Micah Caswell
Recently House Bill 12 which aims to remove portions of Louisiana?s ?crimes against nature? statute has been a focus in local media, but it is only one piece of the legislative agenda of one LGBT rights organizations.
?Rep. Pat Smith?s HB 12, which would remove only unconstitutional language from Louisiana law, is only one part of a package of legislation being pushed by Equality Louisiana (EQLA), the statewide coalition of LGBT and allied organizations, during the 2014 legislative session, beginning?March 10. The group has hinted at other bills addressing issues in employment, housing, and education in the past few weeks.
Equality Louisiana will prioritize six different bills this year, including HB 12, to address different issues faced by the LGBT community.
The coalition?s president Tim S. West said, ?We are pushing different bills to talk about different issues. We understand a lot of conversations need to happen before we see LGBT inclusive statewide laws, but we are prepared to have them.?
The group is working with Rep. Karen St. Germaine and Speaker Pro Tem Walt Leger, as well as other organizations such as Louisiana Progress, a statewide progressive policy organization, to introduce a state-level employment nondiscrimination act (ENDA) since the national ENDA has not been passed by the U.S. House. The bill addresses employment in both the public and private sectors, which is a change from the employment bills introduced in Louisiana in the past.
Rep. Jared Brossett is working with the coalition and the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center to file a similar bill that would address discrimination in housing for LGBT people. Another housing bill introduced by Rep. Smith will address housing discrimination faced by LGBT people and by felons, and the group is actively working with Rep. Smith on that bill said West.
?The fact that so many state legislators are willing to carry LGBT legislation this year is a sign that we are making progress in Louisiana. This is the most diverse slate of legislators to ever introduce LGBT inclusive bills in one year that we have ever seen,? Bruce Parker, Equality Louisiana Coalition Manager and Louisiana Progress Executive Director, said.
Both Sen. J.P. Morrell and Rep. Smith are working with the group to introduce education bills. Sen. Morrell will file a bill that aims to better collect information about bullying incidents in schools and to have that information analyzed to improve professional development teachers are already required to complete concerning the prevention of bullying. Rep. Smith is working with the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, Louisiana Progress, and Equality Louisiana, among other organizations, to resurrect the Safe and Successful Students Act of 2013. This bill clarifies guidelines for reporting bullying incidents and encourages restorative justice approaches to discipline for minor infractions.
The group is happy legislators are willing to have conversations about multiple LGBT issues this year, and it is time to advance some of these conversations said Parker. The coalition will also be actively supporting other legislation that promotes policies good for the LGBT community.
Source?
Micah Caswell
Equality Louisiana
