Brown, Gay Leaders Cut Deal on Antidiscrimination Legislation

In a landmark meeting over the weekend, Mayor Lee Brown and Houston
gay leaders have agreed to substitute an ordinance extending insurance
coverage for same-sex domestic partners of city employees for broader
antidiscrimination legislation to be introduced at City Council in the
coming months.

The decision sets the stage for a referendum expected later this
summer with Brown committed to defending the ordinance from
conservative challengers.

Councilwoman Annise Parker confirmed that she and the mayor will
release statements later this afternoon outlining the agreement.
Parker had strongly supported the domestic partners ordinance but now
says the broader antidiscrimination ordinance is a necessary first
step to protect gays before they in effect identify their sexual
orientation by applying for benefits.

Brown had asked for the meeting Saturday to outline the new
approach, and some 40 leaders from gay community groups voted
unanimously to endorse it.

“The consensus we reached,” says Parker, “is that we really want
domestic partner benefits, but we already have councilmembers
threatening to audit the insurance bills turned in by gay domestic
partners. The community told the mayor it is more important to have
job protections and to defer the domestic partnership discussion until
those job protections are in place.”

The move also is a strategic one, says a source. Elections around
the country indicate that referendums on nondiscrimination tend to
attract far more public support than proposals for domestic partner
insurance coverage.

A similar ordinance to ban job discrimination against gays in city
employment was overturned in the mid-’80s by a referendum pushed by
religious conservatives. Parker says that if a referendum is called
this time around, the results will be different.

“We’re confident this is the right thing for the city, and we’re
confident we’ll win if it goes to a referendum,” she says.