Discrimination in employment, housing and public accomodations based on sexual orientation and gender identiy is now illegal in Shreveport.
Authored by Councilmen Oliver Jenkins and Jeff Everson, the “Fairness Ordinance” passed 6-1 Tuesday.
“Today, Shreveport joins cities across the country as a home of fairness, equality and inclusiveness,” Executive Director of Forum for Equality Sarah Jane Brady said. “The passage of the Fairness Ordinance is the culmination of commitment and hard work by [People Acting for Change and Equality] and Forum for Equality, and we are honored to have been a partner in bringing about this important change. Shreveport is pushing the movement for equality forward in Louisiana. So today we celebrate; tomorrow we get back to work!”
Shreveport joins nearly 200 cities throughout the country and several Fortune 500 companies with the passing of the ordinance.
“We are grateful for the goodwill of so many business, civic and political leaders who have supported our work in Shreveport, and who have made it clear that they want our city to be forward-looking – being, in the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., a headlight rather than a tail light on issues of fairness,” Adrienne Critcher of People Acting for Change and Equality said. “Hopefully we can begin to end the exodus of many of our most talented young people, both gay and straight, to cities that thrive on diversity.”
Major supporters of the ordinance include the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, the Shreveport-Bossier African American Chamber of Commerce and The Shreveport Times. The ordinance was held with bipartisan support from the Council.
Learn more at befairshreveport.org.
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