By Dustin Gardiner | The Arizona Republic
Twenty years after Phoenix shot down a proposal to broadly outlaw discrimination against gay and lesbian residents, city leaders are set to vote on the issue again.
Gay-rights leaders are optimistic public opinion has shifted enough over the past two decades that the City Council will support equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents. They point to the 166 cities and counties across the country that already have adopted similar laws.
“Things have moved at lightening speed, and Phoenix has not,” said Councilman Tom Simplot, the city’s first openly gay elected leader. “We’re playing catch-up.”
Mayor Greg Stanton has fast-tracked reforms to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, which includes those who identify as a different sex than they were born as. The council is expected to vote on the proposal Feb. 26.
Statement by Laura Bianchi, Director RLG’s Estate Planning/Asset Protection Department: “Prohibiting discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations would be an important step towards achieving equality for the LGBT community. My only hope is public opinion in Arizona has shifted enough to allow this ban on discrimination to pass.”
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, director of the Rose Law Group Employment Law and Managed Health Care Law Practice, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
