Arlington resident Peter Ricca, 58, raises their voice at council members during an Arlington City Council meeting Oct. 14 at the Arlington City Council Chamber. Ricca said he wants to support the LGBTQ+ community.
The Arlington City Council voted on its first reading Tuesday to amend the recently suspended antidiscrimination chapter of the city’s code, removing various LGBTQ+ protections.
The amendment will delete mention of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression as protected characteristics from the original document.
To pass the amendment, the council needs to vote on it again during a second reading, which has been delayed until Nov. 18.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted 7-2 in favor of the amendment, with council members Rebecca Boxall and Barbara Odom-Wesley in opposition. All members of the council were present, except for Bowie Hogg, who voted asynchronously.
Mansfield, Texas, resident Nathan Smith, 37, walks to the podium to speak during an Arlington City Council meeting Oct. 14 at the Arlington City Council Chamber. Smith is the director of public affairs for the HELP Center for LGBT Health & Wellness.
The council originally voted 7-2 to temporarily suspend the chapter during a September meeting.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Mayor Jim Ross said it’s important to remain compliant with federal directives to protect the city’s ability to receive federal funding.
“However, we must balance the need to make modifications with the need to ensure that every single member of our community feels welcome, protected, respected and is treated with dignity,” Ross said.
City Manager Trey Yelverton said during a September council meeting that $65 million in federal grants were at risk due to the contents of the chapter, according to previous Shorthorn reporting.
Rev. David Grebel speaks to council members during an Arlington City Council meeting Oct. 14 at the Arlington City Council Chamber. Grebel is an interim pastor of the Celebration Community Church in Fort Worth, Texas, with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community.
Council member Mauricio Galante said that $65 million is no small sum of money, but the council needs more time to go over the decision and needs to have an attorney’s opinion on what the consequences of the ordinance would be.
However, Galante voted yes on the first reading based on the thought that the federal grants were on the line and losing the funds could hurt a lot of vulnerable people in the city.
“We have a fiduciary responsibility of keep the city running, keep the services running and that’s the biggest protection we can give,” he said.
Odom-Wesley said she voted no on the amendment because she has zero tolerance for discrimination against any group, and that some things are more important than money.
Arlington resident Nikedrian Willi, 20, claps during an Arlington City Council meeting Oct. 14 at the Arlington City Council Chamber. Willi attended the meeting to support the LGBTQ+ community.
“I think every citizen should be treated equally and that we have a responsibility to make sure everybody feels safe and included,” she said.
Forty-four community members spoke against the vote to amend the ordinance during the meeting.
DeeJay Johannessen, HELP Center for LGBT Health & Wellness CEO, said he came out to speak because of the possibility of the LGBTQ community losing antidiscrimination protections in Arlington.
Johannessen said that without the protections, LGBTQ residents could be refused services legally.
A community member speaks at the podium during an Arlington City Council meeting Oct. 14 at the Arlington City Council Chamber. Each member had one minute to speak.
“That’s absolutely unacceptable, because they would intervene based upon race, based upon gender, based upon sex, all of those things you have protection, but if you’re gay or a member of the LGBT, they don’t care about you anymore,” he said.
Yaseen Tasnif, sociology and linguistics senior, said they didn’t feel safe on their own campus after Senate Bill 17 was passed in 2023, but felt supported that Arlington had protections with the antidiscrimination chapter of the city code.
“For more than a month now, that sense of safety has been on the line,” Tasnif said.
The chapter, if amended, will continue to prohibit forms of discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on race, color, national origin, age, religion, sex or disability, according to the updated ordinance.
Photojournalist Joel Solis contributed to this story.
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