Charlotte, North Carolina City Council
is expected next month to approve an LGBT non-discrimination
ordinance, roughly a year after a similar measure was voted down.
According to LGBT
blogger Matt Comer, supporters believe they have eight of the
eleven votes on the City Council, two more than needed to pass.
After last year's defeat, the election
campaign Turn Out! Charlotte helped elect pro-LGBT candidates to the
City Council.
It is uncertain whether this year's
ordinance will include public accommodations, which became a sticking
point during last year's debate. Opponents decried the inclusion,
claiming that it would allow sexual predators to gain access to
female restrooms by pretending to be women. Despite dropping the
public accommodations, the City Council voted down the proposed
ordinance with a 6-5 vote.
The Charlotte Business Journal
reported that state lawmakers are closely monitoring Charlotte's
vote.
“It's opposed by an overwhelming
majority of Charlotteans,” North Carolina state Rep. Dan Bishop, a
Republican, told
the paper. “I hope cooler heads will prevail and they'll
decide not to go down this path.”
If the ordinance is approved, Charlotte
would become the first city in North Carolina with such protections.