Wichita passes anti-discrimination ordinance after marathon hearing on religious liberty
For the second time in three weeks, the Wichita City Council has approved an anti-discrimination ordinance by the barest of majorities, after five hours of debate and dozens of residents saying it would infringe their religious liberty.
The ordinance is designed to prevent discrimination within city limits on the basis of “age, color, disability, familial status, gender identity, genetic information, national origin or ancestry, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, veteran status or any other factor protected by law.”
It bans discrimination in employment, housing and businesses that serve the general public. The new ordinance would replace an anti-discrimination law that mysteriously disappeared from the city code in 1999.
The decision came after more than 40 residents spoke, most of them opposing the ordinance, particularly passages that would extend city protection to LGBTQ residents and visitors.
The ordinance passed on a 4-3 vote, although the makeup of the majority was different than the vote on a different anti-discrimination ordinance passed June 15.
Then, the council passed a weaker and less specific ordinance modeled after Topeka’s. The ordinance that passed Tuesday is more detailed and modeled on Overland Park’s.
Council member Jared Cerullo, a married gay man, supported the ordinance after voting against the one on June 15.
“I do believe this ordinance is important for attracting business and tourism to our city,” he said.
His vote replaced the vote of council member Becky Tuttle, who voted yes on June 15 and no on Tuesday. Tuttle said she wanted more time to hear from the public and to ascertain if it was needed.
Mayor Brandon Whipple pushed for the ordinance and passed it along with Cerullo and council members Brandon Johnson and Cindy Claycomb.
Among members of the public seeking passage of the ordinance was state Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau.
“On Independence Day, Sunday, July Fourth, I was discriminated against, at (Riverfront Stadium), our new baseball diamond,” Faust-Goudeau said.
After the meeting, she said she was treated rudely by a stadium employee and a supervisor when she showed up with her two daughters — one of who had been invited to sing in the Independence Day event — over the size of her daughter’s purse.
She said the female employee treated white patrons far more politely and when she pointed that out, the employee stuck her hand in face and said she wouldn’t talk to her anymore. Then the supervisor told Faust-Goudeau to stop bothering his employees.
“Myself and my two daughters were discriminated against and I don’t believe it’s because I’m short or I like to take selfies a lot, but because of our race,” Faust-Goudeau said. “I just had to come today and tell that discrimination is still real and alive today and I hope that you can come to some resolution to help all people in the city of Wichita and the state of Kansas.”
Rob Rotola, pastor of Word of Life Church, pleaded with the council to reject the ordinance and told the council members that many people were praying for them over the weekend.
“They’re praying for you to remember the words of your mom, your mother, when you were 3 or 4 years old,” Rotola said. “Your mother taught you things. This is a boy. This is a girl. And these different ageless principles that you were taught by your mother and by your Sunday school teacher, we were all taught these things as a young child and I pray that you will remember. My mom was not wrong when she told me I was a boy she didn’t say ‘What are you, what do you want to choose?’ ”
That drew a negative response from Cerullo.
“Pardon me for taking a stand on this, but I feel like you’ve just wasted our time,” he said. “Your church is still exempt. You do not have to allow people of this (kind) into your church building. Churches, religious organizations and nonprofits are exempt from this ordinance so you’re free to continue your discrimination.”
Former Republican state Rep. Chuck Weber, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference and a representative for the Catholic Bishops of Kansas, objected to the ordinance on the grounds that the religious exemption wasn’t broad enough.
While it protects religious practitioners, those who work in non-religious support jobs for churches and their organizations would not be exempt, he said. Nor would the exemption cover private businesses that serve the public whose owners are religiously opposed to homosexuality, he said.
“Jack the cake baker and the florist, all of these people are not covered with any exemptions whatsoever,” he said. “Respectfully, and I appreciate your service, ask you to permanently table this ordinance.”
Cerullo and council member Brandon Johnson pressed Weber over whether the churches he represents would fire a custodian if they found out he was gay.
Weber didn’t answer directly, saying the question is “hypothetical.”
“The Catholic Church and the people I represent, we try and treat everyone with dignity and love and respect,” he said. “If they’re hungry we feed them. If they’re naked we clothe them.”
Replied Johnson: “Now I’m confused as to why you’re opposed.”
Weber: “I’m confused about why we need this ordinance.”
That exchange led council member Jeff Blubaugh to apologize.
“Chuck, I appreciate you coming in today, appreciate you sharing your feedback and I apologize on behalf of this council that this is like an interrogation, having hypothetical questions thrown at you and I apologize for that,” he said.
