By Eric Ethington (Salt Lake City, Utah) MAR 16 | In a huge surprise, the Ogden City Council has voted unanimously to overturn Mayor Godfrey’s veto and pass the non-discrimination ordinances.
After a frantic week of work by activists, all 3 holdouts on the city council changed their vote and voted 7-0 to overturn the veto by Mayor Matthew Godfrey and pass the non-discrimination ordinances which prohibit discrimination in employment and housing based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The change came after equality-advocates agreed to add language to the laws which made it clear that the ordinances in no way would violate the 1st amendment, religious freedom or free speech.
Some public comments were still as divisive as ever against with members of Dave Mallinak’s Baptist church claiming that no christian could ever respect “god” and support the “gay lifestyle.”
A LGBTQ activist noted that:
"Equality wins the day once again. The tidal wave of equality sweeps forward, even across the rocky terrain of Utah."
Ogden is now officially the 12th city/municipality in Utah to pass the non-discrimination ordinances. Statewide the public has indicated 3 seperate times that over 70% of them support fair and just laws.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment