Fort Wayne Plans for Public Dialogue on Gender Identity

By Dino Sierp, IE Field Organizer

As noted in our March issue, members of the Fort Wayne City Council voted not to allow an introduction of a proposed amendment sponsored by Councilor Karen Goldner to add gender identity/expression as protected classes to Fort Wayne’s human rights ordinance. The city already includes protections based on sexual orientation barring discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.

Introduction of an ordinance is a procedural vote and routinely passes to allow Councilors an opportunity to discuss the merits of the proposal.  If the measure had been allowed to be introduced, the Council would have heard public testimony and conducted discussion at a following council meeting before taking a vote on the proposed ordinance.  Instead, five of the nine council members (Councilors Harper, Brown, Bender, Didier and Smith) opted not to allow the measure to move forward, consequently ending discussion before it could even take place. 

False information and negative tactics stirred up by opponents of equality clearly indicated the need to further educate Fort Wayne citizens about gender identity and the obstacles transgender people face in their daily lives. 

In April, I met with representatives from the Interfaith Coalition on Nondiscrimination (ICON), Fort Wayne PFLAG, Unitarian Universalist Church, Crescent Avenue United Methodist Church, Beacon Heights Church of the Brethren, and students from Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW) to have a follow up discussion about the city council meeting in March and how we can begin to organize an event that will create public dialogue on the topic of gender identity.

The outcome of the meeting was to continue the planning stages throughout the summer and have the event take place in the fall at a local venue.   Fort Wayne PFLAG will be steering the project and is looking for individuals who would like to be involved as a committee member on this important community project.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Stan Pflueger, President of Fort Wayne PFLAG at HoosierStan201@gmail.com or dino@indianaequality.org.

Indiana Equality’s Human Rights Ordinance Project is supported by the Tides Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, the Gill Foundation, and anonymous donors.  For more information regarding IE’s HRO project, please contact Dino Sierp, IE Field Organizer, at dino@indianaequaqlity.org or by calling (888) 567-0750.