Kirkwood Passes Protections for LGBT Community
The council voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance that protects residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Kirkwood City Council voted unanimously in favor of an ordinance Thursday night that protects residents from discrimination based on sexuality and gender identity.
The Kirkwood Human Rights Commission (HRC) has spent the past year working on the ordinance that prohibits discrimination relating to employment, housing and public spaces.
City councilors initially expressed their support of the bill during a public work session where Maggie Duwe, vice-chair of the Human Rights Commission, spoke to the importance of protecting Kirkwood's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trangender (LGBT) community and noted discrimination she has faced in Kirkwood as a gay resident.
During its first reading, the bill met with support and opposition and such was the case Thursday night during its second and final reading. To learn about public comment during Thursday's city council meeting, visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Kirkwood is the tenth city in St. Louis County to pass legislation that adds protections based on sexuality and gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy, according to PROMO, a Missouri organization that advocates for LGBT equality.
The ordinance allows residents to take any grievances regarding discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation to Kirkwood's city attorney. A separate ordinance will detail how the city will enforce protections.
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"Ideology assailants report that their crimes stem from their negative beliefs and attitudes about homosexuality that they perceive other people in the community share. They see themselves as enforcing social morals." (APA)
This ordinance not only provides real protections in housing and public accommodations, it helps to contradict the negative beliefs some would use to justify physical violence.