« Law - Restrictive Covenants Stubbornly Stay on the Books | Main | Ind. Law - Girls have right to expect privacy »

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - Indianapolis city-county council to vote Monday on banning anti-gay bias

The Indianapolis Star reports today, in a story by John Fritze, that:

Gay workers and homebuyers would be protected from discrimination under a sweeping civil rights proposal moving toward a vote Monday in the City-County Council.

Indianapolis businesses with six or more employees would be prohibited from treating workers differently because of their sexual orientation or gender identity -- a shift that would go further than federal and state anti-discrimination law.

Under the proposal, businesses could not fire, mistreat or refuse to hire peoplebecause they are gay. Real estate salespeople and landlords could not prohibit gay or transgender individuals from buying or renting a home. * * *

The Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has not taken a position on the proposal, No. 68.

Several of the city's largest employers already have internal policies against discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. Eli Lilly and Co. publishes on its Internet site that it welcomes differences in race, religion and sexual orientation.

Joan Todd, a spokeswoman for the company, did not comment on the ordinance itself but said diversity is key to its business.

"Lilly knows that people are the most important resource," she said. "For us, this is just smart business, and it's also the right thing to do."

Key leaders on both sides of the issue said it was unclear how Monday's vote by the City-County Council will shake out. The council is controlled 15-14 by Democrats, but not all Democrats are expected to vote for it, and not all Republicans will oppose it.

One Republican councilman, Scott Keller, is sponsoring the measure, which was approved by the Administration and Finance Committee 4-2 Tuesday.

Mayor Bart Peterson, a Democrat, said he supports the measure in principle.

"Conceptually, I'm very supportive of it," he said. "I need to study every word in it a little bit closer."

[Update 4/25/05] The Star has an editorial this morning headed: "To be fair, expand anti-bias policy. Our position is: Marion County should add sexual orientation to categories protected against discrimination."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 23, 2005 08:03 AM
Posted to Indiana Government