A.G. Gancarski
As in the movie “Groundhog Day,” in which a weatherman relives the same day until he gets it right, those following the Jacksonville City Council will notice a certain repetition this February 2.
Despite there being no committee meetings for the council that week, one council member decided to call a public notice meeting to discuss 2017-15, the latest attempt to expand the Human Rights Ordinance.
That council member: Bill Gulliford, an opponent of expansion during previous tries in 2012 and 2016.
In 2016, Gulliford filed a bill urging a referendum on the topic, a strategy that jibes with opponents, who believe they can drive supervoters to the polls to defeat the measure.
Expansion advocates want to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression as categories in the current HRO, protecting people on those grounds from discrimination in the housing market, the workplace, and in terms of public accommodations, such as bathrooms and locker rooms.
The public accommodations condition has been the largest sticking point for opponents, many of whom advance fears about people born as biological males who, due to surgery or gender identification, may assert the right to use the women’s restroom.
Tuesday evening’s meeting of the Jacksonville City Council had so many speakers on the topic that the public hearing rolled over into Wednesday morning.
The public notice meeting on Feb. 2 is slated for 2:00 p.m. in the Lynwood Roberts Room.
Expect a full house.
