CC Minutes - 10/14/02 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Bev Anderson, 2455 West 23rd Avenue, spoke against the proposed ordinances. She raised concern that an ordinance that went beyond the scope of the City went beyond its authority. She said it was not the purview of the City government to legislate beyond its borders. Albert Roy, 8 Coburg Road, said the opportunity for fraud was great since the proposed code language only addressed those transgendered people who were in transition. He said the proposed language was scary for business owners. He noted that the code allowed for discrimination in housing rental by gender since a woman did not have to rent to a male who would share the same bathroom. He questioned the difference between a public locker room/restroom and a personal one. He said the code language needed to address that point. He noted that he had made a personal contract with a person in transition who wanted to train at his school and suggested that his method would be better than enacting a new law. He urged rejection of the ordinance. Steve Bus, 4023 Wagoner Street, spoke in opposition to the revised code changes. He said the gender identity code change did not consider the safety of children. He questioned the effect the changes would have on public schools. Karla Moser, 695 West 21st Avenue, reiterated the concern over public safety mentioned by previous speakers. She said the proposal would shatter any safety that was felt by women and children in public restrooms. She said that safe accommodations would involve considerable expense to businesses and City tax payers. Melissa Hart, 753 West 5th Avenue, expressed her support for the domestic partner registry. She related how her mother had "come out" when she was nine years old and told how the California court system had sent her and her siblings to live with their abusive father. She said if her mother and her partner had a domestic partner registry available to them then she would have been able to live with her mother. She urged the council to adopt the proposed code language. Nancy Hansen, 4870 West Hillside Drive, expressed her admiration for the issues that the City Council had to handle. She noted that there were legal issues around gender identity in that when someone made a gender change they had to have had legally verified surgery. She raised concern over bathroom usage by anyone who did not have this type of verification. She raised concern that the proposed changes were coercive. Nick Urhausen, 2858 Warren, raised concern that the Human Rights Commission was making laws for the community and the City Council was rubber-stamping the proposal. He supported a domestic partner registry for gay people but opined that domestic partner registry for heterosexuals would only cause confusion to the public. Jerylynn Black, 1545 Flintridge Avenue, spoke on behalf of Emergence GITA in support of the code revisions. She said it was the right thing to do. Laura Phillips, 4870 Garnet, said she had facilitated a GOBTQ youth support group. She said the City could make a declaration of principal through its laws that the City would take a stand against acts of mistreatment. She said this would make a large difference to G©BTQ kids and parents. Dr. Teresa Calahan, 537 Honeysuckle Lane, said there was a safety issue that did needed to be addressed, which was the fact that transgendered were in far more danger from heterosexual MINUTES--Eugene City Council October 14, 2002 Page 9 Regular Meeting