MISSOURI: Springfield Voters Narrowly Repeal LGBT Anti-Discrimination Law

It was a nail-biter in Springfield tonight but in the end the good guys lost.

The vote was close but Springfield voters on Tuesday rejected an anti-discrimination ordinance meant to protect gay men, lesbian women, and transgender people. The Springfield City Council added those protections to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance last October. The amendment aimed to provide protection from discrimination for gay, lesbian and transgender people in the areas of jobs, housing, and public accommodations. Those are the same protections guaranteed in the ordinance to women and people of color in Springfield. Opponents of the protections for gay, lesbian and transgender people collected petition signatures to force the City Council to either repeal the anti-discrimination amendment or to put it before voters. The City Council chose to put it on the ballot.

As always, hate groups will be doing cartwheels tomorrow.

MISSOURI: Springfield Readies For Repeal Vote On LGBT Non-Discrimination Laws

Colin Murphy reports at Boom LGBT:

Mirroring a wave of anti-equality efforts in state legislatures and cities across the nation, opponents of a recently passed LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in Missouri's third largest city are asking voters to repeal the law on April 7. In a 6-3 vote on Oct. 13, The Springfield City Council passed City Ordinance 6141, a bill to amend the city’s current nondiscrimination ordinance by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected categories in employment, housing, and public accommodations.

But any celebration was short-lived when the following month an opposition group successfully turned in more than 2,600 signatures (the threshold is 10 percent of the votes in the most recent April municipal election) to repeal the expansion through a ballot referendum known as Question 1. Proponents of the repeal say they don't want the regulations expanding into their businesses, their churches - or their bathrooms. "We're in a battle for our children and our children's children," said Calvin Morrow, Yes on Question 1 spokesman, the Springfield News Leader reports. Morrow went on to call the ordinance an attack on Christianity.

Leading the repeal drive is local megachurch Pastor John Lindell, who says, "It is possible for someone who has been a life-long alcoholic to stop. It is possible for somebody who has a cutting tongue and a big mouth to stop. It is possible for someone who is engaged in homosexual behavior to stop." Over 100 Springfield businesses have formed a coalition in opposition to the repeal. Yesterday the anti-LGBT side posted the below testimony from a local gay man who supports the repeal of his own rights. Note the on-screen message at the end.