Well this was some good news to wake up and read. After much anticipation, Houston Mayor Annise Parker has released a draft of her proposed Equal Rights Ordinance, something she listed as a priority for her last term in office. Houston remains the only major American city that does not have civil rights protections for its residents. Hopefully that will change very soon, with the proposed ordinance protecting Houstonians from discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, religion, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, and pregnancy.
But there is an added surprise in the ordinance draft, which makes this announcement much sweeter. Parker came under fire in recent weeks because she did not intend to include citywide employment protections in the proposed ordinance, meaning Houstonians would be protected in public accommodations, but those not protected by state or federal law (such as LGBT Houstonians) could still be fired from their jobs in the City of Houston. Houston GLBT Political Caucus President Maverick Welsh, in particular, fired back:
If you favor an ordinance that does not include private sector employment, you’re siding with the right of employers to discriminate. My opinion is, put the right ordinance on the table, let the council vote on it in the open. Let them vote on it in the open, so the community can know, and hold people accountable. I don’t see any reason for us to compromise on this issue. Discrimination is discrimination.
Welsh was absolutely right--the ordinance, as initially proposed, was not good enough. Don't get me wrong, something is always better than nothing, but there is just no reason to compromise on a principle so fundamental as non-discrimination this early in the game. Parker's reasoning was that employment protections did not have the necessary votes in the City Council, which was odd because that meant some City Council Members
must have backtracked from their campaign promise to support non-discrimination in employment.
In any case, the pressure from LGBT and progressive activists has paid off--at least for now--because Parker's draft of the ordinance includes citywide employment protections, in addition to public accommodations and city contracting. Parker has come through, and now it's time for City Council to come through and pull Houston into the twenty-first century when it comes to civil rights. It's a pretty strong proposal compared to how it was initially conceived. However, it does not cover businesses with fewer than 50 employees, and it leaves religious organizations alone. There are other changes, as well:
Parker initially had talked of creating a human rights commission to hear complaints, but that idea was left out of the proposal announced Monday.
[...]
Greater Houston Partnership President and CEO Bob Harvey said his group’s key concern with the idea had been the commission.
“At this juncture, admittedly upon a very quick review, I would say there is plenty in this proposal that we can support,” Harvey said, noting that a majority of GHP members already have anti-discrimination policies. “We now must take the time to review the proposal in detail, and we plan to take it before our board for discussion in the next several days.”
The full draft of the proposal can be found
here.
From Parker's office:
“As I stated in my State of the City Address earlier this month, the Houston I know does not discriminate, treats everyone equally and allows full participation by everyone in civic and business life,” said Mayor Parker. “We don’t care where you come from, the color of your skin, your age, gender, what physical limitations you may have or who you choose to love. It’s time the laws on our books reflect this.”
[...]
Complaints about violations of the ordinance and decisions regarding prosecution are to be handled by the City’s Office of Inspector General and the City Attorney. If the subject of a complaint refuses to cooperate with an investigation, the City Attorney may ask City Council to approve the issuance of a subpoena to compel cooperation.
The ordinance also gives the mayor discretion to create an advisory task force to study and report on matters related to the ordinance.
“Equal protection under law is a cornerstone of our democracy and the Equal Rights Ordinance will help to ensure that all Houstonians are protected from discrimination,” said District C City Council Member Ellen Cohen, who has been involved in the drafting of the ordinance. “As the most diverse city in the nation, I’m pleased that we will offer these protections in public accommodations and employment to all our citizens.”
And so, it's the moment of truth for City Council. The ordinance will be formally introduced on April 30, and there will likely be a vote by mid-May. You might remember the brouhaha that resulted from an ultimately successful ordinance proposal much like Parker's
in San Antonio. We'll see how it plays out in Houston, but I don't think the bigots are going down without a fight here, either.
But kudos to Mayor Parker for strengthening the ordinance, and kudos to the activists that helped make it happen. It's not perfect, but we're in a much better position than we were just a couple of weeks ago. It's way past time for non-discrimination in Houston.