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for the views of others, as well as for the rights of an individual to form and hold <br /> different opinions and beliefs. Each student has the right to an education." (South Bend <br /> Community School Corporation Policy #7370-1) <br /> • For any city serious about economic development,passing a Iaw ensuring basic rights <br /> for all citizens is a prerequisite to attracting the best and brightest,individuals and <br /> innovative companies needed to remain competitive. It is time our community and our <br /> economy stepped into the 21 st Century. This amendment is a positive step toward <br /> retaining and competing for the best workers and employers. Likewise, employees who <br /> feel protected are more productive. (Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class, <br /> New York: Basic Books, 2002.) <br /> • Cities that do not protect LGBT people are experiencing significant"brain drain."In <br /> other words, large numbers (many of our best and brightest)will continue to flee South <br /> Bend until our city becomes more welcoming. Such brain drain has had a huge adverse <br /> impact on area businesses and the city's economic health in general. Civil rights <br /> legislation, or the lack of it, is often a factor determining where minorities, as well as <br /> Generations X and Y individuals choose to work or settle. <br /> • In order to respond with greater flexibility to new issues and changing community <br /> needs at all levels,the Human Rights Ordinance should be fair and responsive to the <br /> needs of all persons. <br /> • By taking a stand, the City of South Bend can set an example and increase residents' <br /> awareness of themselves as stakeholders in human rights. <br /> Other local jurisdictions that have enacted prohibitions against discrimination based on <br /> sexual orientation and gender identity report an actual reduction in discrimination, a <br /> greater feeling of safety among GLBT persons, and an enhanced image of the community <br /> policies as progressive. Most reported no negative effects (Kenneth Wald, James Button, <br /> and Barbara Rienzo,All politics is local: analyzing local gay rights legislation, Policy <br /> Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (1997),p. f.) <br /> Summary: <br /> Because the City has a compelling interest in protecting the rights of individuals based <br /> on sexual orientation and gender identity, it can meet the standard of strict scrutiny <br /> required for the creation of a suspect classification. <br /> 3. Factual Basis of Discrimination <br /> Is there a factual basis of discrimination occurring in the City of South Bend showing the <br /> need to address such discrimination in order to prove that the amendment would remedy <br /> identified discrimination? Yes. <br /> The legislative record on this issue is full of examples of sexual orientation and gender <br /> identity discrimination in the City of South Bend. The sources of this evidence includes, <br /> but not limited to: <br /> 13 <br />