[Vision2020] Moscow considers ban on anti-gay bias

[Tom Hansen]

Thank you, Moscow.

My faith in my adopted home town is under reconstruction and will be fully recovered when this ban passes before the Moscow City Council.

Courtesy of today's (December 29, 2012) Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

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Moscow considers ban on anti-gay bias
Two Moscow commissions have started talking about whether to urge the City Council to enact an ordinance prohibiting discrimination in housing and employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
If the City Council takes action to do so, Moscow would be the third city in the state to establish these protections.
"I expect us to address this when it comes up, and hopefully we'll be supportive of the concept," said City Councilor Tom Lamar, liaison to the city's Human Rights Commission
That commission is coordinating with the Fair and Affordable Housing Commission to make a joint recommendation to council.
"For me, this is a no-brainer, and let's make this happen," Lamar said.
Discrimination protections exist in Moscow through the federal fair housing and civil rights acts based on race, creed, gender, age and religion.
Idaho's Human Rights Act mirrors these laws, though states can provide more protections, said Ken Nagy, chairman of the housing commission and a Lewiston attorney.
"They apply equally throughout the whole country," he said of the federal laws, "but under neither of those laws are sexual orientation and gender identity protected."
The Idaho Senate this year again declined even to discuss adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state human rights act. Just because change is stalled in Boise doesn't mean cities can't adjust their own municipal laws, said Ken Faunce, chairman of the city's Human Rights Commission.
"Since it's not covered by the state," he said, " each city has to deal with it themselves."
Lamar said the conversation started in November when the city was updating its housing and urban development documents to comply with changes for family and disability status.
"Upon looking at that, I saw that we were not disallowing discrimination because of gender identity and sexual orientation," he said.
Sandpoint's first complaint
Sandpoint was the first Idaho city to put such an ordinance into effect last December, and the first complaint was filed only recently, city attorney Scot Campbell said.
"The process went really well," he said. "We had a lot of community support; no opposition. It's a kind of under-the-radar issue, so there were not a lot of people being discriminated against that came out in support of this."
Under the law, a complaint may result in a misdemeanor offense if a civil resolution can't be reached by both parties involved through mediation by a human relations review board.
"I'm encouraging, basically, a complaint, a written response to that complaint, and then the two parties come together to mediate that," Campbell said, adding city enforcement could follow. "There's one (complaint) and it makes me feel good that somebody's utilizing it. They didn't have that outlet last year."
Boise studied 45 laws
The city of Boise's ordinance was approved about a month ago and takes effect the first of the year.
"This is to fill a void that our council felt was important to fill," said Steve Rutherford, Boise chief deputy attorney, who added he studied 45 city ordinances across the country in the process. "We ultimately landed on criminal penalties, and it's investigated by our police department."
The city has adopted extra steps in the process to reach a misdemeanor - in contrast to Sandpoint - with ways to reduce the offense to an infraction and $100 fine.
Once the city receives a complaint, police detectives are assigned to investigate the allegations. The police report is forwarded to the attorney's office for preliminary screening to make sure it is admissible through the ordinance. The accused person or business is notified of the complaint and mediation is requested. If the parties agree, the city hires an outside mediator who has 30 days to reach a resolution. The case is not filed if a resolution is reached. If negotiations fail, the case is forwarded to city criminal attorneys for review to determine if there is probable cause to file charges. A business involved in a complaint can take steps to remedy any discriminatory issues to reduce its offense to an infraction.
"We talked about this for months, and when we had our hearing in November we had about 200 people come out to testify on this," Rutherford said.
If Idaho's Human Rights Act were ever amended to include protections for people based on sexual orientation and gender identity, he said the city would likely repeal its ordinance and rely on the modified state law.
How Moscow is leaning
Moscow Attorney Randy Fife said he is looking at Sandpoint and Boise's ordinances, as well as one in Salt Lake City.
"They're all similar, but have taken slightly different approaches," he said, adding he is leaning toward the Boise model.
If he was directed to draft an ordinance, Fife said it would be one he felt would be agreeable to city residents. Nagy said the two city commissions will begin taking public testimony next year to determine whether residents believe these rights should be protected and, if so, how. After a recommendation is finalized, it will be sent to the council to consider moving forward with drafting an ordinance. That is planned to occur by mid-spring.
Without these protections, Nagy said there is no basis for people to complain, so its hard to see the problem. Faunce said there are those who do report concerns.
"We've been told about how people are worried about letting it be known they're in a same-sex relationship with their employer, just in case," he said. "In housing, we have several accounts where if you're in a same-sex relationship, you get charged more."
Commissioners disagree
Not everyone on the housing commission is in favor of an ordinance, Nagy said, and he will not be surprised if there are more in the community who speak out against it. He said some people strongly believe the government should not have the right to force a landlord to rent to or an employer to hire someone whose lifestyle runs contrary with their beliefs.
"That is an opinion that is held very strongly by certain members of our community," he said.

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Seeya round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares"
http://www.MoscowCares.com
  
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
 
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