A proposed ordinance to protect gay, lesbian and transgender Chattanooga employees from being harassed is about more than bullying, some City Council members say.
Councilman Chip Henderson said Wednesday he didn't find the central effort to stop bullying of city employees controversial, but he's concerned that other language in the proposed ordinance could create unintended consequences.
"I think this ordinance goes further than just restricting bullying and discrimination. It has implications of letting a male enter a female bathroom, and I think that is controversial. I think that's concerning," Henderson said.
Under the ordinance, city employees could not be denied a job or lose their employment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. And it would become a punishable offense for city employees to harass colleagues based on sexuality. Employees are already similarly protected for their race, ethnicity, political affiliation, gender, religion and other qualities.
The ordinance was supposed to have been up for a vote next week, but Henderson on Tuesday pushed to have it delayed. He said the city council should follow its procedures for council person-drafted legislation. Under the city's rules bills that come from council are supposed to go to committee and then voted upon a week later.
"I want to understand all of the implication of this ordinance, and I think it will also give the public time to digest it to understand exactly what it is," Henderson said.
He said confusion was only compounded by a draft of the ordinance that was released Tuesday. And he pointed to the mistake as a reason not to rush the bill.
"The policies and procedures that we have are there for a reason. I just want to follow those," Henderson said.
Chris Anderson, who sponsored the ordinance with fellow Councilman Moses Freeman, said the pair followed all the appropriate procedures at City Attorney Wade Hinton's advice. Since a duo of council persons brought the bill, it could be placed directly on the agenda, he said.
Hinton said Tuesday the council rules needed cleaning up.
Chris AndersonAnd Anderson rejected Henderson's concerns about which bathrooms transgender employees would use.
"That's not really my intent, nor have I heard of it ever happening at the hundreds of private employers who have verbatim policies," Anderson said. "I think it's a conservative scare tactic. They think religious liberty is discriminating against people with whom they do not agree."
Hinton said Wednesday the ordinance is focused and should not be broadly interpreted.
"This ordinance only deals with employment decisions that are made. In addition to that, it deals with the way coworkers treat each other," Hinton said. "It deals with nothing else."
He added that Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis have adopted language to protect employees based on sexual orientation and gender expression. Chattanooga would be the last of the "big four."
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com, @glbrogdoniv on Twitter or at 423-757-6481.