Tulsa’s city council approved adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes under the fair housing ordinance.
Councilor Blake Ewing sparred with one speaker who opposed the move on religious grounds but identified housing as one of our most basic needs.
"So, in consideration of that, if someone's track record of sin is now a qualifier or disqualifier of whether they should be approved for housing, then none of us should be approved for housing," Ewing said.
Four of 14 speakers at the council meeting were against the change, which now awaits Mayor Dewey Bartlett’s signature.
Before the vote, Councilor G.T. Bynum noted the main argument against adding sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes was religion.
"I think it's important to point out that right now, Satanists — to go to an extreme — have more protections right now than the LGBT community in Tulsa," Bynum said.
With Councilor Connie Dodson absent, the council voted 8–0 for the change. Before the council voted, Jack Henderson said discrimination for any reason is wrong.
"And I personally feel that anybody should be able to live and get a home or an apartment because they can afford to pay for it," Henderson said.
Work on the amendment began in February after a review of Tulsa’s fair housing ordinance found LGBT citizens were not protected from discrimination in renting, buying or getting a loan for a home.
Cities may add to federally and state protected classes.
