At last week’s Baton Rouge Metro Council meeting, extended public comments prevented the Council from moving forward with voting on a proposed ban on gender identity and sexual orientation-based discrimination.
The ban, called the Fairness Ordinance, was created by District 7 Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle and aims to prevent discrimination against LGBT individuals in housing, public accommodations and employment opportunities.
District 12 Councilman and ordinance supporter John Delgado said there were multiple hours of public comments, followed by a half-hour extension, until the meeting ended at 8:30 p.m.
“By law, we were required to end the meeting,” Delgado said.
New Orleans resident Lester Perryman feels opponents of the ordinance were shown favoritism with time allotments over the proponents.
“Council member [Chandler] Loupe kept a tighter schedule for the proponents, keeping track of that 2-minute mark,” Perryman said.
Perryman, who works with the Human Rights Campaign in New Orleans, said many of the opposing public comments were long-winded and claimed religious reasons for opposing the ordinance.
Dr. Jere Melilli, physician and founder of Christian Life Academy in Baton Rouge, connected health-related concerns to the ordinance.
“When you look at that term, ‘sexual orientation,’ you have to recognize there is a behavior that goes with that orientation, and that behavior has resulted in over 25 million people dying from a disease that was a direct result of the behavior of that orientation,” Melilli said.
Melilli said he has an obligation as a physician to tell the community the “truth.”
In Section 9:1302, the ordinance states a religious “corporation, association or society” and universities owned primarily by individuals of religious institutions are not subject to the anti-discrimination items previously outlined in the ordinance.
Perryman said he does not like the phrasing and believes it creates a “slippery slope” for continuing to allow forms of discrimination.
“You can’t find a logical argument for not advancing civil rights for different classes of people,” Perryman said. “The only argument you can find is based off someone’s interpretation of the Bible, which is often rooted in bigotry.”
Opponents of civil rights throughout history have used religious arguments against advancement, Perryman said.
“There’s deep-seated bigotry that’s existed for many, many years,” Delgado said. “Just like you saw in the 1960s, people have long had bigoted beliefs.”
Perryman said using religion to justify discrimination makes religion less appealing to the younger generation.
“I think a lot of people look at the older generation and say, ‘What the hell, why?’” Perryman said.
The next Baton Rouge Metro Council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 13.
“There will be no time for public comments [at the Aug. 13 meeting] — it’s already been done,” Delgado said.