ANDERSON – The city of Anderson has now joined the list of Indiana cities extending legal protections to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
Mayor Kevin Smith signed an ordinance Friday that was unanimously approved by the Anderson City Council on Dec. 10.
The ordinance adds the LGBT community to the list of protected classes when it comes to housing, education, employment and public accommodations.
The council first passed the ordinance on two readings in November without any public discussion.
Smith said the council adopted the ordinance after some discussion and that he never considered not signing the ordinance into law.
“By not signing, it would have been a pocket veto and the new council would have to deal with it,” he said. “The outcome would be the same.”
Smith said he looked at adoption of the ordinance in terms of attracting economic investment to Anderson.
“I didn’t want to add any barriers to Anderson’s success in attracting new industry,” he said. “I didn’t want it to be a litmus test when it came to investment in the city.”
Council attorney Tim Lanane said the ordinance provides the same protections as those already in city ordinances for sex, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry and handicap.
Lanane said the protected classes have been in ordinance form in Anderson for many years.
He said anyone experiencing discrimination can file a complaint with the Human Relations Department, which would then investigate the allegations.
The Human Rights Commission can issue a cease-and-desist order and in some cases issue a fine.
Two local residents spoke against adoption of the ordinance at the December meeting and one resident advocated its passage.
Councilmen Ty Bibbs, D-at large, and Art Pepelea Jr., R-5th District, were sponsors of the ordinance.
Mike Porch said it was a black day for Anderson and at one time the city wanted to be known as a righteous city. He couldn’t believe that there were no public comments during the initial vote at the November meeting.
“What these people need is compassion,” he said.
Pendleton resident Jerry Shelton said the country is giving up its moral values and that God’s judgment is coming.
“Three million people didn’t vote in the last election because of apathy and we can’t turn this country around,” he said. “Have we gone too far and can we turn it around.”
Anderson resident Bill Jackson said the arguments being used against the ordinance were probably the same as in 1962 against black people.
“This is a new day,” he said. “Can’t we respect gay people enough to pass an ordinance that protects people?”
The debate over protecting the LGBT community from discrimination put Indiana in the national spotlight last spring when Gov. Mike Pence signed the Religious Freedom Reform Act. It would have initially allowed businesses to refuse to serve certain people based on religious beliefs. The legislation was hastily amended by the Indiana General Assembly to include protections.
Indianapolis, South Bend and Evansville are among Indiana cities with local ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Carmel, Muncie, Hammond, Terre Haute and Columbus have adopted or are considering similar proposals. Goshen voted down an ordinance to offer the protections, and in Elkhart, an ordinance was withdrawn.