North Dakota Votes Down LGBT Anti-Discrimination Law, GOP Governor Pissed
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Gov. Jack Dalrymple[/caption]
Lawmakers in North Dakota killed a measure today that would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the third time such a bill has been voted down in less than a decade.
As politicians recognize the backlash a state can face for appearing homophobic, even Republicans are criticizing legislative attacks on the LGBT community.
GOP Gov. Jack Dalrymple, for one, actually supported the bill.
“I’m concerned that we have missed an opportunity to affirm what North Dakotans already believe, which is that discrimination based on an individual’s sexual orientation is not acceptable,” Dalrymple said in a statement.
Rep. Thomas Beadle (R-Fargo), who co-sponsored the bill, said its defeat says the nation’s fastest-growing state “is only open to some.”
“And while we can see the backlash in Indiana, the mere perception of LGBT discrimination will have negative consequences for our state,” he added.
SB 2279, which passed the Senate 25-22 in February, would have added sexual orientation and gender identity to existing state law that already protects against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability or status with respect to marriage or public assistance.
House lawmakers took about 90 minutes to deliberate and then voted against the measure by a margin of two to one.
The Fargo-Moorhead Forum published the names and faces of all the representatives who voted against the bill on its front page.
Rep. Robin Weisz (R-Hurdsfield) said she listened to testimony, but heard nothing that "showed any outright discrimination going on.”
“If we’re going to add this as a protected class, we need to be sure that we’re solving a problem,” she added.
Only 21 states in the nation have laws protecting LGBT employees from workplace discrimination.
Ironically Indiana and Arkansas—both facing blowback over religious freedom laws—are both considering similar protections..
In a Facebook status update, North Dakota Human Rights Coalition declared, "Our challenge to each other is to not let this anger turn to futility, but to harness it to rally going forward to action."
