After more than four hours and 50 speakers Tuesday, the Phoenix City Council approved a proposal 5-3 to expand the city’s anti-discrimination law to include protections for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people in city contracts, housing, employment and public accommodations such as restaurants.
Thelda Williams, Tom Simplot, Daniel Valenzuela and Michael Johnson voted for the measure. Councilmen Sal DiCiccio, Jim Waring and Bill Gates voted against the item.
Gay-rights advocates said Phoenix, the sixth-largest city in the country, is playing “catch-up” with at least 166 other U.S. cities and counties that have adopted similar laws. Those include Tucson and Flagstaff.
Mayor Greg Stanton said the proposal would mean an employer could not fire someone for being gay, and a hotel could not turn away a same-sex couple.
The proposal drew opposition from social conservatives and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. The diocese contends the proposal is too broadly worded and could trample on religious liberties.
Councilman Sal DiCiccio said the vote should’ve been postponed “until it gets a proper vetting.” He called the proposal “extremist and radical for Phoenix” and said it could lead to lawsuits for all businesses that operate in the city.
Opposition to the proposal has intensified in recent days, with some religious and conservative business leaders raising concerns that it would create a regulatory burden for small businesses or allow transgender men to share public bathrooms with women. They have labeled it the “Bathroom Bill.”
In response to those fears, the council amended the law to clarify that religious groups are exempted, meaning they can exclude gay and transgender residents because of their religious principles. City officials had different interpretations about whether an earlier version would have allowed churches to exclude transgender people.
Information from The Associated Press, The Arizona Republic and Cronkite News
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