City leaders in Tampa, Florida have
decided in favor of outlawing transgender discrimination.
The City Council approved the measure
that bans discrimination based on gender identity and expression in
the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations with a 5-1
vote.
District 6 Council member Charlie
Miranda altered his previous yes vote during a November 19 second
reading of the bill. Miranda was not available for comment.
Gay groups Pride
Tampa Bay, Equality
Florida and Organizations
United Together (OUT) rallied in favor of the legislation.
“In 38 states it's legal to fire
otherwise qualified employees because of their gender identity or
expression,” R. Zeke Fread, director of Pride Tampa Bay, said in an
email.
“By adding gender identity and
expression [to the list of protected classes] our council members are
sending a clear and strong message that discrimination in the
workplace, accommodations and housing is not acceptable in our city,”
he added.
Fread called passage an “important
victory for our transgender brothers, sisters and our community.”
In an email alert by the conservative
group Christian Issues Council, the group called the ordinance an
“assault on Christian values” and urged members to oppose the
bill.
“Please stop this assault on
Christian values!” Terry Kemple said in the alert. “If the City
Council hears a loud voice from the Church, they'll think twice and
we may actually defeat this proposal. If they don't hear from us, be
ready to lose a few more of the religious freedoms our country was
established to protect.”
The group says it opposes the
legislation because “people who dress like the opposite sex will be
allowed into the restroom of the gender they feel like today” and
“special privileges will be granted because of a person's aberrant
sexual behavior.”
Fread, however, said proponents of the
legislation greatly outnumbered opponents during Thursday's meeting.
“There were so many people lined-up
to speak, the council had to extend the allotted time to accommodate
all the people waiting to address the council by an extra hour,” he
said.