“Today we heard from people whose lives have been adversely affected--even to the point of homelessness--by discrimination because of their gender identity,” said Council Chair Larry Phillips. “They were here to ask for basic fairness when it comes to employment and housing, not ‘special rights.’ Equal treatment before the law is the goal of this legislation.”

“It took the state of Washington three decades to act to protect the rights of sexual minorities,” said Councilmember Dow Constantine. “That’s too long to wait. We want to declare right now that there is no room for inequality in King County.”

“For the words ‘equal protection under the law’ to ring true, this is a necessary piece of legislation,” said Councilmember Bob Ferguson. “This is truly a quality of life issue. Without it, sexual minorities will continue to be denied rights the rest of us take for granted.”

“Exclusion is starting to creep back into our society. This ordinance is a reminder that we will fight to prevent that from reoccurring,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett. “This law would send one clear and powerful message: that regardless of sexual orientation or identity, discrimination will not be tolerated.”

“We heard today about the challenges people face everyday because of their gender identity,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson. “People in King County should be able to earn a living and make a home for their family without the fear of discrimination.”

The proposed ordinance sponsored by Council Chair Larry Phillips and Councilmembers Dow Constantine, Larry Gossett, Bob Ferguson, and Julia Patterson, will amend the definition of sexual orientation in the King County Code to match the one adopted by the Washington state Legislature in January, which includes gender identity.

The County Council has been working on this legislation since 2004, when it held a public hearing on a similar measure co-sponsored by Councilmembers Constantine, Phillips, Ferguson and Gossett.

This proposal would standardize rules applying to cases of discrimination filed under each of the four civil rights areas covered by the King County code: employment, public accommodations, housing and contracting. If approved, businesses and citizens will have a standard set of rules and penalties to more easily follow than current county code that varies by type of discrimination. All complainants will be able to take their cases directly to court without first pursuing a county civil rights complaint, and the county Office of Civil Rights would be granted subpoena powers in all such cases.

The ordinance remains before the Council, which is scheduled to continue the public hearing on the legislation on Monday, March 27.