Texas city could be first in nation to rescind LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination protections

"The Arlington City Council will vote on a revised ordinance Tuesday evening, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, which would remove "Gender Identity and Expression" and "Sexual Orientation" as protected groups. Arlington's current anti-discrimination ordinance prohibits "any direct or indirect exclusion, distinction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, or other differentiation in the treatment of a person or persons because of a race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.""

"Related: Federal judge in Texas rules LGBTQ+ people can be discriminated against at work Trump officials threatened early last month to revoke $65 million in federal grant money from the city if it did not remove language related to diversity, equity and inclusion from its municipal code. Both Arlington and Fort Worth subsequently voted to end their DEI programs and rewrite ordinances to exclude phrases related to race and gender."

"Iowa removed gender identity from its state Civil Rights Act in February, making it the first state in the country to take away rights from a group previously protected in law. If the ordinance in Arlington passes, it would be the first individual city to do so. Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Arlington, Virginia. Arlington Pride has called on residents to attend the city council meeting if they wish to voice their opposition to the reversal. The group said in a statement posted to social media that "we won't go backwards.""

Arlington's City Council will vote on a revised ordinance that would remove "Gender Identity and Expression" and "Sexual Orientation" as protected groups from local anti-discrimination law. The council previously suspended the clause after threats from the Trump administration and federal officials warned of revoking $65 million in grant funding if diversity, equity and inclusion language remained. Both Arlington and Fort Worth ended DEI programs and revised ordinances. Iowa removed gender identity from its Civil Rights Act earlier this year. Arlington Pride urged residents to attend the council meeting to oppose the proposed reversal.

Read at Advocate.com