Tag Archives: nondiscrimination ordinance

City of Dallas again tries to keep complaints of anti-gay bias secret

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Baylor

Alan Rodriguez, right, filed a complaint with the city in February 2011 after the Tom Landry Fitness Center refused to issue him and his partner a family membership. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

After Dallas Voice won a legal battle against the Dallas City Attorney’s Office four years ago, the city is again trying to deny the newspaper access to records related to complaints filed under the city’s sexual orientation nondiscrimination ordinance.

The Baylor-owned Tom Landry Fitness Center’s decision to end family memberships to prevent a gay couple from receiving the discount was highlighted in this week’s Dallas Voice. Before the article was published, we requested to view the case file since Melissa Miles, an assistant city attorney who oversees the complaints, told us the case was closed.

A week before, Beverly Davis, assistant director of the Fair Housing Office, told Dallas Voice the case was still open, but later agreed to let us review the file after the city cleared it for review in three days. But we were not able to view the file before the story was published.

Then the city sent us a letter on Tuesday, informing us they were sending our request to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for a decision on whether we could have access to the file.

We reached out to try and clarify why this was done because in 2008 Dallas Voice hired an attorney to represent us in an effort to have access to the discrimination files, and the attorney general issued an opinion that the city had to allow Dallas Voice to view them.

Assistant City Attorney Michael Bostic confirmed today that the Baylor case is closed, but he said the city is still reviewing whether to release the file.

When asked about the attorney general’s 2008 opinion saying discrimination cases are public record, Bostic initially said he didn’t recall it.

“No one has any recollection,” Bostic said, before requesting that Dallas Voice send a copy of the AG’s opinion to him.

Continue reading “City of Dallas again tries to keep complaints of anti-gay bias secret” »

—  Anna Waugh

Dallas LGBT Task Force aims to expand diversity training to all city employees within 3 years

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Sherry Durant, Dallas Fire-Rescue LGBT liaison, explains the goal of expanding LGBT training to all city employees at a city services event June 13. The event was the second in the city’s June Pride series. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

Dallas Fire-Rescue plans to expand its LGBT training program to its veteran employees this summer and eventually to every city employee over the next three years, according to Sherry Durant, the department’s LGBT liaison.

Durant was among six city officials who spoke and answered questions during a panel discussion at the Oak Lawn library branch on Wednesday night. The event drew about 40 people and was the second in Dallas’ “Honor, Educate and Celebrate” June Pride Month series planned by Councilwoman Delia Jasso’s LGBT Task Force.

Task Force member Pam Gerber said the group has discussed expanding LGBT training to all Dallas city employees and will work with officials to achieve the goal in the future. The only city departments that currently conduct comprehensive LGBT diversity training are police and fire.

Durant, who’s served as LGBT liaison for DFR since 2008 and is a member of the Task Force, said 1,048 new recruits have undergone LGBT training since the training program began in 2004. She said she has been working with the Dallas County Gay and Lesbian Alliance and Resource Center Dallas to create a training program for veteran Fire-Rescue employees. The veteran employee training will begin in late July or early August, she said, estimating that it would take about 36 weeks for the 1,248 employees to complete the training.

After DFR finishes its veteran employee training, Durant said she wants to help the veteran police employees undergo the training and then move onto other city departments, so all city employees will have LGBT training within the next three years.

City Manager Mary Suhm, Assistant fire Chief Joseph Vasquez and Sr. Cpl. Laura Martin, LGBT liaison for Dallas police, joined Durant on the panel and shared what their departments offer the LGBT community. Executive Assistant City Attorney Melissa Miles and Chalisa Warren, senior public information representative with the Fair Housing Office, spoke about the city’s decade-old nondiscrimination ordinance.

Martin oversees the Police Department’s sensitivity training, which helps recruits understand how to handle interactions with members of the LGBT community. She said she will also teach the current officers over the next two years about the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. She said a lot of officers are not aware of how the law works because it is a federal law and affects how departments report hate crime statistics to the FBI.

Suhm said during her 35 years working for the city she has seen a lot of improvements for the LGBT community, from training in the police department in the early ’90s to later working with City Council to pass domestic partner benefits for city employees.

Miles said her section of the city attorney’s office handles the discrimination complaints after the Fair Housing Office investigates, working with the alleged violators to inform them about the ordinance and to help educate them even if the complaint is dismissed for no cause.

Questions about the reporting hate crimes and discrimination under the ordinance came up during the meeting, as several in the audience said people do not report incidents of hate or discrimination because they want it to remain confidential.

Continue reading “Dallas LGBT Task Force aims to expand diversity training to all city employees within 3 years” »

—  Anna Waugh

Victory in Kalamazoo

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With so much attention focused on Maine and Washington state and Houston today, we have overlooked a vote that happened in Kalamazoo, Mich., where the City Commission had twice voted to amend the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance to include protections based on sexual orientation.

Opponents of the measure managed to force a ballot referendum on the issue, but the Family Equality Council is reporting now that the referendum failed. Here’s the FEC press release:

“Today voters of Kalamazoo, Mich., passed Ordinance 1856. Originally approved twice by the City Commission of Kalamazoo, opponents forced a public referendum on the ordinance. The ordinance revises the city’s existing non-discrimination law to include LGBT people.

“With the passage of this legislation, LGBT individuals in Kalamazoo are provided legal protection from discrimination at work, in seeking housing and in enjoying public accommodations such as restaurants and hotels.

“Statement of Jennifer Chrisler, executive director, Family Equality Council:

“‘Kalamazoo is a leading community in the fight for equality. This ordinance ensures LGBT families basic protections such as the ability to secure a place to live or eat in a restaurant. It also enables that LGBT individuals can work and provide for their children and families without the fear of being fired for reasons unrelated to their job performance. The public’s support for LGBT people and these basic protections is great for Kalamazoo and adds to the momentum towards full equality for all families across this country. Jon Hoadley did an outstanding job leading the charge and ensuring this passage of Ordinance 1856.’”

—  admin