Out in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, the city council has officially passed a piece of “draconian” legislation this past week that seeks to threaten to issue fines of multiple thousands of dollars against residents for counseling teens “in biblical terms,” claim critics.
This new legislation, also known as the “Fairness Ordinance,” changes a section of Lincoln’s Equal Opportunity Code seemingly with the intent to ban all discrimination based on secual orientation, military status, and gender identity. People against the new law state that the bill goes so much further than simply trying to ban discrimination, however, and the penalties for any violations could reach a stagging $50,000 per violation.
“The adjudicating tribunal is the mayor-appointed human rights commission who can assess damages and attorney’s fees against the offending person. In addition, they can impose fines ranging from: $10,000 for first offenses; $25,000 for each repeated offense within 5 years; and $50,000 for each repeated offense within a 7 year period,” stated Nate Grasz, the Nebraska Family Alliance (NFA) Policy Director. “Those are the definition of ‘draconian’ and would quickly bankrupt any person or business.”
NFA officially put forth a petition this past Tuesday to halt the ordinance, which as of writing has not yet been signed by the mayor, from going into effect. The NFA has a period of 15 days to gather and submit the petition with at least 4,137 signatures in order to stop the bill.
Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts (R) put out his own statement condemning the bill this past Monday: “This ordinance is anything but fair — it should be called the ‘unfairness ordinance.’ It puts girls at risk by allowing men into girls’ bathrooms. It applies to private schools and not to public schools. It prevents parents from helping their kids who are experiencing gender dysphoria. And it threatens to bankrupt families who instill traditional values on their children — anyone who disagrees could get fined up to $50,000. I urge the people of Lincoln to sign the petition to let the people vote on these unfair policies!”
Grasz states that this Fairness Ordinance is all part of a “bathroom bill” that seeks to let men go into woman’s restrooms if such a man identifies as female. The ordinance would also cause other far-reaching implications in regards to speech and religious grounds.
“Purporting to punish discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation, the ordinance redefines sex to mean ‘female, male, neither or both’ and includes ‘sexual orientation’ … and ‘gender identity or expression’ … as protected categories in public accommodation, housing and employment,” stated Grasz.
“‘Public accommodation’ is incredibly broad and encompasses ‘all places or businesses offering or holding out to the general public goods, services, privileges, facilities, advantages, and accommodations for the peace, comfort, health, welfare, and safety of the general public,’” he stated. “That’s pretty much everywhere and anything.”
Currently, the city code has exemptions for “any place of public accommodation owned by a religious corporation which gives preference in the use of such place to members of the same faith,” but the exemptions are heavily limited. Grasz stated that the ordinance could still apply to the staff of any such religious organization as individuals.