Two City Council committees voted Monday to approve legislation adding language to the City code banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The ban would apply to employment, housing and public accommodations.
The Council Rules Committee approved the measure 4-3, with Council members Warren Jones, Lori Boyer, John Crescimbeni and Jim Love approving it and Clay Yarborough, Ray Holt and Robin Lumb in opposition.
The Public Health and Safety Committee also approved the legislation 4-3, with Greg Anderson, Crescimbeni, Jones and Love approving and Kim Daniels, Don Redman and Matt Schellenberg opposing.
The measure was introduced May 8 and has generated debate among Council members and lengthy discussion from proponents and opponents during public comment sections of meetings.
Discussion continued Monday, although no public comment was permitted.
Jones offered the substitute legislation that strikes protections for gender expression, clarifies protections for religious organizations including hospitals, stresses that conciliation ends at the Human Rights Commission — and cannot be pursued in court — and eliminates certain language regarding the U.S. Constitution.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction,” Jones said after the Rules Committee meeting.
“It sets the tone that we recognize diversity, that we don’t support discrimination of any kind,” he said.
Several Council members in both committees questioned whether the addition of sexual discrimination to protected class status — joining age, race, gender, disability, national origin and religion — but not offering the same recourse against potential offenders was in itself creating discrimination.
Jones said it doesn’t.
As substituted, those who file discrimination complaints against a company would be heard by the Human Rights Commission.
The commission would invite the company to appear for arbitration with the complainant for resolution, but the company does not have to appear.
If it does not, the commission could investigate using its subpoena power, but the matter ends with the commission and cannot be pursued in court.
“I think it’s a process. If we find later that there is discrimination based on sexual orientation and it’s profound in our community, then we can come back and add some additional teeth to the bill,” Jones said.
Redman, a member of the Public Health and Safety committee, attended the Rules Committee meeting earlier in the day and voiced concern about passing the measure in any form.
He said the volume of email from constituents has been overwhelmingly in opposition and said the Christian community was more discriminated against than homosexuals, citing the recent Chick-fil-A events as an example.
Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy was quoted as opposing same-sex marriage, sparking widespread approval and a large spike in the restaurant’s sales.
Yarborough cited magazine surveys about Florida’s quality-of-life and business-friendly factors that encourage business growth. He said those contradicted business leaders who cite the legislation’s approval as necessary for economic development.
“If this is truly a business decision, look at the facts,” he said.
Jones quickly shot down talk of deferring the legislation. He said with budget discussions beginning Thursday, it was time to make a decision.
Council President Bill Bishop also calls for a vote on the measure before budget talks begin.
Jones and other black Council members have been boycotting their committee assignments to protest Bishop’s assignments, but Jones said he attended both of Monday’s meetings because of the importance of the legislation.
The substituted amendment is slated to be discussed by Council’s Recreation and Community Development Committee at 2 p.m. today.
The full Council likely will have an opportunity to vote on the legislation at 5 p.m. next Tuesday at City Hall.
Also from Monday’s Council committee meetings:
• Sheriff John Rutherford appeared before the Rules Committee seeking emergency approval for an ordinance that would allow the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to keep $10.5 million it has saved and apply it toward the coming fiscal year. He said the emergency was due to the need for planning and would be used to save police officers’ jobs and keep the Community Transition Center open, both of which Rutherford has said are subject to cuts. Several committee members disagreed with the timing and said the issue should be resolved during the budget process. The committee voted 3-3, which triggers automatic deferral. Voting for it were Yarborough, Lumb and Love and voting against it were Crescimbeni, Boyer and Holt.
• Mayor Alvin Brown’s appointment of Terrance Ashanta-Barker as the City’s Neighborhoods Department director was approved, but not before questioning. Ashanta-Barker, managing partner of a Cincinnati, Ohio-based law firm, was questioned about his familiarity with the City and his qualifications for the position. He said his skills in economic development transition well to the new role. He said he also has been in contact with several Citizen Planning Advisory Committees and would continue his outreach effort. He denied that his relationship with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chair of the Democratic National Committee, led to the appointment, although he said his wife is chief of staff for the Florida congresswoman.
• The St. Johns River Ferry Commission is a step closer to having its membership intact. Appointments Aaron Bowman, Larry Williams and Richard Redick were confirmed by the Rules Committee. Carl Cannon was not present and his appointment was deferred.
• Legislation to rename the green space between the Duval County Courthouse and Adams, Broad and Pearl streets as “Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Square” was withdrawn at the request of its sponsor, Council member Richard Clark.
• The last portion of Brown’s economic development reform was deferred. The legislation expedited incentives deals through Council. Bishop recently told a joint committee reviewing legislation about the Downtown portion of the reform that the incentives portion was “not something we are going to get to anytime soon.”
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