Fairness West Virginia Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Town Of Bethany Votes To Prohibit Anti-LGBTQ Discrimination

On Wednesday, the Bethany Town Council unanimously voted to adopt a local fairness law, which prohibits anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing, employment and public services.

The Bethany Town Council unanimously voted to prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimination in housing, employment and public services Wednesday evening.

The council passed a new ordinance known colloquially as a fairness law, which expands nondiscrimination policies locally.

These ordinances provide residents protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, which are omitted from the West Virginia Human Rights Act.

The small Brooke County community is not alone in passing protections for LGBTQ residents. Eighteen other municipalities across West Virginia have passed local fairness laws as recently as 2022.

LGBTQ advocacy groups like Fairness West Virginia say these laws demonstrate that West Virginia communities welcome diversity, and are taking proactive steps to support LGBTQ residents.

The laws “telegraph to the entire state, and entire country, and the world for that matter, that those communities are inclusive places to live and raise a family,” said Executive Director Andrew Schneider.

Schneider said Fairness West Virginia works with communities to spread awareness about local fairness laws, but that community organizers in Bethany took initiative in pushing for the policy.

“Bethany’s leaders stepped up to protect their LGBTQ friends and neighbors,” he said. “They proved yet again that no community is too small to welcome everyone.”

The idea for the Bethany ordinance arose when Erin James-Brown, a local community leader and West Virginia transplant, learned that the state lacked codified protections against anti-LGBTQ discrimination.

James-Brown serves as pastor of the Bethany Memorial Church, which is “an LGBTQ+-affirming church,” she said. “We have queer people in (our) leadership and we celebrate marriages. They’re an essential part of our life as a church.”

After hearing about Fairness West Virginia’s advocacy work, James-Brown said she approached members of the Bethany Town Council with the idea of passing a non-discrimination ordinance for LGBTQ residents.

Over the course of several months, James-Brown said she watched as the council worked through the policy and, ultimately, settled on a law to pass.

In addition to supporting LGBTQ residents, this brings opportunities for new businesses and tourists to come to the small town, James-Brown said.

“To have it passed, I just broke out into applause,” she said. “The responses I’ve gotten are text messages from people just saying how excited they are.”

Beyond advocacy on the local level, Schneider said his organization has encouraged state lawmakers to pass a fairness law for the entirety of West Virginia.

Fairness laws have been introduced in the West Virginia Legislature before, with a bill prohibiting anti-LGBTQ discrimination proposed just months ago at the start of the 2024 legislative session.

But these bills rarely get traction, despite support from advocacy groups. This year’s bill was sent into a committee on the first day of the regular session, where it sat for all sixty days.

Despite setbacks like these, Schneider said that the success of fairness laws on the local level shows growing support for the LGBTQ community across West Virginia.

“We hope that, eventually, (as) more communities adopt these laws, it will put increasing pressure and influence on their state legislators to take the action to get the law passed statewide,” he said.

LGBTQ Rights Groups Discuss Concerns With 2024 Legislation, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virgnia Morning, lawmakers have introduced bills this session that they say protect single-sex spaces. Advocates with LGBTQ rights organizations, though, say the legislation follows a pattern of singling out transgender people for discrimination. Curtis Tate spoke with Eli Baumwell, interim executive director of the ACLU-WV, and Isabella Cortez, gender policy manager for Fairness West Virginia, about those efforts.

On this West Virgnia Morning, lawmakers have introduced bills this session that they say protect single-sex spaces. Advocates with LGBTQ rights organizations, though, say the legislation follows a pattern of singling out transgender people for discrimination.

Curtis Tate spoke with Eli Baumwell, interim executive director of the ACLU-WV, and Isabella Cortez, gender policy manager for Fairness West Virginia, about those efforts.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Eric Douglas is our producer.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

LGBTQ Rights Leaders Weigh In On 2024 Session

On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers have introduced bills this session that they say protect single-sex spaces. Advocates with LGBTQ rights organizations, though, say the legislation follows a pattern of singling out transgender people for discrimination.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, lawmakers have introduced bills this session that they say protect single-sex spaces. Advocates with LGBTQ rights organizations, though, say the legislation follows a pattern of singling out transgender people for discrimination.

