Petitioners are seeking a repeal of Springfield City Council-approved additions of sexual orientation and gender identity to the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance.
Springfield City Clerk Brenda Cirtin’s office received a referendum petition with nearly 2,350 signatures opposing the
Oct. 13 decision, according to a news release. During the council meeting last month, council members added protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations. Previously, the ordinance prohibited discrimination only on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, age (40 to 69 years old) or disability.
Petition organizer Dick Hardy said he worked on behalf of churches on what he called a disappointing council move.
“It strikes directly at religious freedom,” said Hardy, founder of Springfield-based pastoral leadership consulting firm The Hardy Group. “It says business owners don’t have the right to hire people of the moral character that they choose.”
Cirtin said additional signatures are expected to arrive this afternoon from another organizer, Calvin Morrow.
Petitioners are required to gather signatures equal to 10 percent or more of the votes cast in the most recent municipal election, which was 11,444 in April 2013. If less than 1,144 signatures are certified during the clerk’s 20 days to complete the certification process, petitioners would have 10 days to obtain additional signatures.
If the petition is certified, council would have two options: Repeal the ordinance or send it to voters in the next municipal election in April, according to the release.[[In-content Ad]]
