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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Add the Words bill hearing draws 500

BOISE – Nearly 500 people flocked to Idaho’s state Capitol on Monday to give heartfelt testimony on a proposed law to ban discrimination against gays and transgender people.

“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.

The legislation, called the “Add the Words” bill, had been denied a public hearing for nine years.

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 unfounded 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.” “My earliest recollection is that I knew myself to be a girl. Everyone else told me I was a boy,” she 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.”

None of those things have happened in the Idaho cities that have passed local non-discrimination ordinances, she said.

“I live, work and love in this state,” she said. “Please, Mr. Chairman and committee members, make my home state safe for me by passing HB 2.”

The hearing was historic for Idaho. Supporters of the 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. 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.

During the course of the day, 70 people testified, and they were evenly divided – 35 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.”