Fighting for equality

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - After 2.5 hours of testimony from a packed house, Bowling Green city council approved two anti-discrimination measures.

BG council voted unanimously 7-0 in favor of the housing ordinance, and 6-1 in favor of unlawful discrimination.

Council agreed to remove any political ideology. The only councilman to turn down the second measure was Mike frost, who represents the fourth ward.

According to an outline provided by  The Sentinel-Tribune , a FOX Toledo News media partner, protected classes now include race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender expression, gender identity, sex, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, creed, ancestry, disability, military status, veteran status, marital status, family status, physical characteristics, HIV-status and genetic information.

The Sentinel-Tribune also reports:

The unlawful discrimination ordinance sets forth a detailed process for handling complaints, using investigation, conciliation, a hearing, and an additional conciliation, before going to a complaint process that could lead to up to $1,000 in fines. Failure to comply at that point would be a fourth degree misdemeanor. The process also provides for judicial review or civil cause of action in extreme cases.

Council also considered eliminating the physical characteristics protection. That failed on a 2-4 vote.

At-Large Member Robert McOmber said he expects the unlawful discrimination ordinance will face a referendum.

Any referendum would have to be filed within 30 days of the time the ordinance is signed. Given that the filing deadline for the November election is Thursday at 4 p.m., it is unlikely any referendum would make the ballot until the Nov. 2010 election.

Hal Brown from The Sentinel-Tribune contributed to this report.

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From earlier reports

Many Bowling Green residents are pushing for more protection against discrimination.

It's already against the law to discriminate based on race or religion in the city, but some are hoping to expand the list.

"I have a lot of friends that have different lifestyles and I don't think anyone should be discriminated against or not receive housing or jobs because of that," said Lynne Umbarger, an ordinance supporter who works with those who are disabled.

If legislation is passed Monday evening during a Bowling Green City Council meeting, it would help protect more groups from discrimination.

"As a gay individual it's odd to feel like you're constantly having to fight for equal rights," said Paul Valdez, who supports the legislation. "

Valdez is associated with the group "Equality BG," which proposed the ideas to council. Equality BG wants to expand Bowling Green's Fair Housing Code.

The other ordinance deals with things like employment policies and education.

If the measure is approved, Valdez said more residents would be treated fairly - gays, transgenders, military personnel, pregnant women and people with HIV.

"I think it's time for BG to adopt something like this - members of the community," he said.

But those against the ordinances say fair housing laws are sufficient and if it's not broke don't fix it.

They think the ordinances would create problems, they say they're written too vaguely and would cause challenges with costly processes, they also say it would create hardships for businesses and deter them from coming to the city.

"I think that's a step backward in where we are right now," said Annie Russell, a BGSU employee who supports the measure. "The U.S. congress is looking at a bill that would extend the civil rights legislation to include woman and LGBT folks. That's what this ordinance would do in BG in a lot of ways."

The meeting was moved to the Simpson Building on Conneaut Avenue due to an expected large turnout. The city administration expected many people to show up and weigh in on the issue. As of 10:15 p.m. council was still fielding testimony from citizens and had not voted on the issue.

(FOX Toledo's Kristi Leigh contributed to this report)