unanimously urged the council nearly six months ago to make the change, and supporters are getting impatient for the issue to be discussed.
"Why's it taken so long? It's the right thing to do," said Councilman David Sabbagh, who said he'd sponsor an ordinance that would make the change.
Dan Sherman, council attorney and administrator, said a draft is being written and should come up for discussion by mid-April.
Bloomington's current human rights ordinance protects residents from discrimination on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, sex, disability, national origin, color or ancestry.
Groups supporting the "gender equity" provision include Bloomington Beacon, Indiana University's GLBT Student Support Services, Bloomington United and Indiana Equality.
"It's definitely the thing to do. There's a need for it," said John Clower of Indiana Equality, a statewide coalition that fights for civil rights for gay and transgender citizens.
Barbara McKinney, director of Bloomington's human rights commission, agrees that some sort of protection is needed, but she prefers it come under the existing classification of "sex," not the new term, "gender identity."
She said that a human rights ordinance with sex identity, not gender identity, carries more clout and "sends a stronger message that the city takes it seriously."
McKinney said the commission has legal power to investigate sex discrimination because it is recognized by state discrimination law, whereas gender identity and sexual orientation are not.
As a result, even if the city passed the new provision, she said it would not have legal power, including subpoena power, to investigate discrimination based on gender identity and would rely on voluntary participation to resolve a complaint.
But Jacquelyn Bowie Suess, a lawyer with the Indiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, disagrees. She said Bloomington "can add, and enforce, an ordinance provision specifically protecting individuals based on gender identity."
from Indy Star