100 signatures reached
To: City of Denton, TX
Denton Needs an LGBTQIA Non-Discrimination Ordinance
Denton, TX lacks a city-wide non-discrimination ordinance. While LGBTQIA Americans have gained some rights with the Supreme Court ruling in favor of marriage equality, there are many areas where queer Americans would benefit from additional protections to sheild them from injustice, discrimination, and hardship.
For example, Texas lacks a state-wide protection statement. Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Plano already have city-wide equal rights ordinances that protect their citizens from being denied their rights to access services, medical care, housing, and employment due to discrimination.
We need Denton to follow suit and take action NOW to pass an equal rights ORDINANCE.
In a recent interview (linked here),
https://www.keranews.org/texas-news/2020-02-28/denton-city-council-has-mixed-reaction-to-ordinances-designed-to-protect-lgbtq-people
Mayor Chris Watts stated that he felt it was best to wait to pass anything until the Supreme Court took up the issue. The recent victory in the Supreme Court provides protection regarding employment, but there is still work to be done with housing and public accommodation. With the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice up in the air, we cannot rely solely on the Supreme Court to do what is right. We need to step out of the past and into the future and protect Denton's amazing people by doing so.
Why is this important?
There are many voices in Denton that have been pushing for this change based on their own experiences. You can see stories from your own neighbors about instances of discrimination in housing, employment, and medical care from this local site: https://yall-means-all.com/stories/. This local site also has a page for getting involved for those who want to take more direct action.
You can learn more about the experience of LGBTQIA Texans from the Williams Institute of Law (linked below), which sums up some experiences, facts, and laws that currently harm or fail to protect the community right here in our state. This climate is what makes this ordinance more important than ever.
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/impact-lgbt-discrimination-tx/
These stories of discrimination are just some of many that LGBTQIA Americans face in Texas, in Denton, and in our community. We have such a vibrant, wonderful city culture, but behind the scenes, some of our valuable residents and neighbors are still living in a society that can get away with treating them as "less-than,” and our Mayor and City has declined to stand up for them. It's time we change that!
(Please note: We contacted local community leaders, and we worked with them prior to setting up this petition. We mean only to continue the conversation, push our neighbors to act, and to honor the work that has been done and will continue to be done to help Denton be the place we know it is).
How it will be delivered
We are using this petition as a way to get people involved and informed. Ultimately, to really make an impact beyond continuing the conversation and bringing the issue to other's attention, we encourage you to contact your city government and let them know this is important to you and to Denton. You can find contact info for the city here: https://www.cityofdenton.com/en-us/government/city-officials/city-council
You can call or email them to make your voice heard!