Johnson took umbrage at Blubaugh apologizing on behalf of the council.
“I just wanted to clarify, those who come before the council, sometimes I may ask follow-up questions,” Johnson said. “If you feel interrogated against, um, I don’t know. So I know there was an apology issued. I will continue to ask questions as I see fit.”
The ordinance will come back for a second reading at the council’s next meeting.
Public comments
Many of the public comments focused on religious beliefs. Jeanne Garrelts said early in her comments that she declared “the fear of the Lord be on the City Council.”
“We are not being hateful,” Garrelts said. “We love all people and want to see the LGBTQ society healed and delivered. This is the fight of righteousness, good and light against the spirit of communism, humanism and anti-Christ spirit.
“These are the facts: humanity exists in male and female only. ... There is no scientific development that tells us being transgender is naturally occurring in our society.”
Lindsay Drees, who is a biologist, responded to Garrelts.
“Intersex people exist, they’re born every day, they have genitals that are neither male nor female and there are people with genetics that are neither male nor female,” Drees said. “You either have to accept that gender is a spectrum or God makes mistakes. And I was raised to believe that God doesn’t make mistakes, so who you were born to be is who you are meant to be, and I am so thankful that he made you the person you are today.”
Drees told members of the LGBT community who watched the meeting that they are loved:
“I came here today to speak to you because I knew the bus load of bigots would show up this morning, and I knew it would be broadcast on YouTube and that several of my friends that are trans, bi, gay, all different members of the LGBTQ community would be here today and watching online, and I wanted to make sure that they heard the voice that said you are loved, you matter, and who you are is who you were made to be and is absolutely perfect.”
State Rep. Stephanie Byers said many speakers pitted the LGBT community against Christianity. Byers is a trans woman and a Christian.
Byers said discrimination happens in Wichita and spoke of her experience at local restaurants.
“People are willing to separate us and say you don’t belong here. People are willing to sit down and say we should not have to hire you. People are willing to sit down and say we should not be obligated to serve you. People are willing to sit down and say if I have an apartment complex, I don’t want you living there because you’re a same-sex couple. We need this protection because we need to have those basic human rights that the rest of this community experiences in full.”
Shannon West, who spent about 10 years in the custody or under supervision of the Kansas Department of Corrections, said he now works with prisoners through his church.
“I go to Word of Life Church,” he said. “If two gay people came into our church and sat in our congregation, I would love on them just the same way I love on the women in Topeka Correctional Facility that come into my service, well, before COVID, that sat in the services arm in arm. But I am going to tell them what I believe. Why those people wouldn’t come back to our church is because our beliefs are different. We believe the Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman.
“That’s why you wouldn’t come back to our church, because our beliefs are different, not because we’re discriminating against you. We have a daycare, we hire janitors. ... If I was at a meeting and someone we hired as a janitor, knowing our beliefs, showed up to one of our employment functions with their partner, they would be discriminating against me. They would be discriminating against me knowing that we’re in a place of business that believes a different way.”
Noah Blanco identified himself as a transgender, Hispanic man “who has experienced discrimination” in Wichita. He said the city’s economy needs the non-discrimination ordinance.
“We have people moving from all over ... and they want to come here because the housing market gives them hope. Now, when they get here, if they get duped and all that hope — maybe they’re gay, maybe they’re transgender, mabye they’re Muslim, whatever the situation may be — and they can’t find gainful employment, because after a little while they’re just too different because someone’s religious beliefs make it so they can’t have a work relationship.”
Jodie Hodges opposed the council voting for the ordinance.
“It’s odd to me that seven people get to choose for all of Wichita,” she said. “I really think that this should have been put to a vote of the people. ... This ordinance is harmful to children. I don’t understand, if we have federal and state laws that are already on the books, why we’re even talking about this today.
“What is morally wrong, you cannot make politically right, no matter what. It will never happen, and I don’t appreciate you rolling your eyes at me, Mr. Whipple. That’s rude and inconsiderate.”
The mayor apologized, said he did not roll his eyes at the speaker and prompted her to continue.
“I saw you, it’s on film,” Hodges said. “Please don’t take my time. I saw you in the interview talking about your children and how you want them to grow up in a certain kind of world. I’m a mother, and a grandmother of eight. I want my grandchildren to grow up in a certain kind of world, and it’s not Brandon Whipple’s world.”
After she finished her comments, the mayor said he was blinking his eyes because of wearing contacts and not “having a chance to put eyedrops in for the last few hours.”
Hodges was the second-to-last of 43 speakers during the public comment period for the ordinance, which lasted about four hours.
This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 4:29 PM.