Curtis Tate spoke with Eli Baumwell, interim executive director of the ACLU-WV, and Isabella Cortez, Gender Policy Manager for Fairness West Virginia, about those efforts.

In the House, five bills on third reading were approved, including two that fostered some debate over election laws, voting laws and candidate filing periods.

In the Senate, the chamber passed and sent two bills over to the House and introduced a separate bill that would change rules for wineries in the state. Briana Heaney has more.

Also, to start the week, education committees in both chambers have focused on supporting students in difficult situations. Chris Schulz has more.

Finally, it was WVU Day at the Capitol, and the growing public, private and academic partnership in workforce development was the leading theme on display.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Fairmont Becomes The 18th City In W.Va. To Pass A Fairness Law

The laws protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

Fairmont joins 17 other cities statewide to have passed a Fairness Law. The vote on Monday was 7-2.

Monongah, also in Marion County, enacted its ordinance in September. Bolivar, in Jefferson County, enacted one in April. Keyser and South Charleston enacted theirs last year.

The laws protect LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations.

West Virginia has no statewide anti-discrimination law for its LGBTQ residents.

The Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ rights organization, scores seven of the state’s cities on its equality index.

Fairmont is not one of them, but nondiscrimination laws carry the most weight of the factors it considers.

Huntington and Morgantown scored a perfect 100. By contrast, Parkersburg, which does not have a Fairness Law, scored 13.

Huntington, Morgantown Earn Perfect Scores For LGBTQ Inclusivity, Non-Discrimination

The Human Rights Campaign has released its 2021 Municipal Equality Index. The index ranks cities on how inclusive they are.

The rankings are based on factors including nondiscrimination laws, municipal employment policies, inclusiveness of city services and law enforcement with regard to LGBTQ persons and municipal leadership on matters of equality.

The cities of Huntington and Morgantown have both achieved perfect scores for 2021.

Jack Jarvis from Fairness West Virginia presented the awards virtually, today.

“The index isn’t a perfect tool for measuring how inclusive our cities are,” he said. “But it’s one important tool we have. It allows us to see how our cities stack up against cities across the country.”

Huntington received a perfect score for the third consecutive year. Morgantown also achieved a perfect score of 100 for the first time this year. The national average score is 67.

“It’s time for the world to know that West Virginia can be a welcoming place where all kinds of people belong,” said Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia. “We’ve known for a long time these communities are welcoming, and today’s report card proves that. I congratulate the leaders of Morgantown for all of their hard work this year toward inclusivity. I look forward to more cities joining the ranks of these all-stars, and to leaders at the state level stepping up to protect all Mountaineers from discrimination.”

Morgantown’s score in the 2020 MEI was 77, meaning the city jumped 23 points in a single year. Part of Morgantown’s significant score increase was because members of city council there adopted a bill to ban so-called conversion therapy.

“The city of Morgantown is a welcoming place where everyone is valued,” said Morgantown Mayor Jenny Selin. “We’ve worked hard together as a community to advance policies that will ensure our LGBTQ residents can live free from discrimination, and we will continue this important work in the future. All of our children, including our LGBTQ children and their friends, deserve the chance to grow up in communities that support them. I’m proud that our city has earned full marks on the Municipal Equality Index this year.”

Other West Virginia cities listed in the report are Charleston, Wheeling Charles Town, Lewisburg and Parkersburg. Charleston was the only other city from West Virginia above the national average with a score of 94.

Parkersburg scored just 13 in the report.

Huntington, Morgantown and Charleston were also designated “All-Star” cities for scoring above 85 points despite being in a state without LGBTQ-inclusive statewide non-discrimination laws.

The City of Charleston adopted the state’s first conversion therapy ban in August. Caitlin Cook, a member of Charleston’s City Council, was the lead sponsor of that bill and is a member of the city’s LGBTQ Working Group.

