Charlotte City Council on Monday voted
down a proposed ordinance which sought to prohibit discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public
accommodations, commercial contracting and taxi services.
The 11-member panel voted 6-5 against
the measure.
Nine councilors voted to remove a
portion of the ordinance that would have allowed transgender people
to use the bathroom of their choice, considered the proposal's most
controversial issue.
More than 120 people from both sides
signed up to speak at a marathon public hearing held before the vote
that went on for four hours.
At a rally held before the meeting
organized by the Don't
Do It Charlotte campaign, speakers insisted that passage would
put children at risk.
“To support this law is to be a
bully,” Jason Jimenez told the crowd of roughly 200. “We as
adults in this city have a right to protect our children. … This
process is corrupt. We are telling the City Council: We know your
dirty business.”
“[I]t opens the door for male
heterosexual predators to pose as women under the guise of being
transgender,” wrote
David Benham, a Charlotte real estate entrepreneur who became a
Christian celebrity last year after HGTV canceled a planned reality
show featuring him and his twin brother ostensibly because of their
anti-gay views. “Remember, being transgendered is a psychological
state of mind that anyone can claim, no matter what clothes they
wear.”
(Related: David
Benham suggests kind gestures can turn gays straight.)
Chris Sgro, executive director of
Equality North Carolina, accused opponents of spreading “fearful
rhetoric.”
“The loudest voices in the room are
not always representing the majority,” he said during Monday's
meeting. “This is the right thing to do, for fairness, for
business and for our community.”
According to the Charlotte
Observer, 17 out of America's 20 biggest cities have approved
similar non-discrimination measures. Only Charlotte, Memphis,
Tennessee and Jacksonville, Florida are without.