Janet Mathistad, Minot

I was pleased to read in the Minot Daily News two weeks ago that the City Council planned to revive the Human Relations Committee and had voted unanimously to approve a first reading of updated wording to the ordinance that would bring it in line with the inclusive terms that are widely used in today’s society. So it came as a surprise to learn that this update was being vehemently opposed by persons who objected to the inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation in a list that also mentioned race, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex, pregnancy or parenthood status, political affiliation, intimate partner violence or sexual assault survivor status, source of income, genetic information, housing status, military or veteran status, national origin, age, immigration status, mental or physical illness or disability, and marital status.

Rather than hearing what the ordinance actually says, the speakers I heard at the meeting on Monday seemed prone to catastrophic thinking. This is not an ordinance about mutilating children or filling the library with obscene books. There is a disconnect between people standing up and saying they don’t care what happens in the bedroom, but then vehemently opposing giving voice to LGBTQ+ people.

The HR Committee is about enriching the experience of those who live and work and go to school in Minot, and ensuring hospitality to folks of all backgrounds and cultures who move here. Minot is a richer community when we can live and work side-by-side with people who think differently from us, who embrace different religions, and come from different cultures. This ordinance is meant to assist helpful conversation in ways that Minot can be better.

Going on record to back-track from the first vote and remove language that includes LGBTQ+ isn’t a good look for a community that is hoping to be attractive to Air Force personnel, medical personnel, teachers, and all the other professions we are hoping will come to fill those open positions in the Minot workforce.

My life has certainly been enriched by encounters and experiences with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. In the late ’80s, Minot was involved in resettling Kurdish refugees. I was privileged to become acquainted with one family, and one thing that has stuck with me for 30 years was the husband and wife commenting on how surprised they were to hear a married couple in Minot arguing about whose turn it was to load the dishwasher. They had come from such desperate circumstances that they thought if they had a dishwasher they would feel so rich and privileged that it would never be something to argue about. Remembering their comment has helped me to appreciate more and complain less.

It is my hope that the Minot City Council will not be swayed by catastrophic thinking. The vehement opposition to LGBTQ+ folks is evidence of why they do need to be included in this ordinance. Let us build on the gifts of everyone in our community, and make Minot a place where everyone feels valued and receives fair treatment.