03-12-12 Council Agenda & Packet

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Penny Hughes 1918 Southernview Dr. South Bend, Indiana 46614 March 1, 2012 Dear Council Member Schey, I'm so glad I finally got to meet you at the swearing in ceremony. Thank you for your willingness to serve. The City of South Bend has a long history of opposing discrimination, and has enacted ordinances with the specific goal of eliminating discrimination since 1956. The Human Rights Commission of South Bend reflects the moral, religious and democratic sentiments of citizens of South Bend to completely abolish discrimination and segregation. Historically, before I was a member of the HRC, the Commission held retreats focused on the issue of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Members of the commission were concerned about the fact that individuals who faced such discrimination had no recourse. After one retreat the members of the HRC voted to bring their concerns to the attention of the Common Council. In 2005 the HRC asked the Council to explore, investigate and determine the degree to which gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons (GLIB) have been treated adversely within the City and, if such discrimination existed, "to create an appropriate remedy." Bill 29-06, which would have prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment,housing, education, and public accommodations, was proposed but subsequently defeated. Since the defeat of Bill 29-06, the HRC has received a number of complaints of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation that we have been unable to address. This is a concern that has been discussed at HRC meetings. We have not officially tracked the number of complaints because we are not empowered to investigate them. After attending a conference in Philadelphia with our Director I learned some 80%of Fortune 500 Companies already had in their company policies that they will not discriminate against gay people. We were told when they are looking to relocate they seek areas which are open and accepting of all their employees, including gay people. In 2010 the HRC passed a resolution requesting that the Common Council pass Bill 30- 10 which would have amended the Human Rights Ordinance to include prohibitions against employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The HRC voted unanimously in favor of amending the ordinance. The resolution noted that the Commission had received complaints alleging employment discrimination based on sexual orientation,but was not empowered to investigate these complaints. Bill 30-10 would have allowed the Commission to treat GLBT persons the same as any other citizen of our City who faced employment discrimination; however, it too was defeated.