Kokomo City Council gives final approval of LGBT protections ordinance

With the same 5-4 vote as last week’s first reading, the ordinance will be brought to the desk of Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight, who urged the council to pass the measure, for final approval. He is likely to sign the ordinance Tuesday, according to city officials.

Voting against the ordinance Monday were Democrats Bob Cameron and Mike Wyant, and Republicans Cindy Sanders and Tom Miklik. Council President Bob Hayes, Vice President Mike Kennedy, and members Steve Whikehart, Donnie Haworth and Janie Young voted in favor.

Sponsoring the ordinance, Whikehart, who said he received roughly 300 phone calls in the past week, has been the public face for many on the issue. But his responsibility, he said, was shared by those on the council also supporting the measure.

“This bill was just focused on the future, and so many of us are in the same stance,” said Whikehart. “I think that we are looking to just move forward with this, coming together as a community. The best thing that’s happened has been the fact we’ve had an open discussion about the LGBT community.

“In order for us to all come together as a community, that was the first step. And we did that, we accomplished that. It’s been paramount to me that we send a message across the state and nation that Kokomo is a welcome and inclusive community.”

The council amended the human rights municipal code to include LGBT protections, specifically a ban on discrimination concerning a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition to LGBT protections, council members voted to bar discrimination related to a person’s marital status, age or veteran status.

Local municipal protections were formerly given only to residents based on race, religion, color, sex, familial status, disability, national origin and ancestry.

The affected residents will now be protected in the areas of housing, financial institutions, employment, labor organizations, public accommodations and education.

“I do understand the true historical significance of tonight,” said Hayes. “I understand the concerns of both sides, but as an elected official, there are times when we need to lead, and I think this council led when they needed to.”

After the meeting, Sanders, who also spoke to those in attendance before public comments, said the changes will have a negative impact on the community.

“Women and children, both male and female children, are going to be affected,” she said, citing oft-mentioned concerns with sexual predators abusing gender identity protections to enter bathrooms. “I believe that many people in the community won’t be willing to come here."

In addition to those concerns, Sanders said she thought the ordinance was hurried, divisive and infringed upon First Amendment rights, all concerns raised by speakers during the meeting. She also referenced the ordinance’s controversial penalty section, an issue addressed prior to the meeting by Whikehart.

Many have criticized the potential fines of up to $2,000 that could be levied against “any person who engages in an unlawful discriminatory practice,” a penalty that has been part of the human rights ordinance since August 1994.

As Whikehart noted, the fine can’t be levied by the city, only a Howard County court. Before a court becomes involved, a subcommittee of the Human Rights Commission, which will move from 11 to seven members after Monday’s vote, will need to determine discrimination cited in a complaint took place.

If a resolution can then not be reached by the two parties, the full commission will then decide whether to issue a cease and desist order. That decision can be appealed.

If the cease and desist order is issued, and ignored, though, a lawsuit can be filed by the commission attorney. It would then go to court, where, if a judge determines the commission’s findings are accurate and the discrimination is ongoing, a potential $2,000 fine could be levied.

Some in attendance, though, combined Sanders’ concerns, citing both the issue of fines and the fears associated with public restrooms.

Speaking during the meeting was Kokomo resident Mariah Roberts, who asked council members to consider their own families when voting on the ordinance.

“Do you have kids, grandkids or wives? If you do, imagine them being little, or if they already are, imagine them going into a bathroom that allowed any LGBT person with them,” she said. “Would you want them being exposed to a man trying to be a woman, or a woman trying to be a man?

“Just imagine how that would confuse little innocent and pure eyes and minds, which God calls us to guard and protect. You are creating fear by this. You would have so many pedophiles hide behind this law to take advantage of women and children because they won’t be stopped by any employee since they would be fined up to $2,000 a day for so-called discrimination.”

Multiple times both before and after the meeting, Hayes and Whikehart -- who distributed to council members a packet that listed 17 states with gender identity protections that reportedly have not experienced such crimes -- criticized those making similar arguments.

Whikehart officially pointed to Indianapolis, which he said have no documented instances of people abusing gender identity protections.

“Other human rights commissions that we spoke to honestly laughed at the question, because it’s been that pandering and the rhetoric that they experienced, too,” said Whikehart, who blamed out-of-town activists for spreading concern. “Once it went into law, they never had that happen at all. … It’s not going to open up the floodgates for situations I don’t even want to get into.”

“Outside lobbyists have used this as an opportunity to spread their cause by any means, stirring up the most vile fears imaginable,” said Hayes just prior to the vote.

Transgender Kokomo resident Brooklyn Leigh also addressed the issue, saying restrooms are, in fact, her biggest fear.

"It is pure hell for us," she said. "If I were to be myself, and wear makeup and women's clothes and go into the men's bathroom, I open myself up to hate, name calling, assault. ... All we are trying to do is live our lives. We aren't trying to interfere with anyone else's."