Opponents of Anchorage's Proposition 5,
which would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, say if
approved offenders could be jailed.
If approved on April 3, Proposition 5
would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the Anchorage
Equal Rights Initiative. Religious organizations would be exempted
from the law. The Anchorage Assembly approved a similar ordinance in
2009, but it was vetoed by Mayor Dan Sullivan.
In a radio ad released this week by the
group against Proposition 5, listeners are told employers “will be
forced to change their hiring practices or face steep fines and up to
30 days in prison.”
“People who operate their business in
Anchorage would have to violate their conscience or be threatened
with lawsuits and eventually 30 days in jail if they refuse to
violate their conscience,” Jim Minnery, a spokesperson for the
group Protect
Anchorage – Vote No On Prop 5, told NBC
affiliate KTUU.
Trevor Storrs, a spokesperson for the
Yes
on 5 campaign, disagreed, saying that the only people facing jail
time would be those interfering with an official investigation.
“Interference could be like perjury,
destruction of files, not showing up, things of that nature.
Anything that prevents them from completing an appropriate
investigation,” Storrs said.