>From The Kansas City Star, Kansas City, MO, 6/4/93:

COUNCIL OUTLAWS BIAS AGAINST GAYS
By Mary Sanchez, Staff Writer

The Kansas City Council on Thursday added protection for gays and
lesbians to its civil rights ordinances, launching the city toward what
will almost certainly be a long journey through the courts.

The vote adds another layer of arguments to a lawsuit filed against
the city by some who oppose specific protection for homosexuals.

The vote capped a day that included a rally in favor of the measure and
a protest against it outside City Hall. City officials received more
than 400 telephone calls, mostly from citizens opposed to the ordinance,
which prohibits discrimination in the areas of employment and housing.

Cheers, whistles and a standing ovation by the approximately 100 people
who attended the council meeting greeted the eight members who voted to
approve the ordinance.

About a dozen people opposed to the measure quietly watched from the
back of the council chambers. The group members said they were not 
discouraged by the vote.

"We haven't given up hope," said Stephen Welch. "I think the people of
Kansas City need to realize that we do not need to give civil rights
protectionss to gays and lesbians."

Welch is president of FIRED UP, which stands for Freedom Involves
Responsibility Exposing Decadence and Upholding Principle. He is also
pastor of Northside Christian Church in Gladstone, Missouri.

FIRED UP supporters sued the city in February for rejecting their
petitions asking for a public vote on a previous civil rights ordinance.
That ordinance created a gay and lesbian task force under the city's
Human Rights Commission.

FIRED UP believed the task force would be a precursor to the city adding
sexual orientation as a protected class under local civil rights laws.

The city contends FIRED UP did not collect enough signatures to force
the council to either repeal the ordinance or put it up to a public
vote. Thursday's council action repealed the ordinance that the law-
suit questioned and replaced it with the new ordinance.

The new ordinance is identical to the old one except that it adds
"sexual orientation" to the list of categories for which discrimination
is illegal in employment or housing.

The ordiance also prohibits discrimination based on a person's race, 
color, sex, religion, national origin or ancestry, disability, marital
status, familial status or age.

The new ordinance also contains a section stating it should not be
construed to require quotas. Churches and other religious organizations
are exempted from complying with the ordinance.

Eight council members and Mayor Emanuel Cleaver voted unanimously for
the measure.  An additional council member left before the vote and
four council members were absent for the entire meeting.

David Weeda, a local activist who has pushed for the ordinance for 
more than three years, said he was elated.

"The legislation that was passed today brings Kansas City into the
position of putting a stop to the oppression, discrimination and
violence against lesbians, gays and bisexuals," said Weeda, who is
director of the Human Rights Project.

Despite charged feelings on each side of the issue, the only
confrontation of the day erupted outside council chambers after the
vote.

Kansas City minister John Birmingham and ordinance supporter Jennifer
McCarthy had a brief shouting match when Birmingham loudly
proclaimed "homosexuality is an abomination before God."

"Emanuel Cleaver and the council have betrayed us," Birmingham said.
"This is not a civil rights issue. This is a sin issue. We will win
in the end."

McCartney, of Kansas City, carried a sign that said,"I'm a Lesbian &
I Vote."

"People are judging us because of a different lifestyle," she said.
"If it's a choice, it is whether to be happy or not."

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typed by Tim Brownlee, University of Kansas, Lawrence