Cuyahoga County Council on Tuesday
approved an ordinance that adds LGBT protections to its charter.
Cuyahoga County, which includes 60
cities, villages and townships, introduced the legislation in July.
Its county seat is Cleveland.
According to Fox
8 News, the legislation prohibits discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity in the areas of housing, employment
and public accommodations. The county will establish a three-person
commission to investigate discrimination complaints. Fines collected
would be used to fund an awareness campaign.
“The State of Ohio does not have
protections for the LGBT community and we think in Cuyahoga County
it's really important that we provide protections against
discrimination,” said Cuyahoga County Councilmember Sunny Simon.
Strong opposition to the ordinance was
on display during a public meeting held earlier this month.
(Related: In
Cleveland, vocal opposition to proposed LGBT protections.)
After the legislation was announced in
July, the ACLU gave a lukewarm response, saying that it would only
create “ the illusion of protection” because the commission could
not provide “real and meaningful redress” to victims.