Add the Words, Idaho thanks Boise City Council

January 31, 2013 by Leave a comment

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A statewide organization working to add the words, “sexual orientation and gender identity” to Idaho’s Human Rights amendment presented members of the Boise City Council with a big “thank you” on Monday.

In December, council members unanimously approved an ordinance that prohibits discrimination against the LGBT community in cases of housing, employment and public accommodation within city limits. The ordinance took effect in January.

Members of Add the Words, Idaho view the passage as a huge step towards achieving similar protections on a statewide level.

Monday’s presentation, which occurred during the council’s normal working session, included a few remarks by organization leaders Mistie Tolman and Emilie Jackson-Edney. The pair reiterated to the council just how much the ordinance means to Boise’s LGBT community and to them personally.

Members of Add the Words, Idaho then presented plaques to the council that read,”On behalf of the city of Boise, thank you for leading the way to create a more safe and equitable community.”

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They also presented council members with a poster made up of 320 sticky notes from Boise residents thanking the council for its support.

Following the presentation, council members each took the time to thank the organization and to reiterate why they supported the ordinance. Boise Mayor Dave Beiter told the crowd, “I knew ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was a failed policy, what I wasn’t aware of, before working on this ordinance, that we had the equivalent right here in our own city.”

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Click HERE to learn more about ADD the Words, Idaho.

Filed under LGBT, Pride, The Agenda, Transgender Tagged with , , , , , ,

Unanimous: Ketchum City Council passes city-wide Non-Discrimination Ordinance

January 23, 2013 by 4 Comments

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Lesbian, gay. bisexual and transgender folks who live, work and play in the south-central Idaho town of Ketchum will soon be included in a citywide non-discrimination policy.

The Ketchum city council passed the ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity in cases of housing, employment and public accommodation, unanimously, after a third reading of the measure on Tuesday night.

Mayor Randy Hall told the Idaho Mountain Express in December that for him the issue was “simple”

“The city has zero tolerance when it comes to discrimination based on somebody’s sexual orientation,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we lead by example and make sure everybody understands that there will be no discrimination in Ketchum..”

The next step will be to create a “Human Relations Review Board” which “would be formed to investigate complaints of violations of the ordinance. The emphasis of the ordinance will be on “mediation and education.” However, violators could be charged by the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with a misdemeanor,” the newspaper reports.

Ketchum is the third city in Idaho to enact such an ordinance. Sandpoint passed its anti-discrimination ordinance in 2011 and Boise passed a similar measure in December. Leaders in Pocatello, and Moscow are also considering adding their own anti-discrimination bans.  Driggs considered its own proposal in November but council members voted not to move the measure forward.

According to reports, Idaho Falls was scheduled to have the first reading of its anti-discrimination ordinance tomorrow night.  However, the City Clerk’s office says it isn’t on the council’s agenda. There are also reports that the measure maybe changed to a simple resolution, which, while still encouraging, wouldn’t carry as much weight as a full ordinance.

Filed under Call To Action, LGBT, Pride, The Agenda, Transgender Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Sandpoint Adds LGBTQIA Protections to City’s Anti-discrimination Law

January 11, 2012 by Leave a comment

The residents of Sandpoint didn’t wait for a statewide amendment to help stop discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,  queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual individuals.

On December 23rd, the city council added by adding sexual orientation and gender expression to enhance anti-discrimination laws already in place. According to the Bonner County Daily Bee, “Idaho legislation already protects citizens from discrimination against age, disability, race, color, national origin, religion and sex. The ordinance enhances state law by adding sexual orientation and gender expression to those protected classes. A human relations review board of at least three mayor-appointed individuals will review discrimination complaints regarding employment, housing or public accommodation and discard frivolous matters.”

“Appropriately titled “Discrimination Prohibited,” the ordinance “reaffirms our stance against discrimination,” said John Reuter, who has served on the Sandpoint City Council since June 2008 and is currently council president. “We believe that if we have the ability to make a stand in our small town, we have an obligation to do so,” reports the Pride Foundation’s Steve Martin in an email.

This isn’t the first time the northern Idaho town has led the rest of the state on human rights issues. According to the Bee,”Reuter first proposed the ordinance to maintain Sandpoint’s history of proactivity in human rights issues, a background evidenced by the adoption of Martin Luther King Jr. Day before the rest of the state.”

According to Martin, “The ordinance states in part that “in order to ensure that all persons, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity/expression enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and are afforded equal opportunities for employment, housing, commercial property and the use of public accommodations, it is necessary that appropriate legislation be enacted.”  Reuter said Sandpoint modeled its ordinance after citywide non-discrimination ordinances passed in Salt Lake City, Utah and Missoula, Montana.”

There is a move underway to pass a similar ordinance statewide. You can learn more by visiting www.addthewords.org.

Filed under Call To Action, LGBT, Pride, The Agenda Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

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