Equal Rights on the Ballot – Community Leaders Stand Up for One Anchorage

Remember when Ordinance 64 came before the Assembly? It stated that the LGBT community should have basic equal rights when it comes to housing, education, employment and use of public facilities. Pretty basic stuff, right? Well, after almost 24 hours of public testimony (including testimony from people who didn’t even live in Anchorage, yet were bussed in from evangelical Wasilla churches), the Anchorage Assembly voted yes on the ordinance.

And after weeks of debate, during what has been dubbed “The Summer of Hate”, Mayor Dan Sullivan had the hubris to circumvent the public process, and the vote of the Assembly. He vetoed the ordinance, keeping Anchorage in the Dark Ages, and saying it was OK for employers to fire people, or landlords to evict people, simply for their sexual orientation. The Anchorage LGBT community and its supporters reeled. But they have risen again, and this time they are putting it to a vote of the people. An initiative will appear on the April 3, 2012 Municipal ballot asking the citizens of the city what they want, and what they think is fair.  The question is:

Shall the current Municipal Code sections providing legal protections against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, physical disability, and mental disability be amended to include protections on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender identity?

The full petition application is HERE.

A press conference was held today by One Anchorage, the organizers of the initiative. The media and representatives of the campaign met in the lobby of City Hall right before more than 13,500 signatures were submitted – more than twice the 5,871 needed to put the initiative on the ballot. Present to speak to the media were former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles, former Republican State Senator Arliss Sturgelewski, and One Anchorage’s Trevor Storrs.

“This initiative is about providing all Anchorage residents equal protections under the law, plain and simple,” said Trevor Storrs, chair of One Anchorage. “No matter what religious or political background you have, we can all agree that treating people equally is an absolute must for our community. Everyone deserves equal and fair housing and employment opportunities.”

A few hours later, across town, another group met to voice their support for One Anchorage.  The group Christians for Equality, representing a number of religious and faith-based organizations in Anchorage also stood up for the initiative.

Photo courtesy of Amy Coffman

“Equality is a core value of our Christian faith,” said Rev. Michael Burke, pastor of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and convener of Christians for Equality. “That’s why we firmly support the One Anchorage initiative, because it calls for equal treatment of one another and protects those in our community who have no legal rights against discrimination today. We are speaking out so that the full voice of the Christian community is heard on the issue of equality,” said Burke.

The group’s members also include: Rev. Peter Perry of St. John’s United Methodist Church; Rev. Martin Eldred of Joy Lutheran Church; Rev. Susan Knight of Immanuel Presbyterian Church; Rev. Dan Bollerud of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church; Rev. George Blair of First Congregationsl Church; Rev. Sara Gavit of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church; Rev. Beatrice Hitchcock of the Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship; Rev. Ron Myers of First United Methodist Church; Rev. Glenn Petersen of Central Lutheran Church; Rev. Paul Boling and Rev. David Boling of First Christian Church, Rev. Julia Seymour of Lutheran Church of Hope; Rev. Drew Pheonix of The United Methodist Church; Rev. Johnathan Jones of Church Life AK; Rev. Gayle Nauska of Nauska Counseling, and Rev. Susan Halvor, Chaplain.

“The biblical message is an ethic of love,” said Rev. Peter Perry, senior pastor of St. John United Methodist Church. “When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus responded, ‘Love the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ We affirm that we are all made in the image of God and are therefore called to honor the dignity and equality of all persons. Discrimination and unfair treatment are never loving.”

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