Fayetteville names panel to advise on anti-bias law

Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan on Tuesday appointed members to an advisory committee that will give him suggestions on how to implement the city's new anti-discrimination ordinance.

The 15-member group represents "a good cross section of the city." It includes residents, and people associated with churches or businesses in the city, Jordan said Tuesday. The advisory group members are Bill Bradley, Tony Uth, Laura Hampton, Anne Mourney, Sue Madison, Jim Huffman, Lowell Grisham, Curtis Smith, area attorney Mark Martin, Kim Coats, James Rector, Anne Shlley, Kate Bartow, Danielle Wood and Maria Baez de Hicks.

The city staff had considered forming an advisory group for the ordinance, but in the meantime Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce President Steve Clark requested that the mayor form the committee. On behalf of the business community, Clark voiced concerns about how the city would enforce the ordinance, saying that some of the terms in the law have no specific standards or legal definitions.

On Aug. 20, Fayetteville became the first Arkansas city to adopt an ordinance to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identification and sexual orientation. In doing so, the city joined nearly 200 other cities and counties nationwide that have similar laws.

Eureka Springs is to consider a similar anti-discrimination measure. It is on the Eureka Springs City Council agenda for Monday.

In May, after a circuit judge struck down the state's ban on gay marriage, Eureka Springs was the first city in the state to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Also, the city has had a domestic-partnership registry since 2007. Same-sex marriage licenses are now on hold while the Arkansas Supreme Court considers the state's gay marriage law.

Since 2011, that city also has made health insurance coverage available to domestic partners of city employees.

"I thought Eureka Springs should follow accordingly," said Eureka Springs Alderman James DeVito, who plans to bring the matter up for discussion Monday. "I would assume they [Fayetteville] have a good, comprehensive ordinance because it did get scrutinized at some length."

Eureka Springs Alderman Joyce Zeller said she was surprised to hear that such an ordinance would be thought necessary in her open-minded tourist town.

"I'm sort of dumbfounded that somebody would want to pass an ordinance saying it's illegal to discriminate against gays in Eureka Springs," said Zeller. "We have diversity weekends. ... We do same-sex marriages."

DeVito said he hadn't heard of any instances where people in Eureka Springs faced discrimination because of sexual orientation but passing such a law would be proactive.

The council will begin discussing an ordinance proposal at Monday's meeting, he said, but drafting of the ordinance has yet to begin.

Mark Hayes, the Arkansas Municipal League's director of legal services, said he wasn't aware of any other cities considering such ordinances.

In Fayetteville, Jordan and the advisory group are to meet Thursday at 6 p.m. in City Hall in Room 326. The mayor will take recommendations from the group and put together a plan to carry out the new law, he said.

The ordinance takes effect Sept. 20.

Advisory groups are nothing new for the administration, Jordan said, adding that he meets with more than a dozen groups monthly to help him with certain issues.

During Thursday's meeting, Jordan plans to hear from the group, along with staff members who will present a study conducted on four similarly sized cities that have universities and similar ordinances.

"It's not like we're reinventing the wheel," Jordan said.

The Fayetteville council passed the ordinance in a 6-2 vote Aug. 20 after a marathon meeting with 10 hours of public comment. The Washington-based Human Rights Campaign helped craft the ordinance, which city officials pared down.

The Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group, plans to inject some $8.5 million over the next three years into Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi to advocate for "lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual equality," the group has said.

State and federal laws prohibit the hiring, firing and eviction of people on the basis of age, sex, national origin, race, religion or disability. Fayetteville's ordinance sought to add protections on the basis of sexual identification and sexual orientation that weren't covered in the state and federal laws.

The city's ordinance will also include protection from discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, familial status, marital status, socioeconomic background and veteran status.

The law applies to the city, its employees and contractors who do business with the city. It excludes federal, state and county offices, along with public educational institutions within the city. The law also won't apply to religious or denominational institutions, except to prohibit discrimination against employees who perform no religious duties.

Aldermen also made an exception for "sincerely held" religious beliefs, City Attorney Kit Williams said. For example, a wedding singer or a wedding photographer -- those "intimately" involved in a wedding -- could refuse to provide services to a gay couple. But those in the periphery -- a baker or florist -- could not.

The ordinance also allows Jordan to appoint a civil rights administrator, who will receive, investigate and resolve complaints of discrimination. Violating the ordinance carries a fine of up to $500, though city codes say repeated offenses could cost $250 a day.

Opponents of Fayetteville's ordinance have begun circulating a petition to repeal the law. They need 15 percent of the city's registered voters -- or 4,095 signatures -- to get the measure placed on the municipal ballot. The petition deadline will be Sept. 20, a Saturday.

The city clerk's office will be open Sept. 20 to accept the petition, city officials have said.

If the clerk certifies that the group has enough signatures, the measure will be on the ballot during a special election. Voters last struck down a similar measure in 1998.

Opponents have the backing of the Arkansas Family Council Action Committee, which has helped to advise the group. That committee's executive director, Jerry Cox, has said he's confident that opponents will get enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

Cox questioned why the city was in "such a rush" to implement the ordinance when it's widely known that opponents have started the petition drive.

Jordan said he has 31 days from when the council "largely" passed the ordinance to implement it.

Stephanie Nichols, a Jonesboro-area attorney who is representing some 60 Fayetteville residents, said Tuesday that a lawsuit would be "very likely" if the petition drive is unsuccessful.

Metro on 09/03/2014

Upcoming Events