Monroe County approves human rights ordinance

Human rights activists have gained a victory in Monroe County.

On Dec. 30, county commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a human rights ordinance that will create a commission to handle cases of discrimination in the county.

“We have had complaints about sexual harassment,” said Iris Kiesling, vice president of the county commissioners. “Those are issues that do come up.”

The goal of enacting the ordinance is to combat issues of sexual discrimination in the county, but the commission will also be able to handle other kinds of discrimination, Kiesling said.

Bloomington has had a human rights commission to handle complaints within the city for several years, but it does not have jurisdiction outside city limits.

Although Kiesling said she would like to see the two commissions ultimately combine, they will begin as separate entities.

“I think there will be a relationship,” she said. “I’m hoping there will be a few people who are willing to serve on both.”

Should members of both the Bloomington and Monroe County human rights commissions connect, it may ensure consistency with how complaints are handled.

The commissioners relied on support from several community groups to gain public support in passing the ordinance.

“We have a diverse community,” Kiesling said. “The faith community has supported us, the Democrats have supported us, some Republicans have supported us.”

Indiana Equality — a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender rights organization — was involved in the whole process, from gaining public support to drafting the ordinance.

“Our ultimate goal is to get support from local commissioners in enacting GLBT protections in their local ordinances,” Dino Sierp, Indiana Equality field
organizer, said.

When there is enough support from cities and counties in Indiana, Sierp said they hope to be able to pass state laws protecting GLBT citizens.

Despite the controversial nature of the ordinance — particularly the specific goal of enacting GLBT protections — there were no negative complaints filed.

“In this particular case, that was not an issue,” Sierp said. “We had very little opposition to it.”

The commissioners intentionally gave the public two weeks to comment between the initial reading of the ordinance and Dec. 30, when it was voted on, Kiesling said. She also received no negative comments from any community members.

The next step is to appoint a commission. Kiesling said she hopes the county commissioners will be able to do this by Jan. 14, but it may take until the end of the month.

Monroe County is accepting applications for the human rights commission from members of the community, including residents and IU faculty, staff and students.

For more information, potential applicants can visit the county website at www.co.monroe.in.us.