Lincoln’s Future Jeopardized By The Radical Right
Lincoln is currently thriving under the leadership of Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and a Democratic majority on the City Council. Lincoln currently has an amazingly low 1.5% unemployment rate and it was recently named the 7th happiest city in the country by Wallet Hub.
Unfortunately, there is a storm cloud on the horizon. Radical and dangerous right wingers want to reverse all of this progress and sully Lincoln’s reputation by repealing its recently enacted Fairness Ordinance.
As a result of a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision, federal law currently protects sexual orientation and gender identity against discrimination in the workplace. That decision has required the City of Lincoln to align its outdated municipal code with federal law.
According to the Journal Star: “The Lincoln Fairness Ordinance would revise an entire section of the city’s code dealing with equal opportunity….As the original fairness ordinance did, the proposed code revisions redefine “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identification but it also includes numerous other changes to the 66-page ordinance that spells out the duties of the Commission on Human Rights and the protections provided to Lincolnites in housing, employment and public accommodation. The proposed ordinance adds military personnel and veterans as a protected class.”
The so-called Nebraska Family Alliance has gathered enough signatures to place the repeal of the Fairness Ordinance on the ballot in 2022. This dangerous right wing group is already pushing out misstatements and outright fabrications about the Fairness Ordinance.
The lies being pushed out by this so-called family group is that it will lead to a wave of bathroom assaults in women’s restrooms by men dressed as women, ruinous fines paid by business and restrictions on religious freedom. This will be a campaign based upon fear and lies. We need to step up and fight back against the forces of reaction.
What the radical right doesn’t tell you is that Omaha has had a Fairness Ordinance since 2012. None of the terrible things they are predicting for Lincoln have happened in Omaha. There have been no bathroom attacks and very few claims. It’s been pretty quiet on the eastern front.
The other baseless allegations were largely rebutted in a February 21 article in the Lincoln Journal Star on the Lincoln Human Rights Commission. The following excerpts are the most illustrative:
“Churches generally don’t fall under public accommodation laws, and city ordinance generally exempts religious organizations, as well as private clubs not open to the public. Employers with fewer than four employees also are exempted.
In cases brought to the commission, the goal is to help both parties reach a resolution, not impose sanctions or fines...
While opponents are correct that fines can be assessed, a complaint must go through a public hearing before they can be assessed by the hearing officer, and that rarely happens.
In the past five years, just two cases reached the point of a public hearing and neither of those resulted in fines being assessed...”
This attempt to ruin Lincoln’s positive image is a threat to our future since Nebraska is experiencing a brain drain in which young people are leaving the state. David Drozd, demographer for the UNO Center for Public Affairs Research, said Nebraska ranked 10th worst in the country in out-migration of people 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree from 2012 to 2016.
Repeal of the Fairness Ordinance would only exacerbate this problem and would give Lincoln the reputation as a reactionary and unwelcome city. Businesses and workers would leave town. At the same time, it would be virtually impossible for Lincoln to attract new businesses and workers. Repeal of the Fairness Ordinance would be an unnecessary, self inflicted wound.
It’s time for all fair minded Lincoln residents to stand up to the radical right and fight this threat to our future. We must all commit our time and money to this campaign. I’m convinced that if we do this, we will win. I have faith in many of our fellow citizens. Now let’s get it done!