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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Idahoans flock to Capitol to speak out for, against anti-discrimination law for gays

Idahoans line up to testify at a hearing Monday on the "Add the Words" bill, to ban discrimination against gays (AP / Otto Kitsinger)
BOISE – Nearly 500 people flocked to Idaho’s state Capitol on Monday to give heartfelt testimony both for and against a proposed law to ban discrimination against gays and transgender people in housing, employment and public accommodations. The hearing ran past 9 p.m. and will continue on Tuesday and possibly longer. “If there was any doubt that people wanted the chance to talk on this, I guess it’s dispelled,” said Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, the bill’s lead sponsor. Backers of the bill told emotional stories of being harassed on the job, beat up, and turned away. Opponents said the measure would violate their religious freedoms, and Idahoans could treat each other equitably without passing such a law. Julie Staley of Idaho Falls said another woman threatened her husband’s business because he opposed a local anti-discrimination ordinance. “My question is why didn’t they just go elsewhere? Why is it so important to target small business?” she asked. Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow with the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., told the lawmakers, “A business that places unfound prejudice” ahead of serving customers “will be punished by the forces of the free market itself. There is no need to bring the heavy hand of government down upon it.” Jenny Seibert of Post Falls told the committee in her deep voice, “You may be able to tell the reason why I’m here today.” She said, “My earliest recollection is that I knew myself to be a girl. Everyone else told me I was a boy.” In response, Seibert said, “You really learn how to play a role. We learn to hide, because we have to, sometimes to live, sometimes to make a living, and sometimes to find that place to live in. Maybe it oughtn’t to be that way, because dang it, I was born this way.” Cammie Pavesic of Coeur d’Alene, said, “I am not a second-class citizen. I am also not special, but I am equal and I am valuable. I heard testimony today from some fancy Washington, D.C. attorneys about all the scary things that could happen if we pass HB 2.” But she said none of those things have happened in the Idaho cities that have passed local non-discrimination ordinances. “I live, work and love in this state. Please, Mr. Chairman and committee members, make my home state safe for me by passing HB 2.” The hearing was historic for Idaho. Backers of the “Add the Words” bill, to add the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to religion, race, national origin, sex, disability and the other factors for which discrimination is banned by the Idaho Human Rights Act, have been pressing for a hearing on the bill for a decade, but the Idaho Legislature has refused even to grant it a hearing for the past nine straight years. Last year, more than 100 people were arrested at the state Capitol during the legislative session, in silent protests aimed at sending the message that they hadn’t been heard. Idaho’s Lincoln Auditorium was full for the House State Affairs Committee hearing, as were three overflow rooms; the hearing also was broadcast live on the Internet. Nearly 500 people had signed in for the hearing by mid-day, 173 of them saying they were for the bill, 237 against, and the rest not indicating. The hearing ran for three and a half hours on Monday morning, then recessed, and then ran from 5 p.m. until after 9 p.m. In that time, 70 people testified, evenly split: 35 of them were in favor of the bill and 35 against it. Sonja Davis of Idaho Falls said, “I feel that I should have the freedom to hire the employee that I believe will work best. … There are already plenty of regulations controlling small businesses. What section of society will be next? Tall people, short people, fat people, people with acne, people who are vegetarian, vegan? Where will it stop?” James Hanna told the lawmakers, “I never expected discrimination to happen based on my sexual orientation.” But he said while working at Harbor Freight Tools, he was harassed by a coworker for being gay. “I was threatened and felt unsafe to be here,” he said. He tried to file a complaint with the Idaho Human Rights Commission, but they wouldn’t take it because Idaho’s law doesn’t cover sexual orientation, he said. “Not supporting this is not the Idaho way,” he said. “Idaho is about respect and dignity of everybody here.” Arvell Bajema of Fruitland told the lawmakers, “I want to address a claim by many LBGTs that they were born with their sexual orientation or gender identity. … The reality is that all of us are designed by God to be heterosexual.” When another speaker said the bill violated God’s teachings, Rep. John McCrostie, D-Boise, told him that he, too, is a Christian, and a graduate of Oral Roberts University. “I consider myself to be a man of faith as well,” McCrostie said. “One of the aspects that differentiates the two of us … you’re a straight man. I have a husband and I’m gay. So my question for you, is are your religious beliefs equal to the same religious beliefs that I possess, or are your religious beliefs greater than mine?” Thompson said he wasn’t suggesting that, but said, “I have no other way to interpret this scripture.” Ken Connelly, attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the Hitching Post wedding chapel in Coeur d’Alene along with businesses in other states that have objected to anti-discrimination laws for gays, told the lawmakers, “The government has no business dictating to a private citizen what he is to believe and not believe, and HB 2 would do just that.” Eastern Idaho GOP activist Doyle Beck told the committee, “I’m somewhat offended that this bill has been introduced and is seriously being debated. It implies that Idahoans are nasty people. That we discriminate against our neighbors unless the government somehow intervenes and comes in to straighten us out. I’m not saying that discrimination doesn’t exist, but I am saying that it’s very minimal.”