Nashville made a significant move Tuesday to limit discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgendered people as Metro Council approved new rules for city contractors, joining more than 100 communities across the United States.Congrats to the Tennessee Equality Project. Nice work.
The council voted 21-15 - which was, despite appearances, the narrowest of margins - to require firms doing business with the city to promise not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Those companies will have to sign affidavits to that effect.
"The message it sends is that if you're talented and willing to work, you're welcome in Nashville, Tennessee," said Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project.
If Nashville can do this and more than 100 local governments around the country can do it, why can't the federal government? Imagine how powerful that would be. Just last week that's what Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) said he wants the President to do, we learned via Chris Johnson in the Washington Blade:
Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) announced support on Monday for an executive order that would protect LGBT people against bias in the workforce by prohibiting the federal government from contracting with companies that don’t have non-discrimination policies based on sexual orientation and gender identity.Yesterday, Chris Johnson asked White House Press Secretary Jay Carney about this idea, but, Carney "didn't want to speculate."
