LOGAN — Following an emotional discussion before a packed house, the Logan City Council passed a controversial nondiscrimination ordinance Tuesday.
The ordinance, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity, focuses on equity in housing and employment opportunities and is patterned after a similar ordinance adopted in Salt Lake City in November 2009.
"The council didn't have much enthusiasm when I originally brought this to their attention," said Logan City Councilman Herm Olsen. "But when we started to hold public hearings and got such a substantial response, it became very clear that it was an issue. For those of us in the majority, we don't tend to see it, but for those who are damaged by discrimination, they are touched on a daily basis. Recognizing this helped to resolve some of the council's ambivalence."
The City Council voted 4-0 in favor of the ordinance.
With hundreds in attendance, residents of Cache Valley's largest municipality spoke out overwhelmingly in favor of the measure, sharing personal experiences of discrimination both in the workplace and at home and pleading with city leaders to make Logan a safer environment for all of its inhabitants.
Several residents who spoke out against the measure placed their reservations not on the principles embodied by the ordinance itself, but instead on whether or not local government should place a role in the legislation of morality.
Logan resident Michelle King, a member of the Constitutionalist movement, voiced her concerns that the ordinance infringed on private property rights. Similarly, Joshua Frazier said he didn't want the government to "determine what is moral and what is not."
"I was impressed with the respectful tone of the local residents who opposed the measure," said Christy Glass, a member of Equality Utah and professor of sociology at Utah State University. "They all expressed their belief that discrimination is wrong. They were just questioning whether this was the role of the City Council to enforce."
In Glass' view, the answer is, "Absolutely."
"I think things like this must start on the local level," she said, "and then we can mobilize for statewide and then federal protection. I have friends, colleagues and students who are gay, and it's not right to discriminate against them. We're a small, not really very diverse community and it was so moving to see so many people rally for fairness. It was the proudest moment I've had since I've lived in Logan."
Throughout the past several weeks, members of the Logan City Council have been inundated with letters, e-mails and phone calls, overwhelmingly in support of the ordinance. Opposing voices came largely from representatives of America Forever, a Sandy-based group that picketed council members' homes and places of worship in the days preceding Tuesday's vote. Representatives of America Forever could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.
Council Chairman Jay Monson told the Deseret News that he received communication from less than 10 Logan residents who opposed the measure, and he stopped counting responses in support of the proposal "at around 250."
"This is a new kind of ordinance in Cache Valley," he said, "but Logan is growing. We're much more cosmopolitan than before and we have a major university here. This should be an inviting place for everyone, no matter what people's sexual preferences are.
"Besides," he continued, "this has never been a question of whether or not me or anyone else on the council approves gay marriage. I think it was the right thing to do because it was simply a matter of providing and ensuring equal employment and housing opportunities for all of our residents."
On Wednesday, Maure Smith, program coordinator of GLBTA services at USU expressed her personal gratitude for the measure's passage.
"When Jay Monson talked about the outpouring of support for this issue," she said, "I instantly burst into tears because I was so moved. Some of the opposition said the ordinance really wasn't going to change anything, but I don't think that's true. I think this ordinance affects everyone, because almost everyone knows someone who is gay. When you have difficult conversations, that's when you create change. We can learn to respect each other even when we disagree."
e-mail: jchristensen@desnews.com