The Morgantown City Council on Tuesday
voted unanimously to add protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender residents to its human rights ordinance, making it the
11th city in West Virginia to do so.
City leaders agreed to add sexual
orientation, gender identity, familial status and veteran status to
its ordinance. It now reads: “Equal opportunity in the areas of
employment, public accommodations, housing accommodations or real
property is hereby declared to be a human right or civil right of all
persons without regard to race, religion, color, national origin,
ancestry, sex, age, blindness, disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, familial status, or veteran status.”
Mayor Bill Kawecki applauded the move.
“The only thing I'd say is this
simply verbalizes the kind of community I really hope that we are,”
he said. “I'm happy that's the case, because that's the kind of
community I want to live in.”
According to the Charleston
Gazette-Mail, Kawecki said that about 45 people spoke in
support of amending the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting and three
people spoke against it, two of whom were not residents.
Andrew Schneider, executive director of
Fairness West Virginia, said that passage “sends a strong message
to the state Legislature that West Virginia is more than ready to add
sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's
nondiscrimination law.”