SALT LAKE CITY — It remains to be seen what kind of impact the city's nondiscrimination ordinances will have on gay and lesbian residents when the protections, the first of their kind passed in Utah, go into effect Friday.
Only time will tell, says Mayor Ralph Becker, who helped push through the housing and employment protections late last year.
But the importance of the ordinances' message is undeniable, advocates say.
In the five months since the Salt Lake City Council approved the protections, similar ordinances have popped up on agendas in Park City, Taylorsville, Holladay, West Valley City, Salt Lake County and Summit County.
"This has been a game changer," said Valerie Larabee, director of the Utah Pride Center. "We do tend to wait for our big brothers to pave the way for us."
A year of discussion and fact-finding by Salt Lake City's Human Rights Commission has provided a template for other municipalities, officials said.
"That was important groundwork," said West Valley City Mayor Mike Winder.
The ordinances also have sparked a conversation about discrimination that has crossed political and religious lines, some officials said.
"I'm a proud Republican and a proud American," said Winder, a first-term mayor who is also Mormon. "When I put my hand over my heart and say 'liberty and justice for all,' I mean what I say. To me, it is consistently philosophical with fulfilling the founders' vision of a nation where people have equal opportunity to make their way in this world. As a Christian, I've been taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
While Salt Lake City's ordinances were approved in November, they take effect Friday. Despite having the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Becker and the Salt Lake City Council elected to delay the start date until April in deference to the Utah Legislature.
The overwhelmingly conservative Legislature provided some scares for the city's ordinances but eventually left them untouched.
"I've been around the Legislature for a long time, and you never know what will happen until it ends," said Becker, a former state representative.
The city's nondiscrimination changes will establish a process for tenants and employees to file complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
A city administrator will review written complaints. If a complaint is found valid, the two parties would meet in an attempt to resolve the issue outside of court. If no agreement could be reached, the complaint would be forwarded to the city attorney for possible civil action.
The ordinance calls for fines of $500 for smaller companies and up to $1,000 for larger organizations.
Exemptions are made for small businesses, religious groups and others.
In Salt Lake County, the second state body to sign off on a nondiscrimination ordinance for gays and lesbians, the housing and employment protections have been in place since January.
A spokeswoman for Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller said their office had reviewed no complaints under the new rules.
Still, gay and lesbian advocates said the leadership from city and county officials has been instrumental in sending a message about equal rights. The Utah steering committee for the Human Rights Commission — a national advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people — will honor Becker and Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon during its annual gala in May.
Some critics of the ordinances say the rules do not go far enough in protecting gays and lesbians, but Equality Utah executive director Brandie Balken said the ordinances still have value.
"I've heard concerns that these ordinance don't have a tremendous amount of teeth," Balken said. "In many cases, what these ordinances actually do is speak to the intention of the community. … If you're a young person or just moving into this area, what it says is that these are welcoming communities."
Contributing: Art Raymond
e-mail: afalk@desnews.com