It looks like a couple of weeks of pressure has paid off.
That pressure was indeed tremendous. The ordinance does draw some lines at enforcement.
Happy Easter! Churches can continue to discriminate, and so can small businesses. I would imagine the pastors also laid some damnation on the mayor, and will now focus their efforts on some of the most skittish, God-or-conservatives-fearing CMs.
The vote won't happen until May, so there's still plenty of time for tagging, waffling, and otherwise pussyfooting around equal rights for all Houstonians. TransGriot, Texas Leftist, and Texpate all seem initially satisfied, so there's that. I'll be a little more enthusiastic as soon as I see a large majority -- and not a narrow one -- of city council members do the right thing.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker’s office on Monday released the proposed text of a long-awaited Human Rights Ordinance, and it includes a citywide ban on employment discrimination.
Parker previously indicated that an earlier draft of the proposed ordinance didn’t include citywide employment protections, leading to a major push by LGBT advocates to have the provision added.
That pressure was indeed tremendous. The ordinance does draw some lines at enforcement.
Apply to private workplaces w/ 50+ workers, businesses that serve the public, housing, city employment/contracts. Churches exempt #HouNews
— Mike Morris (@mmorris011) April 21, 2014
Happy Easter! Churches can continue to discriminate, and so can small businesses. I would imagine the pastors also laid some damnation on the mayor, and will now focus their efforts on some of the most skittish, God-or-conservatives-fearing CMs.
The vote won't happen until May, so there's still plenty of time for tagging, waffling, and otherwise pussyfooting around equal rights for all Houstonians. TransGriot, Texas Leftist, and Texpate all seem initially satisfied, so there's that. I'll be a little more enthusiastic as soon as I see a large majority -- and not a narrow one -- of city council members do the right thing.
1 comment:
The vote here is really the key. So many crazy things could happen between now and the actual passage, that everyone should exercise some caution here.
Yeah, exempting small businesses, churches and fraternities makes the ordinance imperfect, but adding corporate protections and enforcement is still a much farther bridge than essentially duplicating her existing EO. If this ordinance gets passed, it'll be a good thing for Houston.
Lastly, I hope the CMs take a moment to talk to some of the religious folks that actually SUPPORT equality. We're out there too!!
Post a Comment