People from throughout the bay area packed the City Commission chambers to make points about the human rights ordinance.
By SHANNON TAN
Published August 6, 2003
LARGO - More than 100 people packed a public hearing Tuesday on the city's proposed human rights ordinance, standing in the aisles and squeezing into an overflow room.
They came from Tampa, St. Petersburg and Oldsmar as well as Largo. They were gay and straight, male and female, black and white.
The ordinance would ban discrimination against individuals based on race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation. Those who violate it could be fined between $31 and $250 for a first violation.
On Tuesday night, more than 40 members of the audience spent about three hours debating the issue, and the City Commission had not yet voted as of 10:30 p.m.
The ordinance has been the subject of much controversy.
Sixteen groups, including Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida and the Pinellas County American Civil Liberties Union, support the ordinance. Critics, however, said the city would be endorsing alternative lifestyles.
To vote for the ordinance would mean that, "You, the government, believes this is normal, is an acceptable lifestyle," said David Caton, executive director of the Florida Family Association.
But Madalynn Shepley, chairperson of Starburst, a transgender support group, noted that she is a human being, too.
"We're not asking for special rights," said Shepley, a Largo resident. "We are asking for equal rights."
Janet Chandler, a transsexual who is about to undergo an operation to become a woman, said many residents who claim not to know any gays or transgender people may be mistaken.
"We're your next-door neighbors," said the Largo resident. "We're your family members."
Some of them are being discriminated against, according to gay rights groups. Equality Florida and the National Center for Lesbian Rights reported eight cases of discrimination in Largo due to gender identity or sexual orientation.
But Bruce McManus, a Largo attorney, said he was concerned the ordinance would raise the cost of doing business in Largo because residents might file frivolous claims.
Under the ordinance, a human rights officer would be responsible for investigating complaints of discrimination. The human rights board, composed of seven residents appointed by the City Commission, would decide if discrimination took place.
The cost of enforcing the ordinance could vary.
If Largo creates a new Office of Community Relations, it could cost between $60,000 to $100,000 annually. But the city could also decide to be less proactive and refer incidents of discrimination to Pinellas County or St. Petersburg human rights offices.
Largo would be the 64th municipality in the country to extend those protections to include transgender people.
On Monday, California joined New Mexico, Rhode Island and Minnesota in outlawing discrimination against transgender people in housing and employment practices.
Florida's Monroe County, and a city within its limits, Key West, have also passed laws prohibiting antitransgender discrimination.
