A proposed change to a pending City Council resolution reaffirming Tulsa as a welcoming city would eliminate language that explicitly highlights fostering a safe and inclusive community, “regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
Another proposed change would remove language that states that the city recognizes the harmful economic and health implications of discrimination “based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.”
The modifications to the document do not remove all references to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; they remain among the group of protected classes listed in the document as welcomed by the city.
City Councilor Laura Bellis, one of the four sponsors of the resolution, said the proposed changes are meant to address the perception that it was prioritizing one group of people over another, “despite everyone having a sexuality and gender expression.”
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“You will still see all of the protected groups, identities listed later in the document,” Bellis said.
Councilors are scheduled to discuss the proposed nonbinding resolution during a committee meeting on Wednesday morning and could vote on it as early as Wednesday night.
In proposing the resolution, Bellis and other sponsors of the measure said it was meant to apply to all Tulsans but that the resolution made special note of the LGTBQ community because of legislation and incidents, including locally, that have targeted those groups.
“There are an array of people who do identify as LGBTQ in our community who have been feeling less safe recently, and again, they also, of course, have many other identities, as well,” Bellis told her colleagues last week. “We have had businesses that have been attacked. We have people who have been called slurs.”
Asked Monday whether the proposed changes amounted to watering down the document, Bellis described the original resolution as “kind of a bare minimum effort.”
“I will see where we land after the committee discussion before I decide if I think we have watered it down or backed down from anything,” she said.
Bellis said she believes the core of the document still holds all of the same sentiments related to wanting everyone to have safety and feel embraced by the community.
“I think the full language and narrative of it still holds that,” Bellis said. “Again, this is a resolution, not a policy, and I think just this process is showing us we have a lot of work to do, including when we think about policies.
“I think we will have to see how the discussion goes in committee and then how the vote goes Wednesday to really see what this is saying or not saying about our community at the end of the day.”
Councilor Lori Decter Wright, another sponsor of the resolution, said the changes to the proposed resolution were made based on feedback from the public and other councilors.
She noted that the document does not entirely remove the references to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
“I think we just clarified the language so people understand this is for all Tulsans and all marginalized classes,” Wright said.
People have been focusing on pushing back on the LGTBQ language, “which is not OK,” Wright said.
“And I think if you see the amount of homophobic emails we have received, it just amplifies even more the work that needs to be done. But not to the detriment or less recognition of equality and equity for all.”
In addition to Bellis and Wright, the resolution is being sponsored by Councilors Vanessa Hall-Harper and Crista Patrick.
Councilor Christian Bengel stated his opposition to the measure last week, and two of his colleagues — Jeannie Cue and Jayme Fowler — indicated that they were undecided.
Councilor Phil Lakin, who was unable to attend the meeting, told the Tulsa World he needed time to review the recording of the committee meeting and discuss the issue with his colleagues before making a decision.
Councilor Grant Miller did not attend Wednesday’s council meetings but has indicated on social media that he would like to see changes to the document that ensure that it reflects the city’s desire to be a welcoming city for all Tulsans.
Mayor G.T. Bynum, meanwhile, said last week that he supported the resolution as drafted.
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