Op-Ed: Idaho Won’t Add Words Soon

Thirty years ago, the Idaho Legislature was among the last holdouts in recognizing Martin Luther King’s birthday as a holiday and the Gem State was looking pretty silly. Finally, in 1990, the Legislature enacted a Martin Luther King/Idaho Human Rights Day as a state holiday, sparing Idaho from being a national laughingstock. My guess is that same sort of political evolution will occur regarding adding the words, “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to Idaho’s Human Rights Act. The issue has been there for nine years and the Legislature finally agreed to hold a hearing. The bill came from the strangest of places, the House Ways and Means Committee, which rarely is heard from until the end of a session when lawmakers are putting together a “going-home” bill. So, for the spirited proponents of “add the words,” there at least is a significant measure of progress/ Chuck Malloy , former editorial writer/Idaho Statesman. More here .

Question: When do you expect Idaho to “add the words”?