Bob Sanderson, Minot

Recently there has been an issue raised with the Minot City Council regarding an ordinance that would have provided legal protection to the LBGTQ community. Unfortunately, that ordinance created a fair amount of controversy.

After a number of meetings and testimony from the community, the council wisely and courageously decided to table the ordinance. They then made the decision to appoint a Human Relations Committee to gather further information and provide that input to the City Council for further consideration.

The council deserves to be recognized for their courage and wisdom in making this recommendation. It is gratifying to see that courage and wisdom still exist at some level of our political system.

It is gratifying to know that this committee has now been selected by the council. The community needs to support their efforts and recommendations when they have completed their work.

I am hoping that the committee, as it goes about its work, will take into account and review some of the following issues as it relates to the LBGTQ community.

I would hope they will look at the history of violence toward members of this community in our country, going back at least as far as 1969. They may also want to note that very recently members of the KKK in Kentucky threatened a group of LBGTQ with guns. It is now fairly common knowledge that the Proud Boys are moving their attention away from the insurrection and targeting the LBGTQ community. If this continues, it may mean even more danger for this community and its supporters.

It would also be interesting for the committee to review and report back on the economic, artistic and intellectual contributions the LBGTQ members and their supporters make to this community, our state and nation.

The issue of Christianity also came into the discussions at the City Council meetings. Some people seem to feel that their interpretation of scripture is paramount in making a decision on this ordinance. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are all free to interpret scripture as we like but we are not free to impose our understanding on others.

There was also some discussion that Federal and State laws are already in place and would provide protection to these members so, consequently, we don’t need this ordinance. Those protections also exist for people with Mental Health issues as an example, but they are protected under this ordinance as well. What is the difference here? The Federal and State people are only going to get involved if there is a catastrophic issue like murder or a mass shooting. They are not going to get involved if they perceive it only as a political issue within a community.

Minot needs to protect all of its citizens. I wish the committee the very best in their efforts and I hope the community will support their findings.