A Tale Of Two Cities

Orlando FL and Billings MT…

In Orlando BuzzFeed LGBT reports that,

For Orlando transgender advocate Gina Duncan, the city council’s unanimous vote Monday to outlaw discrimination against transgender people “tied the loop” in making the city’s non-discrimination protections equal across the LGBT community.
The Orlando City Council, led by Mayor Buddy Dyer, voted 7-0 to approve an amendment to the city’s Human Rights Ordinance that adds “gender identity” as a protected class in the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodations. Previously, the ordinance included protections on the basis of “sexual orientation” among, race, sex, religion, disability and other protected classes.

Meanwhile up in Billings Montana the Billings Gazette reports that,

The NDO acronym could take on a new form. Call it the “never dies ordinance.”
Fresh off the ordinance’s 6-5 defeat early Tuesday, a pair of Billings City Council members said they’ll let it rest — for now.
But it’s going to come up again, Councilwoman Jani McCall said, although Roberts Rules of Order requires that the reconsideration come from one of the six council members voting against the ordinance — Mayor Tom Hanel or members Shaun Brown, Rich McFadden, Mike Yakawich, Angela Cimmino or Denis Pitman.

And that’s how it goes, we win some and we lose some but we are winning more and more now. There are some conservative bastions that are holding out but more states and municipalities are realizing that discrimination is wrong.