“We became the first municipality in our state to ban the harmful practice of conversion therapy on minors and established an LGBTQ working group to continue advancing inclusive policies in the Capital City,” Cook said. “Looking forward, it is my hope we can continue to value and uplift LGBTQ voices in our community as well as improve our inclusivity score.”

Across the country, there are 74 cities in this category.

Leaders from Morgantown, Charleston and Huntington joined Fairness West Virginia to announce the scores and celebrate the improvements. Watch a recording of the virtual ceremony here.

LGBTQ Rights Advocates Respond To Huntington Delegate’s Comments, Continue Push For Fairness Act

Advocates for equal rights for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities are continuing their push to end discrimination.

The renewed effort to pass The Fairness Act — a perennial legislative proposal that would outlaw discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual preference and gender identity — comes on the heels of the latest comments on the issue from Del. John Mandt, R-Cabell, as the legislative session approaches.

In a Facebook post published last week, Mandt outlined his opposition to the Fairness Act.

“Oftentimes evil cloaks itself in pleasant sounding terms, and that is exactly what the Fairness Act does. There is nothing fair about it,” Mandt wrote on Feb. 4. “It falsely claims to be a civil rights bill about fairness in employment and housing. But instead it’s nothing more than a wrongful appropriation of the civil rights movement to force a behavioral pattern into a legally protected class.”

Mandt’s comments followed Del. Josh Higginbotham, R-Putnam, announcing that he would introduce the Fairness Act this legislative session. But Mandt’s recent remarks on issues of gay rights aren’t the first time he’s drawn controversy.

Mandt resigned from his seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in October 2020 after screenshots surfaced showing him using homophobic slurs. But he later reclaimed his seat following the November general election after saying he would once again serve if re-elected.

Fairness West Virginia, along with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a pair of Democratic state lawmakers and others from the Huntington community, held a news conference Tuesday to respond to Mandt’s comments made on social media.

“We are not asking for special treatment. We are just asking to be treated like every other West Virginian,” said Ally Layman, president of Huntington Pride, about the Fairness Act. “We’d like to be free from possible harassment or fear of folks turning down our business, and not welcoming us and our families.

Del. Cody Thompson, D-Randolph, is the only openly gay state lawmaker currently serving. During Tuesday’s news conference, Thompson made mention of other Republican lawmakers who had made anti-gay comments in recent sessions.

“I’m personally sick of it. I’m absolutely sick of working with people who do not value me as a person. You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to agree with my politics. But I respect you as a person, [so] you respect me and all other West Virginians of the LGBTQ community and respect them. I very much condemn the words of Delegate Mandt,” Thompson said.

Other speakers at Tuesday’s news conference spoke out about Mandt taking issue with renewed efforts to pass the Fairness Act coinciding with Black History Month.

“I found it quite appalling that — to use Black History Month and the civil rights movement as a means to divide the people of West Virginia — is just incredible and unbelievable,” said Katonya Hart of the NAACP West Virginia.

Del. Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia — who is Black and identifies as queer — is also speaking out against Mandt’s comments.

“Our similarities make us human and our differences make us people,” Walker said. “Fairness is an impartial and just treatment — a behavior without favoritism or discrimination. So let’s highlight the discrimination, the prejudice, the hate and racism. The statement from my colleague included all of the above.”

With the West Virginia Legislature kicking off its 2021 regular session at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 10, the fate of the Fairness Act remains unknown.

Fairness West Virginia says some version of a non-discrimination bill has been introduced at the the West Virgina Capitol every year for at least 20 years. In more recent legislative sessions, Democrats have tried unsuccessfully to move the bill from committee and to the floor for a vote.

While Gov. Jim Justice expressed support for the measure in a debate during his 2020 re-election campaign, Senate President Craig Blair, R-Berkely, and House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, have not publicly commented on the issue.

According to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2020 State Equality Index, West Virginia is among 25 states rated at the lowest ranking and designated as a “high priority to achieve basic equality.”